The ship docked in Mossdeep City. We'd had a long voyage, but we knew that the upcoming reward was worth it.
As we walked into the city, Jason and Megan were talking excitedly about the upcoming gym battle and contest respectfully, but I was quiet. I was lost in my thoughts, and had been for a while.
"Adam? What's up?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, you've been quiet and distant ever since we visited the ABC Islands." Megan added.
"I just...can't stop thinking about the unknown girl with orange hair that asked about me there. There's only one person that I know who fits that description." I said, looking over at Jason.
Jason nodded his head and said, "I agree. It does sound like Michelle, who traveled with us in Kanto and Johto."
"But what would she be doing here in Hoenn? She said that she was going to be taking a break from contests when we parted ways with her." I questioned.
"Yeah, I'm curious about it, too. Also, she apparently isn't traveling alone here in Hoenn, from what Nurse Joy said. But is that really all that's been on your mind? I mean, I'm curious about it too and I've thought of her, but I haven't been distant like you have." Jason asked.
I could tell that both he and Megan were concerned about me because I wasn't acting like myself. I had been quiet and distant ever since hearing the description of the girl who had asked about me.
But how could I not be? The last time that I had seen Michelle, we'd left on bad terms. I was worried about what kind of reunion we would have if we were to meet again. Would things be awkward? Bad? Had our bond been damaged beyond repair, or to even still be friends?
"I'm sure whatever happened between you two, Michelle doesn't hold any grudges against you. She sounds nice, so try not to worry about it until we find out if it's actually Michelle or not." Megan reassured me.
"Yeah, you're right. We should get to the Pokemon Center and get a room. Then we can figure out when your contest is and when we can challenge the gym." I said, changing the subject.
Jason and Megan nodded their heads and we walked on.
"So unlike the other gyms here in Hoenn, Mossdeep City has two gym leaders who battle together. In order to win, my dad used Pikachu and Swellow and created this field of electricity that protected his Pokemon, but also increased their attack power. It created such a pretty look too, since I actually saw him use it one day. It literally looked like his Swellow was covered in solid gold!" I said, recalling my dad's story of his battle.
"Wow, that sounds impressive for your dad to have come up with a combination like that." Jason said.
"I bet that would've been beautiful in a contest, whether it was used for appeals or a battle!" Megan exclaimed.
"Because your dad had to think outside the box in order to win, it means that Tate and Liza will be very tough, especially since we'll have two Pokemon to deal with at the same time! Plus, they use Psychic Pokemon, which are some of the toughest types of Pokemon to beat." Jason said, looking a bit worried about our chances.
"Yeah, but speaking of unconventional means, I have an idea for us, for how we can win. I just have to call the gym leaders and see if they'll agree to it, which I'll do when we get to the Pokemon Center." I said, getting an idea about how we could even the odds.
A few days of intense training later, it was time for us to challenge Tate and Liza. Jason and I had never practiced this hard for a gym battle before! Thankfully, Tate and Liza had agreed to my unique terms for this battle. It would be a tag battle!
Jason stood beside me on our side of the battlefield with Tate and Liza on the other side. Megan was in the stands with Pikachu, since I wouldn't be using him in the battle.
The gym was an outer space theme, with dark blue walls and floor, and model planets hanging from the ceiling. The battlefield looked like the surface of the moon.
"Thank you for agreeing to let Jason and I battle you together in a tag battle for our gym badges." I told the siblings. "It saves time, having to do just one battle instead of two, and Jason and I will have a better chance of winning if we battle together."
"Well, you're not the first person to request a tag battle over the years, so we're used to it." Tate replied.
"But don't think that you'll be stronger together. My brother and I have won tag battles here several times!" Liza confidently declared.
The two of them were now in their mid-thirties, around my dad's age. Tate had his hair pulled into a man bun and no longer had his bangs. He wore an outfit similar to when he was younger that was black with a blue undershirt. Liza had her hair in a low ponytail and her bangs were cut to meet in a triangle at her forehead. Like Tate, she wore a black outfit similar to the one she'd worn when she was younger, and had a pink undershirt underneath.
"The gym battle between the gym leaders, Tate and Liza, and the challengers, Adam and Jason, will now begin. The battle will be a tag battle and will be over when both Pokemon on one side are unable to continue. Begin!" the ref announced.
"Go Solrock! Go Lunatone!" Tate and Liza cried.
"Let's show 'em, Marshtomp!" I cried. I had decided to use Marshtomp, since Water attacks were strong against Rock Pokemon.
"Weavile, let's go!" Jason cried. Jason had decided to use Weavile, since Dark attacks were strong against Psychic Pokemon.
This was going to be a two-pronged assault. We would be attacking both of their Pokemons' weaknesses at once! We had came up with the perfect strategy to win, after a lot of hard work.
"Use Psychic, Solrock!" Tate cried.
"Use Psychic as well, Lunatone!" Liza cried.
"Dodge it and use Water Gun!" I yelled.
"Use Night Slash, Weavile!" Jason commanded.
Marshtomp was hit with the attacks. Weavile jumped before spinning and using Night Slash, striking Solrock.
"Use Solar Beam on Marshtomp!" Tate ordered Solrock, knowing that Grass attacks would do major damage to my Pokemon. Solrock began charging the attack and both Jason and I knew that we had to act fast!
"Marshtomp, use Hydro Pump before it can finish charging the attack!" I cried.
"I'll back you up!" Jason added.
"Defend Solrock, Lunatone! Psychic!" Liza countered.
Lunatone flew in front of Solrock and deflected the water blast away. But we weren't done yet!
"Jump, Weavile! Use Dark Pulse!" Jason shouted. Weavile leaped in the air, face-to-face with Lunatone and launched the attack, scoring a direct hit before landing on the ground.
"Launch the beam, Solrock!" Tate yelled. Solrock had finished charging the attack and launched the Solar Beam at Marshtomp. I knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time, but lucky for me, Jason was thinking ahead!
"Help Marshtomp, Weavile!" he screamed. Weavile jumped at Marshtomp and pushed him out of harm's way, taking the attack instead.
All four Pokemon had now taken some damage, but this battle was far from over!
... ...
"Use Hydro Pump on both of them, Marshtomp!" I cried.
"Freeze that water with Ice Beam!" Jason cried.
The water hit both Lunatone and Solrock, covering them before being frozen, encasing the two Pokemon in ice.
"Night Slash!" Jason commanded. Weavile struck both of the frozen Pokemon. It was a double hit of super-effective attacks! Water and Dark!
"That's a mighty impressive combo." Liza commented.
"Yes, that's a great technique." Tate added.
"Our friend Megan helped us perfect that combo over the last few days." Jason explained.
"Yeah, it's like a contest technique, so it's her specialty." I added. "Just like how my mom helped my dad incorporate contest combos into his battles, Megan has helped us in the same way!"
I looked over to the stands where Megan was sitting and winked at her in thanks. She seemed to like that, since I briefly saw her cheeks turn pink.
Lunatone and Solrock then broke free of the ice and I refocused on the battle at hand.
"Use Confusion, Solrock!"
"Use Ice Beam, Weavile!"
"Lunatone, use Psyshock!"
"Water Gun, Marshtomp!"
The ice hit Solrock and caused some ice to cover its body. Psyshock and Water Gun hit each other and began to fight for dominance.
"Use Dark Pulse!" Jason cried. Weavile ran towards Solrock and launched the attack, spinning Solrock around and knocking it into Lunatone, causing Marshtomp's Water attack to overpower Psyshock.
"Hydro Pump!" I cried, since both Pokemon were still recovering from our attacks. Because both Pokemon had been knocked into each other, they were close enough that they were both hit with the powerful blast of water.
As Solrock and Lunatone fell to the ground, having fainted, Marshtomp began to glow. He grew in size, becoming larger. As the glow died down, Marshtomp was no more. He was now a Swampert!
"Solrock and Lunatone are unable to battle. Weavile and Swampert win. The challengers are victorious!" the ref announced.
"We did it!" Jason cried, giving me a high five.
"Yeah! And I have a new Pokemon, too!" I cried.
Our teamwork had paid off and we had won our gym badges! I removed my Pokedex and pointed it to my newly-evolved Swampert.
"Swampert, the Mud Fish Pokemon and the evolved form of Marshtomp. It is able to easily drag large stones weighing over one ton. It is also able to see through cloudy waters and detect approaching storms with its fin." my Pokedex read.
We returned our Pokemon, thanking them for helping us win. Megan ran down the stairs, onto the battlefield, and hugged us both.
"Way to go, guys!" she cried.
We hugged her back, forming a group hug. Then Tate and Liza walked over and we ended our hug.
"Congratulations, you two. Adam, you're even stronger than your dad was at his age!" Liza commented.
I felt accomplished and proud of myself, hearing those words. I took pride in knowing that I was like my dad, but it was nice to see that my hard work was paying off as well.
"Thank you for saying that. I've had some great role models to watch while growing up and I try to learn anything that I can that will help be the very best." I said, bowing my head slightly.
"Here are your badges." Tate and Liza said, as he handed my badge to me and Liza handed Jason's to him.
We now had seven gym badges. That left only one more badge to obtain before we could qualify for the Pokemon League Tournament!
"One badge left." I said as we put the badges in our cases, alongside the others.
Jason nodded his head. "Then it's on to the Pokemon League."
"And I only need one more ribbon to qualify for the Grand Festival, too. I'm hoping to win it in the Mossdeep City contest." Megan added.
"Not if I win it first!" a voice said, coming from behind Megan.
Looking, we saw that Amber was there and she walked over to us.
"I followed you guys inside and was watching the battle. Adam, you were great! And I loved how you used contest techniques in your battle. You should join me in a contest one day."
"Well, Megan asked me to do that before as well. Maybe one day, I should..."
Maybe I should be considering the idea of trying out a contest one day. That now makes two people, both Megan and Amber, who have asked me to compete with them at one point. I thought to myself.
Well, I would definitely give it some more serious thought. Besides, my dad had competed in a few contests before and he'd said how seeing battles from a new perspective had helped him so much. If it could help me too, then maybe it was worth doing.
Author's Note: Adam and Jason work together as a team and both win their badges. Only one more badge to go before they both have enough to qualify for the Hoenn Pokemon League! Plus, Adam's Marshtomp evolves into Swampert!
Still, Adam can't shake the bad feeling of possibly seeing his old friend Michelle again, since they'd had a rough parting in the previous story.
Will things be awkward between them if they do meet again? Or even really bad? Has their bond been damaged beyond repair? Are they even still be friends?
And what about Megan's upcoming contest? Will she win her fifth ribbon and qualify for the Hoenn Grand Festival? And will Adam ever agree to compete in a contest someday?
Find out the answers to all of these questions as the story continues in Pokemon NG!