Episode 400: Roxas's First Gym Battle
Shortly after Sora had his Gym battle, everyone made it back to the Pokémon Center to allow Turtwig, Piplup, and Riolu to heal from their injuries.
"I trust your Gym battle went well, Sora," Rei said.
"Yes, Master. I had to admit, it was difficult even with a type advantage on my side," Sora said.
"Well, you shouldn't have expected it to be easy, Sora. But your hard work has paid off," Rei said.
"Yeah, and there's Roxas and Lucas who are next," Sora said.
"That's true, Sora," Rei agreed.
Meanwhile, Roxas activates a coin app on his Pokétch.
"Okay, there's one way to settle this. We use the coin app to decide who gets to battle Roark next," Roxas said.
"I'm down with that, Roxas. I'm going to take tails," Lucas said.
"Alright," Roxas said. He pushes on the coin and it flips. It landed on heads. "Heads, you lose."
"Rats." Lucas said.
"Now, there's the matter of which Pokémon, I'm going with," Roxas said as he gave it a lot of thought. He thought and he thought until an idea came to him. "I know, I'll use Chikorita, Totodile, and Mudkip. That'll work."
"Pikachu," Xipak said.
Later, Roxas and Xipak stepped out just so he and Xipak could do some training for the upcoming Gym battle. He has Chikorita, Totodile, and Mudkip out, doing some training. They trained for hours, making sure everything was going to go smooth.
"Okay, Chikorita! Magical Leaf!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita unleashed a Magical Leaf, hitting a couple of rocks. "Totodile, Mudkip! Water Gun!" Totodile and Mudkip fired Water Gun at the rocks, shattering them. "Great job! You guys are going great! Keep at it!" As the hours passed, Chikorita, Totodile, and Mudkip kept on training for his Gym battle.
Meanwhile, Lucas decided to do some training of his own with Chimchar, Turtwig, and Psyduck.
"Okay, after seeing Sora in action, I'm getting very fired up! We're gonna have to train hard if we wanna be on top of our game! Roark's Rock-type Pokémon are rock-solid, so we're gonna have to train hard if we're going to, too! You ready to go?"
"Char!" Chimchar said.
"Twig!" Turtwig said.
"Duck!" Psyduck said.
"Awesome! Chilling Water! Razor Leaf! Power-Up Punch!" Lucas ordered. All three of Lucas's Pokémon used their chosen attacks and they shattered some rocks.
Both Roxas and Lucas trained for hours, getting some serious training done, preparing for anything Roark can throw at them. Night came as Roxas was laying down in bed, still awake. He was thinking to himself that it's going to be his very first Gym battle, but he was disappointed that Axel wasn't around to witness it. He sighed to himself. Xion noticed Roxas was still awake.
"Roxas, what's wrong?" Xion asked.
"I'm just thinking about Axel," Roxas said.
"You're wishing he was around to watch your Gym battle, is that right?" Xion asked.
"Yeah, I am. I mean, you and I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him. And I'm sure he would be here to watch it since it'll be the very first Gym battle of my life," Roxas said.
"I know what you mean, Roxas. I feel the same way. Axel would be so very proud of you," Xion said.
"Yeah, and so I'll be dedicating this Gym battle for him," Roxas said.
"I know you will, Roxas. And after you have your Gym battle, how about we go get some sea salt ice cream afterwards?" Xion suggested.
"Okay. I can promise you some sea salt ice cream," Roxas said.
"Now, go to sleep. We don't want you to be tired for your Gym battle," Xion said.
"Alright," Roxas said as he yawned. He fell right to sleep. As Lucas slept, he was dreaming that he had beaten Roark's Rampardos with Chimchar being super muscular and wearing a red cape.
"Way to go, Chimchar! I knew you could do it!" Lucas said.
"Chimchar!" Chimchar said in a muscular voice.
"Yay!" Dawn cheered, wearing her cheerleader outfit.
In reality, Lucas was smiling widely. It was obvious Sora greatly inspired Lucas and he wants to be able to win it like he did.
Meanwhile, in Jubilife City, Lea looked up to the night sky and he sighed to himself.
"The night sky. It's better than the World That Never Was. Just about anything is better than that place. Especially with Organization XIII no longer calling the shots, even though most of us has returned to being human beings. It's kinda weird. Nobodies didn't have any hearts to begin with, but Roxas, Xion, and I each have our own hearts, and our own emotions. I almost forgotten what it feels like," Axel said in his own thoughts. He then sensed someone behind him. "Something tells me that I'm not alone." And he was right. Leo came at Lea summoned his Eternal Flames and used them to block his attack. He managed to push him back. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we met."
"I'm the last person you're ever gonna see alive," Leo said, rushing at Lea, but he used his chakrams to block his Keyblade.
"So, you're a Keyblade wielder, huh? Well, there goes the neighborhood," Lea said.
"Don't you dare taunt me!" Leo snarled. He came at Lea again, so Lea threw his chakrams as they emit flames. Leo used his Keyblade to block and sends them back at him. Lea catches them in his hands. "Is that all you got?"
"No," Lea said as he came at Leo with flames behind him and he tackled him. "For the record, you asked."
"Taunt me at your own risk," Leo said as he came at Lea again. He blocked with his Eternal Flames.
"Hey, why so angry?" Lea asked.
"Anger is all I know since I came from a world that knows nothing but war," Leo said.
"I thought you looked like you weren't from around here. Probably too late to tell you this, but when you come into other worlds..." Lea said before he tossed him to the side. "...don't tell other people where you're from. That's a rookie mistake."
"Like you would know!" Lea said.
"Let's just say I met some Keyblade wielders like you," Lea said.
"I doubt they're anything like me," Leo said, coming at Lea again, so Lea dodged his assault and he gave Leo a punch in the face before he kicked him.
"Look, I don't wanna hurt you, buddy. Stay down," Lea said.
"Well, I want to hurt you. Also, I am not your buddy, and don't tell me what to do!" Leo snarled, lunging at Lea again, but he blocked with his Eternal Flames and pushed him back. He snapped his fingers and flames engulfed Leo, making him scream in pain.
"Had enough?" Lea asked. Leo got up and he swung his Keyblade at him. "Give it up."
"You won this fight, but I will say this to you. If I ever see your face again, I will kill you," Leo said, taking off.
"Oookay, that was weird," Lea said to himself.
On the very next morning, Roxas woke up as did Xipak. Roxas and Xipak decided to get some more training done. Roxas, Chikorita, Totodile, and Mudkip ran to get some exercise done before the match. And that was when Tai, Matt, Sora T, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, TK, Kari, Davis, Ken, Yolei, Cody, Meiko, Amy, and Little Mei have shown up to Roxas.
"Hey, Roxas," Tai greeted.
"Hey, you guys. You came on a good day," Roxas said.
"Are you training for your Gym battle, Roxas?" Sora T asked.
"Yeah, I've been training ever since Sora won his battle yesterday, so I wanna be ready for it," Roxas said.
"How did he do?" Joe asked.
"Well, Sora actually fought hard against Roark's Rock-types, so I'm planning on doing the same thing," Roxas said.
"Pikachu," Xipak said.
"We figure he would win it," TK said.
"And we figure you will, too. And that's why we came all this way," Yolei said. Roxas smiled. He then noticed Paul as he was walking by. They all turned to see Paul. Paul angrily glared at Roxas before he walked off.
"What was that about?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, who was that jerk?" Yolei asked.
"That would be Paul. He's a Pokémon Trainer we met when we came here in the Sinnoh region. Sora's Chimchar and Kairi's Starly actually used to belong to him before he released them," Roxas explained.
"He released them? Why?" Kari asked.
"It's because he doesn't treat his Pokémon with love, so he only cares about Pokémon that are strong and he releases Pokémon he sees as weak," Roxas said. Cody lightly growled, not liking his methods.
"Well, that isn't right," Amy said.
"Forget about him right now, because you have a Gym battle to prepare for, don't you?" Izzy reminded Roxas.
"That's right, better get on it," Roxas said. Roxas and his Pokémon went back to training for the Gym battle until it was time. The rest of the group was already waiting for Roxas to come.
"Hey, Tai and the rest. I didn't expect to see you so soon," Sora said.
"We're sorry that we missed your Gym battle, Sora 2, but we'll be cheering for Roxas very hard," Mimi said.
"Because he is our friend," Cody said.
"You guys are welcome to watch, too," Sora said.
Not too long after that, Roxas and Roark got into positions for their Gym battle as Sora, Kairi, and their friends sat in the bleachers, watching the battle about to begin. The referee came in to start it up.
"The battle between Roark the Gym Leader and Roxas from Pallet Town is about to begin! Each Trainer will be using three Pokémon. Only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokémon at any time! The battle will be over when all three of either the Gym Leader's or the challenger's Pokémon are unable to battle! Let the battle begin!" The referee announced. Roark took out his first Pokéball and threw it.
"Geodude! Go!" Roark called out. His Geodude emerged from inside, ready to battle. Roxas took out his Pokéball and threw it.
"Chikorita! You're going in!" Roxas called out. His Pokéball opened and Chikorita came out by twirling its leaf.
"Roxas is starting things up with Chikorita. A Grass-type is a good match-up against a Rock and Ground-type like Geodude," Ken said.
"Yeah, but Roark is going to give Roxas a little something extra," Sora said.
"Yeah, and what's that?" Davis asked.
"Geodude! Stealth Rock!" Roark ordered. Geodude unleashed a Stealth Rock, surrounding Chikorita.
"Wait, he's using Stealth Rock?" Amy asked.
"Yeah. He did that with me yesterday during our battle," Sora said.
"I get it. Roark must be putting some pressure on Roxas's Pokémon. It's a good thing Stealth Rock doesn't work for Pokémon already out," TK said.
"So, it's a Grass-type, huh? Will it be enough? Geodude! Use Rollout!" Roark ordered. Geodude began to roll and head for the Leaf Pokémon.
"Dodge it and use Magical Leaf!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita dodged Geodude's Rollout and fired a Magical Leaf, landing a hit onto Geodude, dealing some heavy damage. "Great! Vine Whip!" Chikorita smacked Geodude with its vines.
"Not bad, Roxas. But I'm not done yet. Geodude! Rollout again!" Roark ordered.
"Magical Leaf!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita fired Magical Leaf, hitting Geodude, stopping its roll. "Use your Energy Ball!" Chikorita fired Energy Ball, hitting Geodude. The Rock Pokémon had been knocked out.
"Geodude is unable to battle! Chikorita wins!" The referee announced.
"Way to go, Roxas!" Davis cheered.
"I guess all that training really paid off," Ken said.
"I'll say it did. It goes to show Roxas is no slouch in a Pokémon battle," Sora said.
"And who does he take up after?" Xion asked. Sora sheepishly smiled as they all laughed. Roark called back his Geodude.
"You have done an excellent job, my friend. Get some rest," Roark said. He took out his next Pokéball and threw it. "Alright, Onix! Let's go!" His Pokéball opened and Onix roared upon entry.
"I figured he was gonna send Onix out on me next," Roxas said.
"Roxas, your Chikorita is an impressive Pokémon, but I should tell you that you shouldn't assume you can defeat my Onix like you did with my Geodude!" Roark said.
"I known that, Roark! So, I'm ready for anything you got for me, so don't hold back!" Roxas said.
"I wouldn't dream of it. Onix! Use Head Smash!" Roark ordered. Onix came at Chikorita with a Head Smash.
"Use Vine Whip to jump!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita uses its vines to jump out of the way in time. Onix struck one of the Stealth Rocks instead. Roxas saw the rock being destroyed, so it gave him an idea.
"That was a close call, but shouldn't Onix have taken recoil damage from that Head Smash?" Davis asked.
"Normally, yes, but Onix's ability is Rock Head. It prevents recoil damage," Izzy said.
"And that comes in handy for a Gym Leader," Cody said.
"Onix! Use Dragon Breath!" Roark ordered. Onix fired a Dragon Breath and sends it at Chikorita.
"Run to dodge it!" Roxas called out. Chikorita ran around and the Stealth Rock is destroyed by Onix's Dragon Breath.
"What is he trying to pull? Why is he having his Chikorita run around like that?" Roark asked. He noticed Stealth Rock being shattered by Onix's Dragon Breath as Chikorita ran. "I see. He's having me destroy Stealth Rock just so his Pokémon won't he hurt by Stealth Rock. Clever."
"What is he trying to do?" Sora T asked.
"Onix isn't even getting tired by firing Dragon Breath," Yolei said.
"He isn't trying to tire out Onix. He's having Onix take out Geodude's Stealth Rock. That's really clever," Michael said.
"Wow, I never would have thought of that. Go, Roxas," Sora said.
Chikorita kept on running until Onix has destroyed the last one.
"Great! Now, use Magical Leaf!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita fired Magical Leaf, hitting Onix on the mark.
"Why didn't Onix try dodging it?" Dawn asked.
"Magical Leaf can't be dodged," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
"Use Head Smash!" Roark ordered. Onix came at Chikorita with a Head Smash.
"Dodge it!" Roxas called out. Chikorita tried to dodge, but Onix came too fast for Chikorita to dodge.
"Use Double-Edge!" Roark ordered.
"Vine Whip!" Chikorita attempts to land a hit Vine Whip, Onix came too fast for Chikorita. Roxas called back Chikorita and took out another Pokéball and threw it. "Mudkip! Go!" His Pokéball opened.
"Use Dragon Breath!" Roark ordered.
"Say it with a Mud-Slap!" Roxas ordered. Mudkip spat out Mud-Slap, hitting Onix in the eyes.
"Look at that! Onix is blinded by Mud-Slap," Lucas said.
"Mud-Slap cuts a Pokémon's accuracy when it hits," Ken said.
"Okay, Mudkip! Use Water Pulse!" Roxas ordered. Mudkip fired Water Pulse, hitting Onix, dealing some heavy damage, resulting in a knockout.
"Onix is unable to battle! Mudkip wins!" The referee announced.
"Now, Roark has one left to use," Sora T said.
"Yeah, and I have a very good idea which one he's sending out next," Kairi said. Roark called back his Onix.
"Great job, Onix. Get yourself a good rest," Roark said. He took out his next Pokéball and held it. "That was a very impressive strategy you cooked up, Roxas! You're a very talented Pokémon Trainer. I hope you're ready for my final Pokémon. Rampardos! Go!" His Pokéball and his Rampardos emerged from inside, ready to battle.
"Rampardos!" Rampardos said.
"He has a Rampardos?!" Tai exclaimed.
"That Pokémon has been extinct for millions of years," Meiko said.
"Meowth," Little Mei said.
"Sora 2, you battled this guy yeaterday. What do you know about this Rampardos?" Matt asked.
"Only that Rampardos is very strong. That Pokémon gave me a real run for my money yesterday. It was just a Cranidos when I first saw it, but then it evolved during our match. It took out my Turtwig and Piplup without putting up too much of a sweat," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"I don't doubt it. That Rampardos looks like a real powerhouse," TK said.
"Rampardos! Zen Headbutt!" Roark ordered. The Headbutt Pokémon came at the Mudfish Pokémon with a Zen Headbutt.
"Dodge it and use Mud-Slap!" Roxas ordered. Mudkip avoids Rampardos's Zen Headbutt and fired a Mud-Slap at Rampardos.
"I don't think so! Dodge it!" Roark called out. Rampardos dodged Mudkip's Mud-Slap, much to everyone's surprise. "Headbutt!" Rampardos lands a Headbutt on Mudkip, resulting in a knockout.
"Mudkip is unable to battle! Rampardos wins!" The referee announced.
"I see what you meant, Sora 2. That Rampardos managed to take down Mudkip like it was not a problem," Kari said.
"Told you," Sora said. Roxas called back his Mudkip and he smiled.
"Great job, Mudkip. Rest up," Roxas said. He took out another Pokéball and threw it. "Chikorita! Back to action!" Chikorita came back out to battle. "Magical Leaf!" Chikorita unleashed a Magical Leaf and sends it right at Rampardos.
"Flamethrower!" Roark ordered. Rampardos fired a Flamethrower, burning Chikorita's Magical Leaf and then hitting Chikorita.
"Use Energy Ball!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita fired Energy Ball right at Rampardos.
"Dodge it!" Roark called out. Rampardos narrowly avoids Chikorita's Energy Ball. "Focus Energy and then, Zen Headbutt!" Rampardos builds up focus and then, ran toward Chikorita.
"Smack it with Vine Whip!" Roxas ordered. Chikorita smacked Rampardos with Vine Whip, but it didn't stop Rampardos from charging with Zen Headbutt. Rampardos successfully lands a hit onto Chikorita, reaulting in a knockout.
"Chikorita is unable to battle! Rampardos wins!" The referee announced.
"Now, Roxas has one left to use," Tai said.
"Let's hope this next one will make all the difference," Brendan said. Roxas called back his Chikorita.
"You battled hard, Chikorita. Get some rest," Roxas said. He took out his next Pokéball. "Well, here goes. Better make this next one count." Roxas threw the Pokéball. "Totodile! Go!" His Pokéball opened and his Totodile came out.
"Ah, so another Water-type was waiting for me after all. As I already told Sora, types alone don't win battles," Roark said.
"I know that just as well as Sora. I'm ready for anything you got," Roxas said.
"I hope so," Roark said, smiling. He points finger forward. "Rampardos! Use Zen Headbutt!"
"Totodile! Dodge it and use your Water Gun!" Roxas ordered. Totodile dodged Rampardos's Water Gun and fired Water Gun, hitting the Headbutt Pokémon.
"That scored a direct hit!" Davis said.
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it was enough," May said.
"May is right. Rampardos may have gotten hurt, but it looks like it'll take more than a Water Gun to take Rampardos down," Izzy said.
"Then, he'll have to try harder," Chase said.
"Okay, Totodile! Use Ice Fang!" Roxas ordered. Totodile came at Rampardos while its fangs emits ice. Totodile lands a hit onto Rampardos's leg, freezing it.
"That was an awesome hit!" Elaine said.
"Yeah, and fast, too," Ethan said.
"Rampardos! Flamethrower!" Roark ordered, firing a Flamethrower at the Big Jaw Pokémon.
"Water Gun!" Roxas ordered. Totodile and Rampardos fired their attacks at one another and an explosion occurred, dealing some damage on the both of them. They skid backwards.
"Rampardos! Focus Energy and Headbutt!" Roark ordered. Rampardos builds up focus and ran toward Totodile with a Headbutt.
"Totodile is really running circles around Rampardos," Tai said.
"Roxas did work on Totodile's speed all morning, so of course Totodile is going to move fast," Amy said.
"Dodge it and use Water Gun!" Roxas ordered. Totodile dodged Rampardos's Headbutt and fired a Water Gun. "Surf!" Totodile summoned water beneath its feet and it turned into a huge tidal wave.
"Totodile is riding that surf!" Meiko said.
"Meowth!" Little Mei said.
"Rampardos, try to get away! Hurry!" Roark called out. Rampardos tried to run as the tidal wave was coming down very fast. Rampardos is caught in the water and washed in the current of the water. Rampardos was still standing from that Surf.
"Man, I was sure that would have finished Rampardos off, but it's still holding on," Roxas said in his thoughts. He saw Rampardos was getting tired. "But Rampardos is losing steam."
"Rampardos has taken a lot of damage from that Surf. I have to end this battle fast," Roark said in his thoughts.
"Okay, Totodile! Use Water Gun!" Roxas ordered.
"Flamethrower!" Roark ordered.
Both Pokémon fired their chosen attacks at one another. They both held on, but Totodile's Water Gun overpowered Rampardos's Flamethrower due to the fact Rampardos was tired from the hit from Surf. Rampardos is then struck hard by Totodile's Water Gun.
"Use Scratch!" Roxas ordered. Totodile dashed at Rampardos and lands a Scratch, dealing some light damage on Rampardos, but it was enough to bring Rampardos down for the count.
"Rampardos is unable to battle! Totodile wins! The winner is Roxas from Pallet Town!" The referee announced. Everyone all cheered hard for Roxas. Sora and Xion were especially proud of Roxas having to win his very first Gym battle.
"Lea, this whole battle was for you. Get it memorized," Roxas said in his thoughts. Roark called back his Rampardos.
"You battled hard, Rampardos. Get yourself a long rest," Roark said. He approached Roxas and he smiled. "That was some impressive battling you did, Roxas. I was told that this is your very first Gym battle, right?"
"Yeah. I never had a Gym battle before this one, and I enjoyed my very first taste of a Gym battle," Roxas said.
"Well, the way you battled tells me otherwise. You battled like you had one before; and you raised your Pokémon very well. I can tell you're going to go very far in life. As proof of your victory here in the Oreburgh City Gym, I will reward you the Coal Badge," Roark said, handing Roxas his very first Gym Badge. Roxas placed it in his Badge Case.
"Thanks, Roark," Roxas said. He looked at his Gym Badge and smiled. "My very first Gym Badge." Roxas knew he now has seven more Gym Badges to earn. After the battle, Roxas kept his promise to Xion and treated her to some sea salt ice cream. "Like I promised."
"You're sweet, Roxas," Xion said. She smiled. "That ice cream is one thing, but here's another thing I owe you." She gave Roxas a kiss on the cheek, making him blush.
"You're just as sweet," Roxas said.
"You should start eating it before it starts to melt," Xion said.
"Right," Roxas said, eating his ice cream as Xion started to eat hers. Sora and Roxas watched their siblings eat their ice cream treats.
"Roxas is lucky to have a supportive girlfriend, Kairi," Sora said.
"Who do you think she takes up after?" Kairi reminded her boyfriend.
"Yeah, you're right. She would back him up all the way, just like you would for me," Sora said.
"And I always will, and I know she always will, too," Kairi said.
"Yeah," Sora said.
Both Sora and Kairi gave each other a kiss on the lips as Roxas and Xion does the same when they had finished their ice cream.
It feels like the Pokémon Stadium Cup all over again. Roxas who is his Nobody as well as his adopted brother has become his rival in their quest in the Sinnoh region's Gym challenge. But how will Roxas fare in the battles, and how soon will Roxas and Xion see Lea again? How would any them react in seeing him for that matter? Stay tuned if you wanna see more.