Today our heroes finally arrived in Rustboro City and Aqua was quite excited to be in a big city.
“Look at all the tall buildings, the bustling crowds, all of it is amazing, “Aqua said.
“Is this your first time here?” Fluttershy asked.
“This is my first time going beyond Petalburg City so of course I'm excited to see someplace new,” Aqua said.
“Well in any case let’s look for the gym,” Turquoise said.
“Slow down Turquoise, do you know what type the gym leader specializes in?” Fluttershy asked.
“You are right, we must find out,” Turquoise said. Suddenly a group of kids along with a a woman who was dressed as a schoolteacher walked by them. Suddenly one of the Pokémon that was with them ran towards Turquoise and began sniffing her which took turquoise by surprise. Suddenly the woman approached them.
“Now Eevee you know better than to approach strangers like that, “The woman scolded which made Eevee look slightly saddened. “Sorry about that, one of my students was supposed to look after her.
“Yeah Stephanie, wasn’t Eevee supposed to be your buddy on this trip?” A girl who looked no older than eight said to another girl of the same age who looked down.
“Come on Blair, you know Steph is shy around Pokémon,” A boy said.
“You stay out of this Willie,” Blair said.
“Buddy?” Aqua asked. Suddenly Turquoise noticed the tag on Eevee’s tail.
“First introduction, I’m Roxanne, the gym leader of the Rustboro Gym and a teacher at the school next to it,” Roxanne said.
“Teacher? So that tag on Eevee’s tail?” Aqua asked.
“Is what all students and Pokémon are required to wear while on field trips, it’s to ensure we don’t get separated,” Roxanne said.
“Guess now it’s our turn for introductions, I’m Turquoise, “Turquoise said.
“And I'm Aqua, “Aqua said.
“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said.
“Now that introductions are out of the way, you said you were the gym leader, right?” Turquoise asked.
“I did,” Roxxane said.
“It just so happens I came here to challenge the Rustboro gym,” Turquoise said.
“I would be more than happy to challenge you but first allow me to show you around the school,” Roxanne said.
“Sure, I guess we have time,” Turquoise said.
“Don’t worry, the school, is located right next to the gym,” Roxanne said before having the girls follow her and the students. Sometime later the girls were now inside the trainer school with Roxanne leading the way. “We teach many classes here involving Pokémon. The first stop was a classroom with trainers working with their Pokémon on contest stuff. “Here trainers learn how to be Pokémon coordinators.
“Impressive,” Turquoise said.
“I’ll say,” Aqua said. The girls moved on, and Roxanne showed them various classes including one where kids were doing mock battles with the Pokémon that belonged to the school. Turquoise noticed Steph and Eevee were challenging Blair and her Skitty. She also noticed that Steph was not giving any commands while Blair was practically barking orders with confidence which resulted in Eevee taking big damage.
“Ok that’s enough, Blair and Skitty win,” The teacher who was serving as the ref said which cued Blair and Skitty to stop.
“Why did he stop the match? Don’t battles ends when one side is unable to continue?” Aqua asked.
“Because these are mock battles, designed to teach the students what a battle is like, we don’t go for the kill since this is meant for learning and there is nothing to gain from these battles other than experience,” Roxanne explained.
“I think that’s brilliant, “Fluttershy said. Turquoise noticed how down Steph looked and approached her.
“You ok? I noticed you were not giving commands to Eevee,” Turquoise asked.
“I’m not ok, if anything I should not even be here like Blair said,” Steph said.
“Why would you think you don’t belong here?” Turquoise asked.
“Because I'm no good with Pokémon and they are scary,” Steph said.
“Sure, some Pokémon can be quite intimidating, but they are also quite friendly once you bond with them, Take Eevee for example. They love affection and companionship, I can tell you two have a connection,” Turquoise said.
“You do? “Steph asked.
“I do, and you two can be almost unbeatable if you work together,” Turquoise said.
“What is Turquoise doing?” Aqua asked Fluttershy.
“Helping someone who needs it, she tends to be quite observant and wants to help, if possible,” Fluttershy said. Suddenly Eevee rubbed up against Steph affectionately which showed she liked Steph.
“Good, now the next time you battle Blair Don’t act so nervous, Eevee wants to help you win and to do that you must give commands confidently and without fear,” Turquoise said.
“She is right, Pokémon can sense your feelings and if you feel you can’t do it then they will feel the same way,” The teacher said.
“Not like that will make a difference, Stupid Steph will lose again,” Blair said while laughing like some entitled rich brat.
“That is quite enough Blair, one more word and your Pokémon privileges will be revoked,” The Teacher said making it clear he will take Skitty away should she say one more word.
“Can he do that?” Aqua asked.
“Of course he can, battling here is a privilege not a right,” Roxanne said. “Now I believe you wanted to challenge my gym.
“I do but I have a request,” Turquoise said.
“What is it?” Roxanne asked.
“Can Steph watch our battle? I think this might be helpful for her,” Turquoise said.
“I see, you are hoping that seeing you in action will show her the confidence she needs, very well I will allow it,” Roxanne said. Sometime later the girls were now inside the gym which had a rock battlefield full of big boulders. “Care to guess what type I use?
“Based on the battlefield I would say you're a Rock-type specialist,” Turquoise said.
“Correct, I hope you're ready, “Roxanne said before taking her side of the battlefield.
“You better believe I'm ready,” Turquoise said as she stood on her end. The girls took their seats in the stands while one of the older students took his position on the ref’s spot.
“The battle between Roxanne the gym leader and turquoise the challenger will now begin. Both sides will use two Pokémon and the battle will be over when both of one side’s Pokémon are unable to battle, furthermore, only the challenger will be permitted to substitute Pokémon, “The ref said with both sides in agreement. “Let the battle start.
“Geodude I chose you, “Roxanne said as she called out her Geodude. Aqua pulled out her pokedex to learn about it.
“Geodude, The Rock Pokémon, at rest, it looks just like a rock. Carelessly stepping on it will make it swing its fists angrily.
“Go Sprigatito,” Turquoise said as she called out her Sprigatito. Sprigatito use leafage. Sprigatito unleashed a bunch of leaves which were heading for Geodude.
“Geodude use Defense Curl. geodude curled up and managed to raise its defense thus reducing the damage from leafage. “Now use Rock Polish. Geodude began spinning vertically while rotating which resulted in its body becoming lighter which increased its speed stat. Now use Rollout. Geodude began rolling around the field at high speed before focusing its aim on Sprigatito.
“Dodge and use Hone claws. Sprigatito did a backflip out of the way while sharpening her claws which increased her attack and accuracy. “Now use Scratch. Sprigatito came at geodude who stopped rolling and managed to land a decent scratch on it which resulted in small damage.
“Not bad but we have one last surprise. Geodude use Mega Punch. Geodude came at Sprigatito fast and delivered a strong punch that sent her flying towards one of the boulders and to hit the ground. Fortunately, Sprigatito could keep going but was down to low health which caused her body to be covered in a green aura that Turquoise recognized.
“What is happening with Sprigatito?” Aqua asked.
“That would be her ability, Overgrow, when a grass-type like Sprigatito is down to low health this ability kicks in and increases the strength of their grass-type moves,” Fluttershy explained.
“But will it be enough?” Aqua asked.
“Let’s watch and find out,” fluttershy said.
“All right Sprigatito let’s do this, Use leafage. Sprigatito prepared to do her leafage and when she unleashed it the leaves looked different which meant it was a completely different move.
“What is that?” Aqua asked.
“That’s magical leaf,” Fluttershy said. The magical leaf kept going and managed to land a powerful hit on Geodude which resulted in geodude fainting.
“Geodude is unable to battle, Sprigatito is the winner,” The ref said while pointing his right flag at Turquoise.
“Nice work Sprigatito,” Turquoise said.
“Return Geodude,” Roxanne said as she recalled Geodude. You were great, now rest. I must say your Sprigatito is quite tenacious. Most opponents don’t get back up after a single mega punch.
“Thanks,” Turquoise said.
“But now your true test begins, Nosepass, I chose you,” Roxanne said as she called out a blue creature that looked to be made of metal with a big red triangle shaped nose that looked like the needle of a compass. Turquoise pulled out her pokedex since this was a new Pokémon she was seeing.
“Nosepass, the compass Pokémon, the magnet in Nosepass's nose provides an unerring compass, making this Pokémon an excellent partner for Trainers going on a journey,” The pokedex said.
“Return Sprigatito,” Turquoise said as she recalled Sprigatito.
“Why is she recalling Sprigatito now after she learned that new move? “Aqua asked.
“Because Sprigatito took a lot of damage from that mega punch and most likely won’t survive another battle at less than a third strength,” Fluttershy said. Turquoise pulled out another pokeball.
“Go Espeon, “Turquoise said as She sent out Espeon who landed on the battlefield elegantly.
“Espeon? Wouldn’t Treecko be a better matchup?” Aqua asked.
“He would but Turquoise has faith in her partner, “Fluttershy said. Steph took those words to heart.
“Battle resume,” The ref said.
“Nosepass use Rock Tomb. nosepass leaped up before coming down hard which resulted in some jagged rocks poking out and trapping Espeon.
“Espeon use Swift. Espeon unleashed her strongest swift which managed to break the rocks. “Now use psybeam. Espeon unleashed her Psybeam which was heading for Nosepass but Roxanne was not worried.
“Nosepass use Sandstorm. Nosepass unleashed a powerful sandstorm that covered the field and obstructed espeon’s vision which caused psybeam to miss. “Now use Power gem. Nosepass unleashed a blast of red energy from its nose which was heading straight for Espeon. With her vision obscured by sandstorm Turquoise needed to figure out another way to dodge the attack which luckily, she did.
“Espeon use your ears and listen for the sound of nosepass’s attack. Espeon closed her eyes and focused. She suddenly picked up on the sounds of the Power gem cutting through the sand and managed to dodge it by leaping upwards.
“Your Espeon is fast but that won’t work here. Nosepass use Thunder Wave. Nosepass discharged some blue electricity and sent it towards Espeon as soon as she landed. Once the sandstorm cleared up it was revealed that Nosepass was the one paralyzed instead of Espeon. “How can this be? Your Espeon should be the one paralyzed not my Nosepass.
“My Espeon’s hidden ability is called Magic Bounce, it sends all non-damaging attacks back to the Pokémon who launched them,” Turquoise explained.
“Nosepass use Power gem. Nosepass tried to move but the paralysis prevented that.
“Espeon use psychic. Espeon lifted Nosepass off the ground with Psychic before slamming it hard on the ground which resulted in a lot of damage but unfortunately Nosepass survived thanks to its sturdy ability.
“You're not the only ones with abilities, nosepass’s ability is sturdy which allows it to survive a one kit ko, “Roxanne explained.
“I know that which is why I’m about to win this with one last attack. Espeon use swift. Espeon unleashed swift but Roxxane refused to give up.
“Dodge it Nosepass. Nosepass tried to move but the paralysis was still preventing it and soon it got nailed for the final blow which caused it to faint.
“Nosepass is unable to battle, Espeon is the winner which means the winner is Turquoise the challenger, “The ref said while pointing his right flag at Turquoise.
“We did it, we won,” Turquoise said with excitement. Roxanne recalled her Nosepass and approached Turquoise.
“That was a splendid battle and I see Steph learned a valuable lesson from watching,” Roxanne said before pulling out a gold badge with a unique design. “As proof of your victory I present you with the stone badge. Turquoise accepted it and placed it in her badge case. “So where are you girls going next?
“To the next gym I guess and hopefully another contest along the way,” Turquoise said.
“Then might I recommend the Dewford Town gym,” Roxanne said.
“Sounds good, but first we need to find a map of this region,” Fluttershy said.
“You should check out Devon Corp, they might have what you are looking for, “Roxanne said.
“We will do that first thing tomorrow,” Turquoise said as they left for the Pokémon center for the day. And so Turquoise walks away with her first gym badge of the region, what adventures await our heroes next? Stay tuned as the journey continues.
TO BE CONTINUED