An Absolute Gem of a Journey [Emerald Nuzlocke]

[Kerou 犠牲]

A bit of a short one, sorry guys ^^;



Chapter 5: I Wanna Rock

I entered Rustboro City and, after healing my Pokémon, wasted no time in entering the Pokémon School. The memories began to flow back as I stood at the back, watching the aspiring youth learn the basics of Pokémon.

"It's great, isn't it? Seeing the future of today at the very beginning of their journey," The man next to me said. I realised it was the man who ran past me in Petalburg.

"It is. In a few years time they will be leaving their homes and get out there into the open world," I replied swiftly. The man looked up and down at me, almost creating an opinion of me from that.

"The name's Scott.  I presume you're going to challenge Roxanne?" Scott asked, revealing himself in the process.

"Yeah I am, my name's GL by the way."

He laughed to himself as he began to leave the room.

"I'll keep my eye on you. Don't forget to visit the Cut Master once you're done," he smiled.

I decided to follow suit and leave the room. I gave my team a quick pep talk before entering the Gym. A man in a green suit strolled to me and briefed me on the leader, making my task somewhat easier. I quickly dispatched of the trainers inside and rested ahead of the challenge against Roxanne.

"So, you're my challenger for today? Let's see how much you've learned from school then!"

Oscar made light work of her Geodudes, leaving just a Nosepass. A few Double Kicks later and the match was over. I had received my first badge; the Stone Badge.



I left the building quickly before seeing a man run out of the large Devon Corporation building. I sprinted up to find out what was going on.

"Oh, it's you again! I need your help! They've stolen the package again! They've gone towards Rusturf Tunnel!" He shouted desperately. I nodded sharply before running through to Route 116. On my way to the tunnel I saw an older gentleman pace forwards and backwards.

"Excuse me sir, is there anything wrong?" I asked politely.

"Yes! A thug stole my beloved Peeko!" He sharply responded, pointing in the direction of Rusturf Tunnel.

"Don't worry, I'll get him back for you," I smiled, quickly entering the tunnel.

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 18
Double Kick
Peck
Focus Energy
Ember


Jay – Lv. 17
Astonish
Absorb
Nature Power
Growl

[Richard and Blaziken]

Post mooooar D:<

But yes, congrats on your first badge! Roxane can be tough!

[Kerou 犠牲]

Post mooooar D:<

don't worry, I will do, I've got up to chapter 30 planned =P
I'll edit this post tomorrow when I finish off the next chapter though ^^;

also yeah as a heads up I'm trying to stay as close to the Emerald storyline but there will be "changes" =D

actually sod it, will post it now. Sorry if there's any errors or whatnot, didn't double check whoops



Chapter 6: Please Mr. Postman

The Team Aqua grunt grimaced as he saw me from a distance and began to back away slowly before crashing into a pair of rocks. He charged into them in the hope of destroying them, fortunately his attempts were futile. I smiled as I strolled up to him.

"Hand everything over!" I barked, causing him to sigh in defeat.

"My boss is gonna kill me..." He muttered before sprinting out of the tunnel.

I managed to court the Wingull back to his owner who was very grateful for it. Entering Rustboro once again, I gave the package back to the man in the suit, in return he gave me another Great Ball. I tried to walk away to focus on other matters.

"Actually, before you leave, can you come with me please?" He asked sharply. I raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his question. "Don't worry, it'll be purely business."

He took me inside Devon Corp. and led me to the boardroom to meet with the president, Mr. Stone. He instructed me to sit down opposite him; with a glass of whiskey in hand, he began to speak.

"Thank you for your help, you've done something very important for us. This is why I have a proposition for you, the package you keep on recovering for me needs to be taken to Captain Stern in Slateport City and it seems I can't just leave this with any employee with Team Aqua causing mayhem and considering your track record in these situations I believe you can be trusted!" He requested with a sharp stare in his eyes. "Another thing too. En route, I need this delivering to Steven, I believe he's in Dewford so you'd be doing me a huge, personal favour! So, will you?"

"I do..."

"Brilliant!"

He interrupted me before I could even get into my sentence, I didn't know how to get over to these places let alone do errands for other people.

"Of course, I won't let you do this without reward; on behalf of the company I will be giving you usage of one of our most popular inventions, the PokéNav and you will be allowed to keep it after you're done! I already got one of our employees to sort out an arrangement with the local Cut Master so here's HM01 too," He smiled as he passed a box full of items, including what needed to be delivered, over to me. I nervously smiled before leaving the room.

As I walked outside of the building May caught me by surprise; sprinting towards me with a smile on her face.

"Talk of the town is saying that you helped stop Team Aqua GL! Must have taken some good battling skills to do that!" She shouted in a jovial manner.

"Yeah, I guess you can say I've gotten better," I laughed in response.

"Good, because we're going to have a battle, whether you like it or not!"

The battle between us went on for a while, her Torkoal especially being somewhat problematic. Luckily, Jay managed to pull through and defeat all of her Pokémon. She frowned dramatically, almost as if she didn't expect such an improvement.

"Wow, you've gotten better so quickly... so I presume you're going to take the Gym Challenge?" She questioned post-match.

"Hopefully, I don't even know where to go next though, especially with Rusturf Tunnel still being blocked and Dad, well, he won't battle me yet..." I muttered, almost hoping she'd give me a hint in where to go.

"Well, rumour has it the old man you helped happened to be an old sea captain, maybe you should ask him if he could take you to Dewford? There's a Gym there after all!"

"Oh right, I will ask him then. I've got to go to Dewford any way," I smiled graciously. May jumped in shock.

"Why... are you working for Devon Corp. now?" She asked inquisitively. I briefly explained the whole story to her.

"Oh... well that sounds like fun! You'll have more of a reason to go out there and explore! Don't worry, I'll be around in places too, I said I'd help my Dad with some PokéDex things too," May responded comfortingly. I nervously laughed in agreement.

"You might as well register me on your new PokéNav too in case we need to help each other," She added almost cautiously.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea!"

We traded contact details and decided to take our separate ways. On the way to Mr. Briney's cottage I added some more numbers into my PokéNav, a few of them showed interest in battling each other again in the future. After this, I went to Mr. Briney's house, again seeing the door open. I pushed it open slightly to see it not empty this time; instead he was chasing his beloved Peeko around the house.

"Excuse me sir, but could you please take me to Dewford?" I asked reluctantly. He stopped in his tracks before strolling to me.

"Oh, you're the lad from before, of course I can. Get in the boat, we'll join you in a few minutes," he smiled in response. I stepped onto the boat and sighed before my PokéNav began to ring from an unknown number...

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 21
Double Kick
Peck
Focus Energy
Ember


Jay – Lv. 21
Astonish
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out

[Richard and Blaziken]

Looking forward to seeing more of this, and glad everyone survived the brutal May battle. So unfair that she gets a Torkoal if you choose Torchic.

Also, this one seemed a bit rushed, so maybe try to make the next one a bit more fleshed out at the important bits? Makes for a more fun read, especially since I know you're good at writing battle scenes. :3

[Kerou 犠牲]

Yeah it kinda is; I got about excited about plans I've got later on so I kinda rushed, my bad.
This one has more battling though (and in the future I've got some big battle scenes planned so yeah, whilst I've got my core stuff things will get expanded, especially when key characters come in)



Chapter 7: Fight For Your Right

Hesitantly, I answered the call on the PokéNav.

"We're watching you. Don't think you can get away from meddling in our business."

There was no answer after that. The voice was raspy but aggressive; immediately I presumed it had come from someone in Team Aqua. I sighed heavily, knowing full well that there would be more trouble along the way.

"You alright lad? We're ready to go now," Mr. Briney interrupted. I swiftly nodded, trying to hide the call I'd just received. He walked to the front of the boat, shaking his head before setting sail.

On the journey Roxanne, who had received the number from Mr. Stone, and Dad, who subsequently got it from Roxanne, rang me for future contact; the latter showed a hint of pride after hearing of my win, even if he remained unenthusiastic for family matters. I decided to rest over the journey; after all it had been an eventful day.

"Wake up! We're here!"

I rubbed my eyes gently as I began to exit my slumber, slowly opening my eyes to see Dewford Town in front of me.

"Peeko and I are going to enjoy a light spot of fishing. Care to join us for a while? You look like you need a break," Mr. Briney asked, holding out what looked to be an old and worn fishing rod.

"That's a good idea, thanks," I stated, taking the rod from his hand.

We sat down at the edge of the island, rods in the sea, discussing the future. It almost felt like I had a father again. Unfortunately, the fishing did not go too well, all that I managed to get on my lure was a Magikarp which I decided to call Poseidon. At this stage it would not be useful though, realising this, I played it into the box in my PC with the other Pokémon I had caught. At this point I walked around town, trying to find out the whereabouts of Steven; a local resident told me that he had gone inside Granite Cave. I tried to look inside but the depths were so dark it would require a light to make any sort of progress through it possible.

At this point, I decided to challenge the Gym in Dewford. The trainers did not cause too much of a problem and, after healing my Pokémon some more, I challenged Brawly to a match. I was aware of his offensive style of battling after speaking to the man in the green suit and gave an Oran Berry for Oscar to hold onto in case of emergency.

The battle itself started slowly as his Machop used Bulk Up and Oscar began by using Focus Energy. After this, Oscar began to use a barrage of kicks onto the Machop, causing it to faint relatively quickly, despite it being able to get some offense in through the form of Karate Chop. Meditite was next, due to its part Psychic type I knew I couldn't rush in with another Double Kick. I instructed Oscar to Peck at it, finishing it with just two hits. This left only his Makuhita who seemed a lot stronger than the rest. It immediately used Bulk Up which allowed it to soak up the damage extremely well. It looked like the battle was still in my favour until both Pokémon began to pant and ate their respective berries; Makuhita had consumed a much bigger and revitalising Sitrus Berry which seemed to give it a new lease of life. After taking another hit well, it used a powerful Vital Throw which caused Oscar to pant heavily; he was struggling to the point in which any form of contact would cause it to faint.

I knew I had to take a risk, for the most part Oscar could cope better than Jay with physical attacks so throwing Jay in there against a bulked up Makuhita would have been a huge risk with a small chance of a pay off. I bit my lip, knowing that any slip here could put a premature end to my potential Gym Challenge. I looked at Oscar who stared back at me before he nodded and switched his attention back onto the Makuhita which had almost developed a wry smile on its face. There seemed to be a small fire in Oscar's eyes, as if he was ready to prove himself in a clutch situation. I looked at the ground, sighed slowly, before instructing one more move.

"Double Kick Oscar! Put everything you've got into it!"

Oscar ran up to the Makuhita and almost analysed it before leaping and unleashing a kick; it had managed to use its focus to pinpoint where exactly the weakspot was and made contact in the right area, causing a heavy wince after the first kick before the faint after the second. The match had been won; I wiped the sweat off of my brow and shook Brawly's hand. We exchanged PokéNav details and he advised me about the HM Flash; a hiker within the cave gave me the HM and after teaching it to a Shroomish I had caught previously, I made my way through the cave.



The cave itself was dark, damp but shiny due to the collection of rocks scattered around. A number of Geodudes helped shaped some of the walls too; without realising, I touched one; however I did manage to catch it to add to my PokéDex. I continued on, trying not to disrupt any more of the wild Pokémon. It didn't take me long to find my way to what seemed to be a more beautiful section; many more rare stones were reflecting beautifully alongside a small pool of water. The Pokémon here seemed tranquil and at ease with their environment. In the corner of the room was a man, crouched, studying a selection of the rocks.

"Excuse me, but you don't happen to be Steven do you?"

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 23
Double Kick
Peck
Focus Energy
Ember


Jay – Lv. 22
Astonish
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out

[Richard and Blaziken]

Liked this chapter a lot. Short, but it got every important bit in and it was a fun read!

Looking forward to the next chapter! Geodude may be useful for the next Gym Leader too!

[Kerou 犠牲]

Chapter 8: Downeaster Alexa

The man rose from his position and turned to face me, his silver hair glistened like some of the stones in the cave. He took a few steps towards me and looked straight into my eyes.

"You're Norman's son aren't you? It's a pleasure to meet you, I am indeed Steven," He smiled assuringly. I nodded before quickly reaching into my bag.

"Mr. Stone asked me to give you this," I respondedly quickly. He began to read it, slowly looking more disappointed as he progressed through each sentence.

"Thank you. I didn't expect to receive news like this so soon. I think we'll meet each other again soon, so let's trade PokéNav information," Steven added, almost braving a false smile. Intrigued, I looked at him in a perplexed manner.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. There's more pressing matters I need to attend to right now. Don't be afraid to contact me if you need help with anything, I know trouble's going to pick up soon," he explained before departing the cave. I paused and later scratched my head, confused as to what had actually transpired.

After leaving the cave and resting at the Pokécenter, Mr. Briney and I headed for Slateport. The journey did not take too long, the trainers gathered across the route had moved out of the way for a safe path. The sun shined beautiful onto the lazy waves, creating a calm and beautiful atmosphere. It had become the most enjoyable part of the adventure so far; the numerous Wingulls and Pelippers flying around seemed to have the same feeling. As we reached the port I wished we were still travelling, mainly due to knowing that I would not be able to get many more moments to appreciate the landscape around me.

"This is where we have to depart lad, it's been a pleasure though. Hope to see you again one day," Mr. Briney chirped; chuckling to myself, I shook his hand. It seemed like he had become a bit of a softy in his old age.

On the beach outside of Slateport, a few trainers were queueing outside of what was called "Seashore House"; a place for those to test themselves in the eyes of the owner. Due to being always up for a challenge, I followed suit and entered, managing to defeat the other competitors with relative ease. The owner was impressived enough to give me a six pack of Soda Pop; one of the local sailors in particular seemed disappointed, I presume due to the fact that if I was of age it would have been a pack of alcoholic beverages given as a token of success.

Slateport City itself was beautiful; the markets were bustling with everyone taking in the naval atmosphere. A number of people had gathered inside the Pokémon Fan Club; upon entering I was bombarded by a television reporter who enquired about my relationship with Oscar. She seemed impressed by my answers and how I seemed a natural in front of the spotlight. Oscar on the other hand seemed to shy away from the cameras. Chuckling to myself, I returned him to his Pokéball and left the building.

Staring across to the other side of the city, I noticed a gathering of Team Aqua members rush into the Oceanic Museum; sensing trouble I decided to sprint in after them. The entrance fee was only a measly 50; having paid I approached the villainous group.

"It's you... you're here again. Blast!"

The member I dealt with in Rustboro City approached me with a grimace of disappointment. He looked deeply at me, almost trying to faze me out. Due to not getting the intended reaction, he shook his head before walking out of the building. I raced up the stairs to warn the owner of the museum.

"Excuse me sir, but you've got Team Aqua downstairs and they're not going to be here for a family day out!" I warned loudly, making sure I got his attention.

"Oh, well I presume they will be here about the Devon Goods I'm expecting."

"So you're Captain Stern! Take this and stay behind me!" I ordered as a grabbed the package of my bag and handed it over swiftly. A few Aqua grunts sprinted up the stairs, Pokéballs on deck, ready to ambush. A wry smile grew on my face, eager to save the day.

"Jay, use Absorb! Oscar, use Double Kick!"

The pair began to plough through the numerous Poochyenas and Carvahnas they had tried to unleash on Sterm, none of them able to break through the power of my Pokémon, despite the blind, aggressive approach from the group. They began to slowly retreat, knowing that they were not going to break through the defence.

"At ease men. This isn't worth this much trouble!"

Thinking for a second, I began to realise that I recognised the voice; it was the one from the anonymous call on the PokéNav. The same sharpness was apparently as well as what seemed to be a deep aggression to it.



"You're not getting the goods!" I barked protectively.

"Wait, you're the one who stopped us before?! You?! You're just a kid! I thought it'd be a member of that Team Magma scum! I don't know whether to be ecstatic or upset!" He scoffed. I tried to response before he grabbed me sharply.

"Look kid, you're out of your depth here. You don't understand how important it is for us to complete our mission. You can take your little win here and your little win before and you can keep them locked up in that naïve memory bank of yours. Leave it at that. You don't want to get crushed. You got away with this one too Stern!" He explained aggressively before letting go of me. Glaring almost into my soul for a few seconds, he turned around and exited the building with his cohort of minions following him.

"Are you okay?" Stern asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go now..."

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 24
Double Kick
Peck
Focus Energy
Ember


Jay – Lv. 24
Astonish
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out

[Richard and Blaziken]

Oh man, I can't wait to see what all this builds up to! The rival teams are so interesting in these games.

Also, seems you're having rough luck with Pokemon, hope you get something else decent soon!

[Kerou 犠牲]

sorry for the lack of updates, been working on some other things ^^;

but yeah, in terms of game play, I'm actually all done so it's just about writing it all done haha, I'll try and get the next update done as soon as possible D:

[Richard and Blaziken]

No worries, I get the same way. Dick and I are closing in on Gym 8 in our Nuzlocke, haha.

[Kerou 犠牲]

we're starting to warm to some juicy stuff hopefully now =]



Chapter 9: Handlebars

Having left the museum, Scott bombarded me with questions about what had happened. I tried to escape him but his resilience was astounding. I eventually added him in my PokéNav after he confirmed that he was interested in 'scouting' me. Afterwards, he took me to the City's Battle Tent, suggesting I should 'test myself' with it. I obliged and took part in a few battles with some of the house Pokémon provided; after winning each of them, I was given a Full Heal as a prize. Impressed, Scott congratulated me before heading off to find more potential trainers.

Moving on towards Route 110, I managed to catch a Gulpin before heading into what was called 'Trick House'. Upon entering, the owner seemed to disappear and hide underneath a table, I think he may have been a kid in spirit bless him. After speaking with him, he showed me through to the back where he had developed a room with 'trials', unfortunately they were too easy. He told me to return later when he had created tougher ones.

Onwards through the Route, I managed to bump into May, who was researching Pokémon for Professor Birch. We decided to have another rematch; she seemed intent on making sure I had been training properly. Again, I was left disappointed to find the match so one sided. She gave me an Itemfinder after the match, before riding off on her bicycle; a hint of jealousy grew, I would have much preferred one of those to an Itemfinder. She also had the cheek to tell me to train harder, despite me winning so comfortably. A few seconds passed before Professor Birch found me.

"Oh, hello GL! It's a pleasure to see you," He smiled, shaking my hand firmly.

"Is May not here with you?" He asked swiftly with a confused look on his face.

"No, she left just before you got here."

"Oh, right. I expected her to stick around for a bit. Anyway, it meant be easier if it was just me talking to you about this. I don't think May's mature enough to properly understand all of this..."

The tone in Birch's voice was disheartening; he almost sounded distraught with what he was going to divulge into.

"Word is spreading about your involvement with Team Aqua; some are calling it heroics and some think you're working under Team Magma. Now, I know you're not working for them, it's just easy for the media to paint the picture; a teen on his adventure after his parents splitting up, craving the attention of his father and constantly being disappointed... it's easy for them. You need to make sure you don't get too involved with all of this because it could turn ugly for everyone. People know you're an aspiring trainer so yoi've got some interest, next time you get a chance to speak to the cameras you need to clear up your stance on both teams," Birch explained.

"All I wanted to do was help someone..." I sighed in response.

"I know, I know... I'm just worried. It makes me worried for May too since she seems to be interested in making sure you stay okay and I don't want her dragged into it."

"I'll tell her to stay out of it next time I see her then."

"Wait, 'stay out of it'? You're not going to stop getting involved?"

"The thing is, I can't just let Team Aqua do whatever it is they are planning. The same applies to Team Magma if I run into them too. I can't stop and pretend like nothing's happened. I met Archie and he seemed intent on realising his goal, I just can't let that happen. You've got to let me handle this."

"... Fine. Don't do something out of your depth though. You're still a kid after all."



I entered Mauville City about 10 minutes after my discussion with Professor Birch and immediately was greeted by a man plastered in 'Rydel' clothing.

"You must be GL? Correct?" The man asked softly. I smiled and nodded.

"Your father rang, he has a gift for you. My name is Rydel and I own the Bike Store; your father has bought you a bike! He heard that your mother had bought you some running shoes and felt like that wouldn't be as useful as a bicycle."

The bike was the perfect size, it was red with 'RYDEL'  in bold white; it couldn't be missed. It seemed incredibly well made; durable but fast. I felt grateful for the fact that I had received a bike but at the same time, I almost felt like Dad was trying to outdo Mum rather than be completely helpful. However, I was not going to turn down an opportunity to utilise the bike; I decided to test it at the cycle path, before entering the guide said there was a challenge for cyclists to see how quickly they could ride. I gave it a go and managed a respectable 10.06 seconds. Afterwards, I rode around, talking to various people about how to look after the bike; I guess I was grateful after all.

The day was reaching a close so I rode back into Mauville and rested in the PokéCenter for the evening.

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 28
Double Kick
Peck
Bulk Up
Ember


Jay – Lv. 27
Fury Swipes
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out

[Richard and Blaziken]

Another good chapter! I really do like the direction this is taking with GL getting caught up with the teams and such. My main concern is the lack of Pokemon captured so far, but you're still early in the adventure, I'm sure you'll get some more things soon. Can't wait to see the next Chapter! I wonder how you're gonna deal with Wattson...

[Kerou 犠牲]

Heh, even with this I ended up being picky about Pokémon in my team. Did it pay off? You'll have to wait and see. No Wattson yet unfortunately =P



Chapter 10: With A Little Help From My Friends

The sun beamed brightly through the window I was staying in, reflecting on the screen of my PokéNav and straight into the direction of my eyes. Stretching with my eyelids slammed shut, I rose from my sleeping position, spruced myself up and got dressed before heading out of the room. I collected my Pokémon from the nurse and headed out of the PokéCenter in a lackadaisacal manner. I stretched strongly once outside, letting the light shine down onto my covered chest.

"Please Uncle! Please let me challenge the Gym!" I heard in the distance, a somewhat familiar voice. I switched my attention to the right, seeing Wally with his Uncle. The two seemed to have an intense discussion, out of intrigue I made my way over them.

"Hey Wally, long time no see!" I smiled joyfully. The pair simultaneously switched their attention to me.

"Oh, it's good to see you GL! My Uncle doesn't think I'm ready to approach the Gym yet but I've been working really hard!" Wally joyfully responded, resulting in a sigh from his uncle.

"That's good to hear... why don't we test out your skills then? Whoever wins gets to face the Gym Leader first," I asked with a sense of intrigue; I was desperate to find out how much he had improved.

"That's a great idea GL. This could be a good measuring stick for you Wally; if you win then you were right after all!" Wally's Uncle piped in before moving out of the way.

"Okay, here we go! Let's go Rara!" Wally exclaimed, releasing his Ralts into the battlefield. It stood firmly, matching Wally's intensity.

"This is a chance to test ourselves Jay!" I responded, allowing the Lombre to gain some valuable experience. "Strike it early with a Fury Swipes attack!"

"Quick, respond with Double Team!"

The Ralts began to separate into different copies, leaving Jay in a state of surprise. Trying to counter it, he began to swipe viciously at all the copies with no luck of catching the real one.

"Now, take advantage and use Confusion!" Wally ordered, resulting in his Ralts jumping away of the remaining copies and using its mind to control Jay, throwing it to the ground. The Lombre rose up and dusted itself off before awaiting the next instruction.

"Try an Absorb attack to weaken it!" I barked loudly in an attempt to shift the momentum. Jay latched itself onto the Ralts and began to sap some of the energy away from the opposition.

"Push it off with Confusion and follow it up with Double Team Rara!" Wally responded; the Ralts focused its energy to forcing Jay to move away before surrounding it with more copies.

"Let's finish this Jay. Use Nature Power!" I ordered; nodding, the Lombre stood and focused before using the surroundings to create a barrage of stars which hit all of the copies of Ralts, including the legitimate one. The blinding shine of the stars disappeared and left the Pokémon on the floor, unable to continue.

"What a great match! It's a shame you didn't win Wally," Wally's Uncle stated, walking over to support his nephew.

"Yeah, but this match was exactly what I needed. If I went into the Gym I would have got the same treatment. Thanks a lot GL," Wally responded, satisfied with his endeavours.

"I think we should head back to Verdanturf Wally, why don't you join us GL?"

"Sure," I obliged, following the pair to their home.



The soft, relaxing air breezed through my hair as I entered Vendanturf Town. Everything felt so pure and tranquil; it matched the beauty of the deep blue ocean sea. I smiled to myself, taking it all in. It felt extremely homely; more homely than how actual home had been. The lucious green grass, the gentle breeze, the relaxing nature; it was everything you could want from a place.

"GL, this is our home, please come in and have a cup of tea," Wally's uncle said, somewhat interrupting the mindset I had immediately developed, almost flustering me.

The house itself epitomised the town, it was absolutely lovely and homely with the atmosphere created by the family being very welcoming. It was a very enjoyable situation to be in, it almost felt like royalty.

"GL, can I have a word with you please?"

Wally's Uncle took me over to the side with a somewhat gracious smile on his face.

"Thank you ever so much for helping Wally catch his first Pokémon. I've never seen him so happy, it's a joy to behold," He stated softly.

"Oh, it was nothing. I'm just glad to see him looking so healthy. Moving to this place must have down wonders for him."

"It really did. Again, I'm ever so grateful. However, I was impressed with your battling skills, and, I'm expecting you to beat Mauville's Gym. This leads to what I'd like... what I'd love if you could do for me. Funnily enough, it's now my daughter who isn't quite right. Unfortunately, the digging of Rusturf Tunnel has been postponed due to rebellious interference which means that she has to wait even longer to be with her boyfriend. Wally seems to think that the rocks can be broken with Rock Smash and I agree; however, none of us can utilise this HM right now. I was wondering whether you could do this for me, no, for us in fact. I would be eternally grateful," He explained, almost pleading. I began to think back to the scenario with Team Aqua and almost began to blame myself for it.

"Of course, I'll try and get that done as soon as possible!" I obliged before being given the HM.

"Thank you ever so much. You will always be welcome in our home for this; for everything really," Wally's Uncle exclaimed as he grabbed me and brought me in for a tight but surprising hug. I chuckled before moving towards the exit.

"Oh, wait up GL!" Wally shouted, noticing I was heading out.

"I'd just like to say thanks for inspiring me, not just today, or when you helped me, but for the future. You're what I hope to achieve... no, you're what I hope to surpass. One day, I'm going to beat all the Gym Leaders, and I'm going to face you again, and maybe, just maybe, I'll beat you. Don't even call it a challenge, call it a guarantee!" He explained with a rejuvinated feeling of confidence, sharply staring into my eyes.

"I'll be really looking forward to that," I smiled, almost proudly, before shaking his hand firmly, trying to match his intensity. A few seconds passed before we let go and I moved my way towards the exit of the house and, a few minutes later, the town. As I was leaving I stopped in my tracks and took one large inhalation, not just taking in the cleanliness of the air, but the homely feel, to act as an added push. It was weird, I never thought something so pure would make me feel so emotional.

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 30
Double Kick
Peck
Bulk Up
Ember


Jay – Lv. 31
Fury Swipes
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out

[Richard and Blaziken]

Nice chapter as always. I liked the way you expanded on the Wally plot point. It's a small thing in-game that you turned into something a bit bigger, and that's pretty cool.

Looking forward to the next one!

[Kerou 犠牲]

Yeah I've got some ideas for Wally, there's a few things I want to incorporate into this tbh



Chapter 11: Electric Feel

After a quick recovery session at the PokéCenter I made my way towards Mauville Gym. Inside the Gym there were plenty of switches and electrical doors, making the type quite clear. In preparation, I gave Oscar a Cheri Berry to hold on to due to the likeliness of paralyzation. The trainers inside were no match and, after a few hiccups with the switches, I made my way to Wattson.

"Ho ho, if it isn't Norman's kid! It only feels like yesterday when he challenged me and now you're all grown up!" Wattson chuckled as he slowly stroked his beard. I too let out a small yet nervous laugh. "Alright, shall we get on with this?" He asked. Nodding in response, I put Oscar into the fray whilst Wattson brought out Voltorb.

"Oscar, begin the match with Bulk Up!" I ordered, thinking back to the match with Brawly and how much of a difference that made. Oscar began to tense up, increasing in size.

"Use Rollout! Move around as quickly as you can!" Wattson yelled, resulting in his Voltorb rotating forwards before pushing off the ground, moving at a surprising rate. It began to zip around in multiple directions before focusing on Oscar, trying to knock it off balance. The lack of speed from the Combusken made it unable to keep up with it.

"Wait for the right moment Oscar and it with Double Kick!" I responded, trying to turn the move against the Voltorb. It began to increase its velocity before blasting towards Oscar who swung its leg at the last possible second; added strength caused its kick to reverse the spin and slam the Voltorb into the wall, knocking it out. However, the contact caused a deep shock through the system, making the Combusken kneel. In the meantime, Wattson sent out a Magneton; a wry smile grew on his face.

"Oscar, eat the berry and hit it with an Ember!" Oscar obliged, tossing the berry into his mouth and, as he waited for full movement to restore, began to release a small fire ball at the Magneton who was left defenseless. Wattson's expression quickly changed to a serious stare.

"Impressive, now let's see how you deal with this. Go, Manectric!" He instructed as his Pokémon barked immediately in release. Oscar and his opponent stared ferociously at each other, creating a tense atmosphere. Both were ready to fight.

"Quick, use Double Kick!"

"Thunder Wave!"

As the Combusken sprinted towards the Manectric it released a small shock of electricity to cause paralyzation again. Oscar was still able to make contact, causing considerable damage due to the Bulk Up, but the shock prevented its legs from having a clean hit, allowing the Manectric to survive. It began to eat a Sitrus Berry, recovering to half strength.

"Try and hit it again Oscar!" I cried but to no avail. As soon as it moved its leg it broke down in pain. Any physical movements were rendered useless at this point.

"It can't move Manectric, hit it with Spark!" Wattson shouted as his Pokémon sprinted towards Oscar covered in shock waves, smashed a direct hit into its chest. Oscar was starting to feel the effects of the battle considerably, it was a sitting duck out there.

"If we can't move Oscar then fire Embers in all directions! Don't let it get out of this with a victory!" I yelled.

"Use our speed to our advantage Manectric, hit it with a Shock Wave!" Wattson ordered; the Manectric sat down and fired a bolt of electricity directly at Oscar as it prepared to release its attack. Remaining still, Combusken soaked up the hit and, with its remaining energy, fired a barrage of fire balls which seemed stronger than any before. Manectric couldn't escape, a few made contact and it fell to the ground, unable to continue.

"Great match, you interpretation of the situation is very impressive. You've got the same spark as your father after all. Congratulations," Wattson admitted as I returned Oscar to its ball. After receiving the badge, I quickly healed before sprinting back to Verdanturf Town.





I decided to use the HM on Wanda who looked more than ready to smash through the rocks in Rusturf Tunnel. It began to pummel viciously at the blockage and within minutes the rocks were obliterated. A man sprinted from the other side and grabbed me.

"How did you!? It doesn't matter! Thank you ever so much! Take this HM, Strength! I don't need it any more now I've got my baby back!" He shouted with excitement, holding on to me tightly.

"I... I can't breathe..." I muttered as I tried to squerm out of his tight grasp. Apologetically, the man dropped me before sprinting into Verdanturf Town. Watching him, I could see Wally's Uncle smiling back at me in the distance. I waved before heading through to Route 116 and finally Rustboro City. The man who I protected from Team Aqua initially ran up to me.

"Oh, you're back! I can send you through to Mr. Stone if you'd like?" He asked politely. Before I got chance to answer, he began to walk off, expecting me to follow him.

"Before you go in, take this. It's the least I can do," He smiled, passing me a Repeat Ball. I gratefully took it before entering Mr. Stone's office.

"Hello again sir, I've done both deliveries," I calmly stated.

"So I've heard. Thank you very much. I heard about the troubles with Team Aqua so I've got another gift for you; it's an Exp. Share. This allows you to spread experience between the battler and another Pokémon in your team; perfect for those who are weaker. It's actually something Steven helped design..." Mr. Stone explained as he passed over another box.

"Thank you... if you don't mind me asking, why did I have to send the letter to Steven?" I enquired.

"Oh, it's just family business. He's my son, you see. Ahem, now I've got make a phone call. If there's any other business we can work on, I will ring you on the PokéNav. Thanks again," Mr. Stone coughed before turning towards his phone. I nodded before leaving the room and eventually the building. The thought of family went through my mind and as I stood outside, I rang Dad in the hope of finally being given an opportunity. Unfortunately, there was no answer and instead, I headed back towards Rustboro Tunnel in an attempt to find another Gym in the meanwhile.

Party:


Oscar – Lv. 32
Double Kick
Peck
Bulk Up
Ember


Jay – Lv. 31
Fury Swipes
Absorb
Nature Power
Fake Out