The next day came and Shuichi stood on the rocky battlefield across from Roark, in the audience stands were Ash, Brock and Dawn.
Dawn, true to her word, was dressed in her cheerleading outfit and yelled out "Let’s go Shuichi! Give me an S! Give me an H!" she continued to spell out his name. Next to her were Piplup and Buneary in matching outfits and their emotions also showed enjoyment.
Shuichi was a little embarrassed to hear her go this hard on the cheerleading act, he could swear she was enjoying teasing him like this if her mischievous smile was any tell.
But deep inside he felt it was nice to hear Dawn cheer for him, it was a confusing feeling that he quickly shook off to focus on the battle in front of him.
Ash and Brock were smiling a little bitterly seeing Dawn go like this, they had flashbacks to Gary Oak and his cheerleading squad back in Kanto.
Ian tried to ignore Dawn's excessive cheerleading as he announced "The gym battle between Shuichi from Sandgem Town and Roark the Oreburgh gym leader will now begin!"
"Each side will have the use of three Pokémon and the battle will be over when all of either side’s Pokémon are unable to battle! In addition, only the challenger will be able to make one substitution!"
Shuichi took a deep breath and concentrated, slowly he emitted an air of confidence and intimidation. Roark was surprised seeing this, it felt like he was facing his father.
"You’re quite special, in that case, I won’t be holding back! Onix, Let’s go!" Roark said and threw his Pokéball. Out came a gigantic grey rock snake-like Pokémon with a horn on its head.
Onix roared as it landed on the field. Shuichi could feel its overwhelming confidence and trust in Roark, it certainly wasn’t going to be an easy win.
Shuichi smiled, he didn’t ask Ash for what Pokémon or moves they knew as he wanted to go in blind. Call it overconfidence but Shuichi didn’t think he would lose to Roark.
"Eevee, get ready!" Shuichi said as he threw Eevee’s Pokéball, Eevee landed on the field and looked at the giant stone snake. His face showed no fear and his emotions matched that.
"An Eevee! Quite rare, but a normal-type won’t have much effect on Onix." Roark commented upon seeing Eevee. Shuichi just grinned and didn’t say anything.
"Eevee, Quick Attack!" Shuichi opened up the battle with a Quick Attack from Eevee and dashed at Onix. "Come on now, Onix, use Slam!" Roark didn’t think much of Eevee at this point and went for the counter.
Onix was a lot faster than it looked as it charged at Eevee and tried to slam Eevee with its tail. "Dodge, then jump!" Shuichi instructed and Eevee jumped to the side dodging the slam and jumped to reach Onix’s face.
"Shadow Ball!" Shuichi quickly took advantage of the opening and had Eevee attack, Roark however wasn’t going to stay still. "Screech Onix!" He said in response.
Onix roared and emitted soundwaves that were light blue and cylinder-shaped. Eevee was flung back but remained steady as it fired a large Shadow Ball directly at Onix and hit it in the face ending the Screech.
"Wow! Seems like Shuichi’s training went well." Dawn commented upon seeing Eevee use Shadow Ball. Ash and Brock also nodded "A ghost-type move on a normal type is hard to train but if one comes across a ghost-type it will be the best move." Brock commented.
Eevee landed back on his feet whereas Onix shook off the pain from the Shadow Ball. "Impressive work, but let’s see how you handle this! Onix, use Double-Edge!" Roark commented on the fight and had Onix attack.
Onix glowed white and charged at Eevee with incredible speed. "Eevee, Protect!" Shuichi had Eevee use Protect and make Onix take the recoil damage from Double-Edge. Onix slammed into the green shield and bounced back.
"Eevee, big Swift!" Shuichi took advantage of Onix’s temporary stun from the recoil damage and had Eevee throw out the variant of Swift. Eevee’s tail glowed brighter than before and Eevee jumped back with a backflip and shot out one giant swift star.
Everyone was surprised seeing the variant move, Dawn quickly understood and asked "Did Eevee just? And Brock nodded "Eevee stored power for Swift and released it in one big star instead of multiple stars!"
Roark was also impressed "Incredible work! But that star is a lot slower than a regular Swift, Onix dodge it!" Roark pointed out the weakness and Onix swiftly dodged it, surprising Shuichi.
He had thought Onix would suffer from the recoil and give them an opportunity for a big swift, Shuichi thought about it and quickly concluded that Onix had Rock Head for its ability.
('No matter, time for the backup.') Shuichi quickly planned and said "Eevee, Quick Attack to reposition!" Eevee nodded and sprinted around Onix and now had the big star between him and Onix.
Roark frowned and didn’t know what Shuichi was planning but he took the distance as an opportunity. "Onix, use Stealth Rock!" Stealth Rock was a move that didn’t deal damage to the current Pokémon. Instead, it dealt damage whenever a new Pokémon entered the field.
Onix glowed white and released white arrows that shot towards Eevee. "Swift to redirect the star!" Shuichi acted on his plan and Eevee shot out regular stars that slowly enveloped the big star and made it turn back towards Onix once more.
The smaller stars also blocked the white arrows and destroyed them rendering the Stealth Rock useless. The more stars that were sent out the faster the big star became and it quickly reached Onix and slammed into it.
"Onix!" Roark yelled out, he didn’t think the big star could be redirected like that. Shuichi could see Eevee getting winded and called out "Finish it off with Shadow Ball!"
Eevee charged up another Shadow Ball but Roark wasn’t going to let him do his thing. "Onix, shake it off and use Double-Edge!" Onix shook its head and charged at Eevee once more glowing white.
Eevee continued to charge the Shadow Ball and Onix rammed into the Shadow Ball and Eevee causing a big explosion. Once the smoke cleared the battlefield was revealed again with Onix knocked out and Eevee bruised and winded but still up.
"Onix can’t battle and Eevee is the winner!" Ian announced and the group in the audience seats cheered loudly "Way to go Shuichi!" Ash yelled out and Dawn also cheered with her Pokémon.
Roark recalled Onix and gave it some words of encouragement, "I have to say Shuichi, I’m impressed. Not everyone experiments with variant moves and tries to make them work." Roark called out to Shuichi.
"Thanks, Roark, we’ve been practising pretty hard," Shuichi replied to Roark, he had indeed been practising hard for the battle.
Roark pulled out another Pokéball "But that won’t help you next. Geodude, let’s go!" Roark called out as a rock with two long arms and hands appeared on the battlefield.
Shuichi could feel Geodude had the same emotions as Onix. "Eevee, let’s switch out." Shuichi wanted Eevee to catch a breather and Eevee understood and stood next to Shuichi and curled up taking a nap.
Shuichi grabbed his next Pokéball and threw it "Combusken, get ready!" Combusken appeared on the field ready as ever.
"So now a Combusken! You’re just full of surprises." Roark commented upon seeing Combusken. ('You have no idea, Roark.') Shuichi lampooned inside about himself.
"Combusken, big Ember!" Shuichi commanded and surprised everyone. Combusken took a deep breath and spat out one single big fireball towards Geodude.
"Combusken as well!? Geodude, use Rollout!" Roark quickly countered and Geodude rolled into a ball and sped off dodging the Ember shot before turning and charging towards Combusken.
Shuichi had an idea and he knew Combusken would like it. "Combusken, catch Geodude!" Combusken grinned put out her arms and braced for impact.
Geodude collided with Combusken’s claws and tried to mow her over with the Rollout, Combusken however didn’t so much as budge as Geodude slowly lost momentum and was now stuck in Combusken’s claws.
"Geodude!" Roark was surprised that Combusken was even able to catch the rollout. Shuichi didn’t let go of the opportunity, "Double Kick!" Shuichi instructed and Combusken lifted her right leg and smashed down with an axe kick and kicked again with a soccer kick, sending Geodude flying.
Roark didn’t give up though "Geodude, fire back with Hidden Power!" Geodude snapped out of it and crouched together. Suddenly it glowed yellow, and light blue circles appeared around it. Geodude stretched out its hands and the circles were shot out towards Combusken.
Hidden Power was an interesting move, in the games Hidden Power would be a different type from Pokémon to Pokémon. In real life, however, there was another change, power and even how the move is used is different from Pokémon to Pokémon.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Shuichi yelled and Combusken quickly got out of the way while leaving a white outline. Roark didn’t seem to be too concerned that Combusken dodged it, "Geodude, Rollout again!" Instead, he gave an odd instruction.
('Won’t the same happen again?') Shuichi didn’t know what Roark was planning, "Same as before Combusken!" So he just instructed Combusken to catch Geodude again.
The people in the audience were equally confused, "Roark is planning something." Ash said while watching the Geodude charge towards Combusken again. When Geodude was close to Combusken Roark suddenly yelled out "Now stop and use Seismic Toss!"
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Geodude suddenly stopped rolling and hugged Combusken, surprising everyone, then Geodude went into the air and spiralled down gaining momentum and slammed Combusken down into the ground at the last second.
('Damn, he got me with that one.') Shuichi clicked his tongue inwardly, he didn’t think Geodude could stop mid-roll and go in for the Seismic Toss.
('Still it’s not enough to put down Combusken.') Shuichi thought as Combusken stood up from the rubble, clearly bruised but still standing strong.
Roark also realised it wasn’t enough to put down Combusken. "You’re Combusken is quite strong, it seems like we’ll have to use our final weapon," Roark commented and Geodude’s emotions portrayed heavy determination upon hearing those words.
Shuichi had a really bad feeling upon feeling Geodude’s emotions, it would be best to stay at a distance. "Combusken, Ember and stay at a distance!" He instructed Combusken to avoid Geodude for now.
"Geodude, Rollout!" Roark only instructed Geodude and didn’t say anything else. Combusken peppered Geodude with small embers but it seemed like it didn't do much as Geodude kept going.
Combusken tried to dash away with Quick Attack when Geodude got close but Geodude just kept on getting faster and faster with Rollout and soon it was right next to Combusken and grabbed her once more.
"Now! Self-Destruct!" Roark suddenly yelled out and Shuichi had to take a second to process the instruction. Geodude however instantly emitted a bright white light and soon an explosion rang out.
Self-Destruct, it was exactly as it sounded, the Pokémon would sacrifice itself and blow itself up taking the opponent with them. It was a powerful last trump card, Shuichi didn’t think Roark would even teach his Pokémon that move.
Once the smoke cleared everyone could see the unconscious bodies of both Combusken and Geodude on the battlefield.
"Geodude and Combusken both can’t battle! It’s a tie! Gym leader Roark will be the first to show their last Pokémon!" Ian announced to everyone, that ties happened rarely.
"What a battle! Come on Shuichi, you can do this!" Dawn cheered loudly as she waved the pompoms. "It seems like Shuichi is at the advantage since we all know his last Pokémon," Ash commented and Brock nodded but still frowned a little.
Roark and Shuichi both recalled their Pokémon, "I’m sorry Geodude, I’ll make it up to you." Roark apologised to Geodude’s Pokéball and Shuichi also apologised to Combusken for the misfortune.
Roark then looked at Shuichi and smiled "I have to say Shuichi, I’ve enjoyed our battle so far. I can say for sure I’ve underestimated you."
Shuichi also looked back at Roark and grinned "The same could be said of you, I came in a little overconfident and you’re certainly holding your own." Shuichi had indeed underestimated Roark, he had expected something from the games and was in for a rude awakening.
Roark pulled out his last Pokéball and looked at it, "Everyone expects the rock-type to be one of the weakest types due to the huge amount of weaknesses along with them usually being slow. So I focused on speed instead of defence and always ended up teaching overconfident trainers."
Shuichi was a little silent upon hearing this, type specialists always held a love for their type and they always wanted to carry that type to the end. Roark was more unorthodox among the rock-type specialists and it resulted in him becoming a gym leader.
Roark shook his head "Enough talking, It’s time to face my last Pokémon and you’ve only seen a part of him in action yesterday so be prepared. Rampardos, let’s go!" Roark said as he threw his Pokéball.
Out of the Pokéball came Rampardos and its emotions showed confidence and pride, it was as if everything else was beneath it. This normally would be seen as arrogance however Rampardos’s strength was the real deal.
Shuichi also grabbed his last Pokéball, Eevee could still use more rest and this was the perfect time to show off Clamperl’s new strategy.
"Don’t think my last Pokémon is a pushover, Clamperl, get ready!" Shuichi replied to Roark as he threw out Clamperl. Clamperl came out to the battlefield and looked at the hulking Rampardos but there was no fear in its emotions, only confidence.
Roark smiled at the sudden water-type "We’ve come this far and you still have a secret weapon, your confidence was not unfounded. However, that will not help much with Rampardos! Now, use Headbutt!"
Rampardos charged at Clamperl with unbelievable speeds for a rock-type. Shuichi grinned "Clamperl, ice the floor!" Shuichi’s command confused everyone except Clamperl who spun around while shooting an Ice Beam covering the entire field in a layer of ice.
Rampardos slipped on the ice and lost its balance causing it to fall comically. "Rampardos!" Roark was stunned, Rampardos was crippled in just one move.
Dawn had sparkles in her eyes as she thought she was watching a contest battle instead of a gym battle. Ash picked up on where Shuichi had gotten the inspiration "Isn’t this similar to what happened during Dawn’s match with Zoey?"
Indeed, Shuichi had gotten the inspiration from that very same battle and it wasn’t just impeding the opponent either. "Clamperl, move around Rampardos and fire a Water Gun!"
Clamperl nodded and fired off a weak Water Gun which caused him to start skating on the ice! "Clamperl has fixed his innate movement weakness by skating on the ice! Ingenious!" Brock commented seeing this.
Clamperl skated around until a rock was at its back and fired off a Water Gun directly at Rampardos. "Rampardos, dodge!" Roark instructed but Rampardos failed to get a stable footing and kept slipping up.
The water gun slammed directly at Rampardos, sending it sliding across the field once more. "Keep it up Clamperl!" Shuichi was going to continue this strategy if it worked well.
Roark however had enough of the ice "Rampardos, use Flamethrower to melt the ice!" Rampardos agreed as Shuichi could even feel some humiliation and anger in its emotions, Rampardos opened its mouth and started to spew flames everywhere.
"Clamperl, big Whirlpool!" Shuichi could take the moment Rampardos needed to melt the ice to prepare for the next big attack. Clamperl could also store power in Whirlpool however, there was a drawback; long charge time.
The long charge time was back but this time it was more understandable, Clamperl focused and quickly a whirlpool formed above him. This one however kept growing bigger and bigger as Rampardos was busy melting the ice.
Roark could see Shuichi was preparing a giant whirlpool but Rampardos couldn’t move with the ice still there. The ice melted eventually with the flames and Rampardos looked at Clamperl and the giant whirlpool that was above him.
Left with no other choice Roark had to power through it "Rampardos, Head Smash!" Head Smash was an extremely powerful move but it dealt very high recoil damage and Rampardos didn’t have Rock Head for its ability.
A whitish-blue aura surrounded Rampardos as it charged at Clamperl with intense speeds. "Clamperl, fire!" Shuichi instructed and Clamperl released the whirlpool, it was slow but the power behind that move was not to be underestimated.
"Charge through Rampardos!" Roark was confident that Rampardos could break through the move and Rampardos collided against the whirlpool. Shuichi didn’t think Rampardos could break through the move, he had seen the power of this move first-hand.
Rampardos was quickly enveloped by the raging currents of the whirlpool, just when Shuichi thought Ian would signal the end of the match an explosion rang out at the back of the whirlpool.
"What!" Shuichi was stunned! It was Rampardos who was still charging towards Clamperl like a madman and smashed directly into him causing him to be shot into the wall right next to the audience knocked out.
Everyone was shocked, they knew Rampardos was strong but this was just insane! Roark let out a slight sigh of relief, he thought for a moment that Rampardos got swept up in the currents.
Blue sparks electrocuted Rampardos and by the end of it it was breathing hard and ragged, it sustained a lot of damage from the recoil and the fight itself. Shuichi could feel a new emotion from Rampardos as it looked at Clamperl, admiration and respect.
Shuichi recalled Clamperl, "Don’t be disappointed, had this been anyone else, they would’ve fallen. You did amazing." Shuichi said to Clamperl, he could feel a faint amount of disappointment from him as he recalled him.
Roark nodded in agreement with Shuichi’s words, "You’re not wrong, to say that strategy was genius would be an understatement. With only one move you not only crippled Rampardos but also accelerated Clamperl."
Shuichi smiled "Thanks, but the idea wasn’t entirely mine." He then looked at Dawn and continued "My friend Dawn over there inspired me pretty heavily with the variants and ice floor."
Dawn blushed a little as Shuichi gave her a lot of credit, looking back she did inspire him a lot. However, his versions could also inspire her for her next contest as ideas were already swimming in her head.
Roark laughed, "Well, I suppose it’s good to have such friends around you. But I think it’s time we continued our battle, no?" Attention was focused back onto the battlefield where Eevee was already standing.
Nobody knew when Eevee was awake but he was currently staring down Rampardos, there was not a hint of fear on his face but Shuichi could feel Eevee’s excitement. Rampardos also put aside its pride and was excited for the battle if Eevee was as good as Clamperl.
Roark took the first move "Rampardos, Zen Headbutt!" Rampardos’s blue dome glowed and psychic waves were emitted as it charged straight towards Eevee.
"Dodge with Quick Attack and fire off a Swift!" Shuichi responded and he planned to play the long game for now, Rampardos was bound to be close to being knocked out by Clamperl.
Eevee quickly dashed away creating some distance and flicked his tail to shoot out stars, Rampardos continued to chase after Eevee and crashed straight through completely ignoring the stars.
Rampardos was suddenly directly onto Eevee, "Eevee, Quick dodge!" Shuichi tried to have Eevee dodge but it was too late as Eevee was directly hit. "Eevee!" Shuichi yelled out more concerned about Eevee’s health than the match.
Eevee smashed into a rock and fell, Rampardos stopped and looked at Eevee. Eevee slowly got up, clearly hurt badly, Shuichi tried to find a way to win when he suddenly got a closer look at Rampardos.
Rampardos’s legs were shaking, as if they were barely keeping up with Rampardos’s weight. ('I only need one good final hit.') Shuichi was this close and Eevee didn’t want to give up, it was time for one final gamble.
"Let’s do this Eevee, run up and use a big Swift!" Shuichi instructed, confusing everyone in the gym. Eevee had full trust in Shuichi and his tail shined brightly and he ran at Rampardos, after running a bit a big star was fired off directly at Rampardos.
"Dodge it Rampardos!" Roark had no idea what they were planning but he couldn’t let the star hit Rampardos, he had noticed Rampardos was on its last legs and any more damage would be the end.
Rampardos quickly jumped out of the way, "Now, Rampardos use- What!" Just as Roark was about to go to the counter he was surprised to not see Eevee at all, Eevee had completely vanished!
"Now Eevee! Finish it with Shadow Ball!" Shuichi suddenly said and Eevee was visible once again, A black ball of chaotic energy formed in Eevee’s mouth and quickly grew bigger.
"It had hidden behind the big star that was fired off as cover! Rampardos, quick Headbutt!" Roark wasn’t going to let Eevee win this easily, Rampardos turned around and went in for a headbutt.
Eevee had fully charged the Shadow Ball and fired it off at the incoming Rampardos, the Shadow Ball impacted and exploded directly on Rampardos’s face. Rampardos’s head crashed through the smoke and just when Shuichi thought it was going to hit Eevee it smashed directly before Eevee’s face knocked out cold.
"Rampardos can’t battle and Eevee is the winner! The victory goes to Shuichi from Sandgem Town!" Ian announced and Shuichi ran up to Eevee and hugged him. "We did it Eevee! You were amazing, all of you were!" Shuichi said proudly.
Dawn cheered loudly from the stands "You were amazing Shuichi, you too Eevee!" Brock nodded "Incredible indeed, using inspiration from the contest to form completely new moves and strategies."
Ash was also happy for Shuichi but inwardly he couldn’t help but compare himself to Shuichi and came to the conclusion he would end up short. Clamperl’s strategy would already be enough and Roark wasn’t wrong, anyone else would’ve fallen.
Roark recalled Rampardos and gave it a few words of compliments, he then walked towards Shuichi. "Amazing battle Shuichi, incredible strategies especially the ice one with Clamperl!" Roark complimented Shuichi.
Shuichi looked back at Roark, "Thanks Roark, you sure made us work for it!" It wasn’t a joke either, Roark had put up a much harder fight than what Shuichi had expected. Although Shuichi had won, he inwardly decided this would be the last time he underestimated a gym leader.
Dawn quickly changed once more in her casual outfit and as she returned to the group Shuichi couldn’t help but tease her. "What? Not going out in the cheerleading outfit? Too embarrassed?"
Dawn quickly shook her head "Not at all! It’s just a bit breezy, if you want I could cheer you to the Pokémon Center" She added a mischievous smile to that last line and Shuichi instantly regretted putting the idea in her head. "Please don’t, I was just kidding." He pleaded with her.
Shuichi quickly escaped Dawn’s cheers as he met with Roark outside of the gym, he had already gotten a notification of his deposit being returned along with an extra ₽4,500 boosting his total cash to ₽9,100.
This was a huge amount however, the next gym was very far away as he first needed to backtrack to Jubilife and from there go north to Floaroma Town then further north through Eterna Forest and finally to Eterna City where the second gym was.
Alternatively, he could try his hand at the Canalave City gym west of Jubilife, but if Roark was any indication of what his father Byron was capable of then Shuichi was not well near prepared for Byron. He wouldn’t underestimate gym leaders anymore, especially one of Roark’s family.
Once Shuichi and the group were outside they saw Roark already waiting for Shuichi with the Coal badge in hand. "As proof of your Oreburgh gym victory, I, gym leader Roark, present to you, the Coal badge."
Shuichi picked up the Coal badge that looked like a Pokéball and a boulder had fused. "Thank you very much, Roark!" As the Coal badge was in Shuichi’s hand he couldn’t help it and yelled "Yes! We just got the Coal badge!"
Once Shuichi celebrated he and the group went to the Pokémon Center, Ash’s own Pokémon had been there already for a day and he was going to pick them up.
Shuichi went up to Nurse Joy to inform her of his battle with Roark, "I understand, I will look over your Pokémon. Roark doesn’t hold back so don’t expect a sudden miracle." Nurse Joy told him.
She then shifted her attention to Ash "As for you Ash, here are your Pokémon. They have been fully healed but I still recommend at least a day of rest." Even with a full day in the Center Nurse Joy still advised Ash for another day of rest.
Some gym leaders were absolutely brutal in their challenges, one infamous case was from the Kanto region. Gym leader Surge over there refused to hold back and anyone who challenged his gym had their Pokémon in critical condition.
Luckily here in Sinnoh, there was no such gym leader, although Shuichi did hear some rumours about the eighth gym leader Volkner being more interested in technology than battling and just giving out the badge for free.
Ash picked up his Pokéball and the group shifted their attention to Shuichi. "Then I suppose this is where we part ways for real this time," Ash said and the rest of the group nodded.
Shuichi also nodded, "Indeed, I’ll probably hang out here for a few days until my Pokémon are fully rested." He told them his plans for the time being.
Dawn was a little dejected about it "So, you’ll probably miss the Floaroma contest?" she asked him. Shuichi sadly nodded, "Most likely, however, I will still watch it on the television just like our mothers." He tried to cheer her up.
Dawn seemed to cheer up a little. "Yeah, I know. It’s just a little different when you’re there in person you know?" She seemed to still be a little down although she didn’t know why.
The group quickly separated after that conversation, neither Ash nor Shuichi asked for a battle the next time they met. Shuichi was confident that he would run into Ash again in the future and maybe then he would have another battle with him.