PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
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Watching the video puts me in the mood for gen 3. It is an awesome gen.
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdARFNmk08Y[/video]
After essentially giving up on Yellow, I'm back to try again in Emerald. I'm determined to win this time.
I am telling the story from Brendan's point of view (kind of?). Anything I need to say I will just throw in [brackets] but yeah. I need to get me some writing done, and this helps.
Chapter 1 - She's Not Blind Yet
Chapter Two - The Emerald Troll (abridged version)
Chapter Three: Army of Two
Chapter Four: luna.mp3
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdARFNmk08Y[/video]
After essentially giving up on Yellow, I'm back to try again in Emerald. I'm determined to win this time.
I am telling the story from Brendan's point of view (kind of?). Anything I need to say I will just throw in [brackets] but yeah. I need to get me some writing done, and this helps.
Chapter 1 - She's Not Blind Yet
I start the game. I am a dude. For some reason my family considers me cargo because I am riding in the back of a truck. The driver does a really bad job of parking because he's right in front of a tree and how did we get here anyway where are the roads?
So I get out and my mom refuses to let me leave until I set my clock. Well, okay. I set it. My mom tells me about the hottie next door so I go have a look see. Her mom tells me she ain't home but invites me to go snoop around her bedroom. I see a Poke Ball on her floor and I am oddly drawn to it instead of her panty drawer. Just as I'm about to do a snatch and run, the girl shows up and I'm busted. She introduces herself as May and she ain't too bad-looking. She says she's ten but I'm not sure if I believe her. I can give two pretty good reasons. Whatever, I just met her so who am I to judge?
She goes to her PC and leaves me alone. Now that she's here I can't exactly take her stuff, so I head on out. Some little girl asks me to investigate Route 101, so I do. Instantly I hear a girly scream for help and I rush over to see who it is. Turns out it's just some middle-aged guy being harassed by a Zigzagoon. "SAVE ME," he shouts. "TAKE ONE OF MY POKEMON AND SAVE MEEEEEEEE"
The Zigzagoon isn't even threatening him. I look down at it and it barks at me happily. I look back at the guy, who has a look of pure, abject terror on his face. I roll my eyes and sigh. I look inside his bag and find 3 Poke Balls. "So, hey," I begin, "what kind of Poke-"
"SAVE ME HURRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
... Fine. I chuck out a random Poke Ball and a Mudkip pops out. He ain't the ugliest Pokemon in Hoenn but he's pretty close. "Uh, Tackle I guess?"
He does. Zigzagoon goes rolling into the grass. Zigzagoon looks at Mudkip, then at me, and starts to tear up. Great. Just great. "Look, he doesn't even want to battle, can't we just--"
"FINISH HIM!" he screams at me, pointing at the now-crying Pokemon.
I can't believe this. I look behind me and a crowd has gathered on the outskirts of town. I sigh and tell Mudkip to end it. He tackles the poor Zigzagoon and he faints.
"Whew. Thanks a lot, you really saved me," the man says. "Come on with me back to my lab for your reward!" Before I can object to being rewarded in any way by this creepy guy, we are both teleported to a building back in town.
I learn his name is Birch, and he compliments me on my exceptional battle skills. He tells me I can keep the Mudkip. I planned on just getting one from Dad, but sure, I'll take a free Pokemon. I nickname him Zenith because it seems like a fitting name for a Mudkip.
Birch lets drop that May is his daughter, and she's out on Route 103 doing some research or whatever, and suggests I go see her. Yeah, I'll go see her alright. I ask Birch if May is really 10. He says he has no idea. Wonderful. Dad of the Year, this one.
I go to leave town and my mom stops me. She hands me a pair of really sweet-looking shoes. It's a "Welcome to Hoenn" present, she says. Cool. Time to go hit on the neighbor girl.
[at this point I didn't want to run into anything because I REALLY WANT A POOCHYENA so every time I would get out of the tall grass I would save and reload if I ran into something. After I got to Route 103 I realized this was cheating, so I decided I would disqualify myself from catching anything on Route 101 and then walk back to Oldale Town. Then I would just go straight back to May without saving and if I ran into anything, so be it. I actually didn't run into anything, which made me a very happy negro]
May is so engrossed in her research that she doesn't even see me coming:
"Uh... hey?"
She nearly jumps out of her skin. "SWEET BABY JESUS! Oh, Brendan, it's you. Jeez, you scared me half to death!"
Like father, like daughter. "Sorry. I met your dad earlier, and--"
"Oh yeah? What'd you think?"
I explain to her what happened earlier.
"...Jeez, Dad. I'm sorry. There's a reason I do research for him. He's just terrified of Zigzagoon, that's all. So, what brings you here?"
"He told me I should come help you. He let me keep the Mudkip."
She gasps in surprise. "Really? That's awesome! He gave me a Pokemon few days ago, but I've been so busy doing field work I haven't had any time to train. What do you say to a friendly spar?"
"Well, I dunno, I'm kinda new at this, and--"
"Go, Treecko!"
...Fine.
[I stomp her]
"Well, I lost," she says, recalling her Pokemon. "It was a good match though."
I agree. It was good practice. "Yeah, good fight. So, you doing anything later?"
"Actually, yes. My dad's always got something for me to do, what with his fear of Zigzagoon and all. We're neighbors though, so it's not like you can't stop by the lab and say hi, right?" She looks at her watch. "I should be getting back. Thanks again for the battle. See you later!"
I watch her leap her way back to Oldale Town and figure today was a good day. I decide to go back to the lab to see if I can do some odd jobs for the professor. Getting in good with him seems like a great way to solidify getting in with his daughter.
I enter the lab, where Birch is talking to May. "Oh, Brendan! Perfect timing." He tosses me something. "Take this. It's a Pokedex. It-"
"I know what it does," I stop him. "I actually studied before I took the trainer's exam..."
Birch cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I was just saying to May that you guys should travel together. May told me about your battle earlier, and I suggested you team up."
Jackpot. "I guess." Man, I played that slick. I am so cool.
All of a sudden, nerve gas! I pass out.
When I wake up, May is gone and I have five Poke Balls. What the heck happened to me? I decide not to think about it and head out to get my first teammate.
On Route 103 I encounter a Poochyena and I want him. Zenith Mud-Slaps him a few times and I chuck a ball. He's mine. I named him Ganon because I'm a Legend of Zelda fan and Ganon is super manly, befitting the snarling demon beast that Poochyena will become. I send him out immediately and pick him up, talking baby talk to him, and then it hits me.
I glance downwards towards Ganon's lower half.
Wait a second...
My Ganon's a girl?! FUUUUUUUUUU
THE TEAM SO FAR
Zenith (M) L7 / Jolly
Ganon (F) L3 / Relaxed
So I get out and my mom refuses to let me leave until I set my clock. Well, okay. I set it. My mom tells me about the hottie next door so I go have a look see. Her mom tells me she ain't home but invites me to go snoop around her bedroom. I see a Poke Ball on her floor and I am oddly drawn to it instead of her panty drawer. Just as I'm about to do a snatch and run, the girl shows up and I'm busted. She introduces herself as May and she ain't too bad-looking. She says she's ten but I'm not sure if I believe her. I can give two pretty good reasons. Whatever, I just met her so who am I to judge?
She goes to her PC and leaves me alone. Now that she's here I can't exactly take her stuff, so I head on out. Some little girl asks me to investigate Route 101, so I do. Instantly I hear a girly scream for help and I rush over to see who it is. Turns out it's just some middle-aged guy being harassed by a Zigzagoon. "SAVE ME," he shouts. "TAKE ONE OF MY POKEMON AND SAVE MEEEEEEEE"
The Zigzagoon isn't even threatening him. I look down at it and it barks at me happily. I look back at the guy, who has a look of pure, abject terror on his face. I roll my eyes and sigh. I look inside his bag and find 3 Poke Balls. "So, hey," I begin, "what kind of Poke-"
"SAVE ME HURRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
... Fine. I chuck out a random Poke Ball and a Mudkip pops out. He ain't the ugliest Pokemon in Hoenn but he's pretty close. "Uh, Tackle I guess?"
He does. Zigzagoon goes rolling into the grass. Zigzagoon looks at Mudkip, then at me, and starts to tear up. Great. Just great. "Look, he doesn't even want to battle, can't we just--"
"FINISH HIM!" he screams at me, pointing at the now-crying Pokemon.
I can't believe this. I look behind me and a crowd has gathered on the outskirts of town. I sigh and tell Mudkip to end it. He tackles the poor Zigzagoon and he faints.
"Whew. Thanks a lot, you really saved me," the man says. "Come on with me back to my lab for your reward!" Before I can object to being rewarded in any way by this creepy guy, we are both teleported to a building back in town.
I learn his name is Birch, and he compliments me on my exceptional battle skills. He tells me I can keep the Mudkip. I planned on just getting one from Dad, but sure, I'll take a free Pokemon. I nickname him Zenith because it seems like a fitting name for a Mudkip.
Birch lets drop that May is his daughter, and she's out on Route 103 doing some research or whatever, and suggests I go see her. Yeah, I'll go see her alright. I ask Birch if May is really 10. He says he has no idea. Wonderful. Dad of the Year, this one.
I go to leave town and my mom stops me. She hands me a pair of really sweet-looking shoes. It's a "Welcome to Hoenn" present, she says. Cool. Time to go hit on the neighbor girl.
[at this point I didn't want to run into anything because I REALLY WANT A POOCHYENA so every time I would get out of the tall grass I would save and reload if I ran into something. After I got to Route 103 I realized this was cheating, so I decided I would disqualify myself from catching anything on Route 101 and then walk back to Oldale Town. Then I would just go straight back to May without saving and if I ran into anything, so be it. I actually didn't run into anything, which made me a very happy negro]
May is so engrossed in her research that she doesn't even see me coming:
"Uh... hey?"
She nearly jumps out of her skin. "SWEET BABY JESUS! Oh, Brendan, it's you. Jeez, you scared me half to death!"
Like father, like daughter. "Sorry. I met your dad earlier, and--"
"Oh yeah? What'd you think?"
I explain to her what happened earlier.
"...Jeez, Dad. I'm sorry. There's a reason I do research for him. He's just terrified of Zigzagoon, that's all. So, what brings you here?"
"He told me I should come help you. He let me keep the Mudkip."
She gasps in surprise. "Really? That's awesome! He gave me a Pokemon few days ago, but I've been so busy doing field work I haven't had any time to train. What do you say to a friendly spar?"
"Well, I dunno, I'm kinda new at this, and--"
"Go, Treecko!"
...Fine.
[I stomp her]
"Well, I lost," she says, recalling her Pokemon. "It was a good match though."
I agree. It was good practice. "Yeah, good fight. So, you doing anything later?"
"Actually, yes. My dad's always got something for me to do, what with his fear of Zigzagoon and all. We're neighbors though, so it's not like you can't stop by the lab and say hi, right?" She looks at her watch. "I should be getting back. Thanks again for the battle. See you later!"
I watch her leap her way back to Oldale Town and figure today was a good day. I decide to go back to the lab to see if I can do some odd jobs for the professor. Getting in good with him seems like a great way to solidify getting in with his daughter.
I enter the lab, where Birch is talking to May. "Oh, Brendan! Perfect timing." He tosses me something. "Take this. It's a Pokedex. It-"
"I know what it does," I stop him. "I actually studied before I took the trainer's exam..."
Birch cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I was just saying to May that you guys should travel together. May told me about your battle earlier, and I suggested you team up."
Jackpot. "I guess." Man, I played that slick. I am so cool.
All of a sudden, nerve gas! I pass out.
When I wake up, May is gone and I have five Poke Balls. What the heck happened to me? I decide not to think about it and head out to get my first teammate.
On Route 103 I encounter a Poochyena and I want him. Zenith Mud-Slaps him a few times and I chuck a ball. He's mine. I named him Ganon because I'm a Legend of Zelda fan and Ganon is super manly, befitting the snarling demon beast that Poochyena will become. I send him out immediately and pick him up, talking baby talk to him, and then it hits me.
I glance downwards towards Ganon's lower half.
Wait a second...
My Ganon's a girl?! FUUUUUUUUUU
THE TEAM SO FAR
[okay so firefox died on me and I lost like an hour of typing so here are the highlights (read as: me getting trolled):
- Ganon died
- I caught a Wurmple, and that died too
- I caught a female Poochyena in Petalburg Woods but my game glitched as I was nicknaming her, but I figured that for the purposes of nuzlocke it would still count as my capture, so I caught another Poochyena but this one was male, named Lenny cause JEWchyena rhymes with Poochyena lol
- North of Petalburg I ran into a Taillow; Zenith killed it thanks to a crit
- North of Rustboro I ran into an Abra, and you can probably guess how that one ended (seriously, of all the Pokemon...)
- In Rusturf Tunnel I ran into a Whismur and Lenny killed it thanks to a crit
So now it's just the three of us until I get to Dewford. I am on a roll.]
THE TEAM SO FAR
Zenith (M) L15 / Jolly
Lenny (M) L12 / Brave
- Ganon died
- I caught a Wurmple, and that died too
- I caught a female Poochyena in Petalburg Woods but my game glitched as I was nicknaming her, but I figured that for the purposes of nuzlocke it would still count as my capture, so I caught another Poochyena but this one was male, named Lenny cause JEWchyena rhymes with Poochyena lol
- North of Petalburg I ran into a Taillow; Zenith killed it thanks to a crit
- North of Rustboro I ran into an Abra, and you can probably guess how that one ended (seriously, of all the Pokemon...)
- In Rusturf Tunnel I ran into a Whismur and Lenny killed it thanks to a crit
So now it's just the three of us until I get to Dewford. I am on a roll.]
THE TEAM SO FAR
I've been on my journey for less than a week and it seems like all I've done is make enemies. First that weird Wally kid who lucked out and got a Ralts on the first try when I searched hours for one and got nothing, then Zyflair got killed by the Claydol Sniper (which I don't even understand - two Pokemon in one day means I must have really angered this guy in a past life), then my Pokemon decided to kill off any chances I'd get another teammate around these parts. On top of that, I seem to have made Team Aqua's Most Wanted list just because I helped out some guy in the woods. I swear, when he said, "Let me reward you with one of my balls," I was about to lose it. I'm so tired of guys--old guys, nonetheless--hitting on me. God.
After another day's training, I felt like Zenith was able to take Roxanne on fairly easily. Even though he had a type advantage, I didn't want to risk anything. I walked into the gym (darndest thing, I swear to God it looks exactly like Dad's gym from the outside) and I spotted ol' Roxie in the back. We lock eyes and I nod my head in acknolwedgment. She nods back and I'm hoping Roxanne isn't like a guy in drag. Oh man, Roxanne does sound like a drag queen name. I pray a silent prayer as I step forward. All of her cronies gang rush me, singing Roxanne's praises. I notice their use of the pronoun "she" and breathe a sigh of relief. But wait. Maybe she's just really good at dressing up..? UGH I can't think of that. I take on all three of her peons at once, and Zenith blows them all away. (Lenny helps out a little, but I'm still bitter over losing Ganon, so he doesn't get much experience.)
I head to the back of the gym and I get a closer look at Roxanne. The red leggings are a bit off-putting, but overall I'm pleased. She certainly looks female enough. I decide that if Roxanne is really a guy, my hat's off to her, but that's all she's getting off of me if she tries anything funny. I play it cool. "Hey, I'm Brendan."
"Nice to meet you, Brendan. I'm Roxanne of the Rustboro City Gym. Are you here for a challenge?"
"Yeah."
And silence. Say something, you idiot! Your girl problems are bad enough, you don't need this on top of it!
"So...were you born a man?"
OF ALL THE THINGS TO SAY, SON OF A
Fortunately, Roxanne laughs it off. "I assure you, I'm 100% female. Well then, shall we get started, Brenda?"
I bite my tongue. I deserved that. I let out a socially awkward chuckle. "Come on, Zenith...!"
[this battle is, as you might expect, not at all interesting because, y'know, Water beats Rock lol. Oh but the game had the last laugh since Zenith went from 15 to 17 over the course of the battle which means I missed out on Mud Shot. ffffuuuuuu]
So I win against Roxanne. Of course, the battle was the easy part. The worst of it was yet to come: "Of course you won, you stupid kid. Ooh, yeah, Water beats Rock, aren't you smart? You thought I had balls? I must if I'm gonna use a crappy type like Rock. Geez, what isn't Rock weak to? I use it because I like it and I'm the boss. What do you got? A stupid Marshtomp who can shoot stupid water of its stupid mouth."
"Oh yeah? At least I can catch different Pokemon. Who raises two of the same Pokemon? And you're a Gym Leader. Aren't you supposed to have strong Pokemon? All you had was a Nosepass. No, wait, you did have two Geodude, but they died so quickly I forgot they were even there."
She's turning redder and redder and I am trying so hard not to start laughing. Finally she lets out her breath and shouts at me, "Fine! Take the stupid badge and the stupid TM. It has Rock Tomb in it, lowers speed or whatever. Now get out."
I catch my loot and head out with my head held high. Just to rub it in her face, I let Zenith out and we high five right before we walk out the door.
I walk out of the gym and who should I see running past but a guy from Team Aqua. "Get out of the way! Move it!" He pushes his way past a crowd of people and takes off east.
Lagging far behind him is a guy in a suit panting, "Wa...wait! Pleas... please don't... oh god, I am out of shape..." He looks at me and his eyes bug out like I'm wearing a sign that says "I fix everyone's problems" and manages to ask me for help. "Brendan, you... whew... you gotta help me, listen, Team Aqua stole my Goods! You gotta get 'em back for me!"
Sounds like he made off with your pride, too. "Same guy from the forest?"
"I don't know, they all look the same..." he paused a moment to finally catch his breath. "But seriously, please, you gotta help! I'll make it worth your while. For real this time!" He added after I shot him a skeptical look.
"All right, fine, fine, no need to get your panties in a twist," I relented. "I dunno how I'm gonna catch him, though, he took off pretty quickly."
The researcher smiled. "That he did, but it's a dead end that way. There's a tunnel being built, but it's not done yet. If you hurry, you might be able catch him!"
All right. I leave the city and head back to Rusturf Tunnel. After the disaster I had getting Pokemon here I just wanted to get out as fast as I could. When I get there, sure enough there's the grunt trying to claw his way through the rocks. I decide to let Lenny have some fun and I sic him on the thief. Lenny takes off like a bullet and he leaps on him and starts biting on him and stuff, it was great. The grunt screams like a banshee and tries to kick Lenny off of him, but I wasn't gonna have any of that. Zenith came out all on his own and delivered an impressive uppercut which had me smiling. He manages to loosen himself from Lenny and takes off running out of the cave, leaving behind what I figure were the stolen goods and... a Wingull? I'd take it, but both Wingull and Pelipper are hideous Pokemon. I decided to leave it and exit the cave.
"PEEEEEEKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
All of a sudden, there's an old guy hugging the Wingull I found in the cave. I guess it was his? "Oh, Peeko...Daddy missed you, baby..."
All right then! "So, uh, you guys want me to leave you two alone?"
"Oh! Oh, hello! Where are my manners? I'm Briney, and this beautiful young thing is Peeko. Oh, when she was taken from me... I didn't know what I was going to do! I can't thank you enough for saving her! How can I ever repay you?"
Oh god, no, no, no, not this again. I am sick and tired of old guys trying to reward me! Lord help me, I forgot about the researcher. I can't wait to see what his reward is. "Uh...just being a good Samaritan, you know..."
"Well, no problem, young man! I live just outside Petalburg City, so don't hesitate to stop by if you ever need anything. Come, Peeko! Let's go back home!"
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Back in town, I hand over the stolen goods to the ecstatic researcher. "This what you're looking for?"
"Oh, yes, that's it! Thanks, Brendan, you really saved me. Now, for your reward, I've got another ball for you..." but before I can open my mouth to object, he tosses me another Great Ball. Okay, fine. "Actually, I've got one more favor to ask. Last one, I promise. Could I trouble you to take those goods to the shipyard in Slateport City for me? After this latest incident, I'm not sure the president will trust me much anymore. After I tell him how you saved me again, he's sure to make it worth your while, and I'm not talking about Great Balls, either! What do you say?"
No. Absolutely not. I'm sick of doing your dirty work and I hope you get eaten by a bunch of rabid Wurmple. "Sure, no problem."
"Thanks, Brendan, you won't regret it! Now, if you'll follow me..."
All of a sudden we're in a building. How did we get here??? I swear, all I did was blink and here we are! "Brendan, this is the third floor of Devon Corporation. It's where our president's office is. Stay here a minute while I go relay what happened, kay?"
"Yeah, sure." I don't even care about the job at this point. I just want to know how I got here. Just how long has it been? What if I've been in a trance for a few months? I should call home and check. Do we even have a phone? "Hey, could I use your phone?"
"Perfect timing, Brendan! Come on over here. The president would like a word with you." I head on over to the desk where the president is sitting. "President Stone, this is Brendan, the young man I told you about earlier."
The older man smiled and extended a hand. "Brendan, Brendan, thank you for saving my associate. How old are you, son?"
"Ten," I lied.
"Bull," President Stone countered. "You can't fool these old eyes. But if you've got a reason for hiding your real age, I won't bother you about it. I wonder simply because there's going to be an opening as a security guard very soon, and I hoped you'd been old enough to apply. But enough about that. I heard that you've been bribed into doing this guy's job, and I'd like to add my own personal request. I've got a letter for my good-for-nothing son Steven. He's... well, we'll just say he's got a rather important job that he continues to shirk, and I'm tired of substituting for him. I've got a business to run. So if you'd take this letter to him in Dewford Town, I'd be grateful."
He hands me an envelope. I accept it, look it over, and stick it into my bag.
"Now, you should know that I am a great president. So, I'd never be so cheap as to ask a favor for nothing in return," he continued, opening a drawer in his desk. "That's why I want you to have... this!"
Now this is more like it. "Sweet, a PokeNav!"
"You know of them? Saves me the trouble of explaining it, then, doesn't it?" President Stone leaned back in his chair. "If you get lost, you can use that to check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily. Thanks a bunch!"
All right, cool, I got a PokeNav, which is way better than getting Great Balls. I head out of the building.
"HEY! LISTEN!"
I turn around so fast I almost deck this guy for scaring me like that, but I manage to stop at the last second. "What the heck, dude?!"
"I've been developing an added feature for the PokeNav, and it turned out great! Brendan, may I see that PokeNav? The one our president gave you?"
"What? Dude, no, get your own PokeNav, I don't even know you, and how the heck did you know my na-"
He snatches the PokeNav out of my hand and tinkers with it before shoving it back in my hands. "Hehehe, it's much better now! I installed Match Call on your PokeNav!"
"What is that, some kind of virus? What did you do my PokeNav???"
"Easy, kid. You know the Trainer's Eyes function, right? Match Call is an extended version of it. Think of it like Trainer's Eyes 2.0. Using Match Call, you can actually call people you've registered on the PokeNav. That's all."
"If that's all it is, then why don't all PokeNavs have the Match Call function?"
"Well, they do. Yours is the only one that doesn't. You see, the president has the old Sapphire version. In order to stay compatible with the new Emerald version PokeNavs, it had to be upgraded."
"All right, gotcha. Well, thanks, I'll be seeing y-"
"President Stone should be registered in your PokeNav. Why don't you test out your new PokeNav and give him a call?"
I flip open the PokeNav and realize that the nerd is telling the truth. All the old men in this world want me, I swear to God. No way am I indulging this creep's request. "Uh, no, that's okay, I'll figure it out."
"Do it."
"Okay, okay, geez!" I ring up the president.
"Hello, Brendan!" I hear from the central speaker. "Stone here. Looks like the PokeNav is working great!"
"Yeah, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna go."
"Sure thing. You're looking reeeal nice down there. Want to know how I know?"
No. "O...kay?"
And then he says, barely above a whisper, "I can see you from my window."
All right, that's it, I'm outta here. I hang up and run as fast as I can south toward the city exit, and then I see her. That beautiful brunette who has eluded me for days. Unfortunately for me, I look thoroughly creeped out and a little sweaty from all the running. Still, I play it cool as she approaches me. "Hi, Brendan. What brings you here?" She pieces together possible scenarios. "Oh, did you fight Roxanne?"
"Yeah. Stomped her. Did she yell at you, too?"
"Huh? Well, no. She did grumble a little bit about Grass-types, but other than that she was pretty cool about it. I even got her number afterwards. Why would she yell at me?"
She got Roxanne's number? Why would she... is she...? "I, uh... never mind. So, uh, think I could get your number?"
"No problem! I was actually looking for you so I could ask for yours. Here, hold your PokeNav out like this... and then you push this button here, and there you go! I'm in your book, and you're in mine. That's the speedy method. If you're not near the other person, you have to actually type their number in. It's kind of a hassle."
My day is looking up. "Thanks. So where are you headed now?"
"I don't know. I think I might head east. How about you?"
I explain to her about my new job as a delivery boy, the elderly's penchant to hit on me, and how there's a Gym in Dewford so I might as well get a badge out of it.
She laughs. "Sounds like you've got your hands full, but what do you say to a battle before we part ways?"
"Here in town? Don't you think that's a bit... dangerous?"
"Go, Wingull!"
I guess not! [Stolen session activated]
"Okay, I give up. Pretty cool that your Mudkip's evolved already. I think I'm going to stand here until you're out of sight, so bye!"
Uh... okay... I head south out of the city [but not before getting Cut - work that into the story however you like], a bit saddened because I have no one that can use Cut. I see you, alternate path through Petalburg Woods, but I guess you'll have to wait.
Just outside the woods, I see Briney's house and figure I should stop in. I recall May mentioning him being a sailor during our battle, so I hope he can give me a lift. The door's unlocked so I walk on in. "Mr. Brine--OH DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN"
"Yah! Why doesn't anyone in this world knock before they open the door?!" Mr. Briney quickly scrambled behind a table; Peeko hopped behind there with him. "Brendan. Oh, it's you. Nearly gave me a heart attack. What can I do for you?"
There are no words. "BUT. YOU JUST. I SAW. YOU AND. BUT I. JESUS!"
"Look, to each his own, right? If you keep this a secret from everyone, I'll do anything. You wanna use my boat? I'll take you anywhere you want to go, just don't tell anyone what you saw."
"Dewford."
"Peeko, we're setting sail, my darling!"
So we sail in awkward silence the whole time. My dad calls me and I tell him how I'm doing (totally fine and not at all traumatized). We land in Dewford and I take off like a jet, far, far away. The gym isn't even on my mind. I run into a nearby cave and just sit there, pondering what happened back in the cabin. I can never unsee, and that's the problem here. Maybe I can find a powerful Psychic-type to erase my brain. Yeah, that'll work. As I get up and dust myself off, a hiker comes up to me and asks, "You lost, son?"
"Nah. Just got here, delivering a letter to some dude named Steven."
"Steven? A guy came in here a little while ago who said his name was Steven. Said he was looking for rocks or somethin'? Anyway, he went that-a-way if you wanna go get him. It gets pretty dark in there, though, so you'll need this to get through easily." He tosses me a disc. "That's a Flash HM. You use that and you'll light that cave right up. You need the badge from Dewford if you wanna use it out of battle, though."
Well not that that's gonna do me any good because last I checked, neither of my Pokemon could even learn Flash. Where's May when you need her? "Thanks, but I'll be fine."
I head toward the stairs and I encounter a weak-looking Zubat. A girl. Knowing that Lenny will be useless against Brawly, I decided to capture her. I name her Amt because no amt of training will ever make this Zubat strong.
I heal her up and head deeper into the cave. Amt can't learn Flash, either, so that helps me none. I bumble around in the dark and trip over another Pokemon; this time it's a Sableye. Sableye looks much cooler than Zubat (and can probably learn Flash, knowing my luck) so I decide to have Amt take it on. I command a Supersonic attack and Sableye dodges it effortlessly. He then lunges at Amt, claws extended, and with a single swipe, tears Amt's head clean off. She falls to the ground, dead. I cannot believe I just lost a third Pokemon. Lenny comes out and revenge kills the Sableye, but that doesn't help. I saw a Zubat that was especially buff-looking later on, but I didn't care. I just wanted to find Steven, deliver this dumb letter, and get out of this stupid cave.
Finally, after only twenty minutes, I find myself back at the beginning of the cave, except I'm on a higher path. I follow this path to a secret room where there's a guy with gray hair wandering around. Great, another old guy. Just my luck. "Hey, old guy, are you Steven?"
"Old? No. Steven? Yes. And my hair is platinum, not gray. And you are?"
"Brendan. I have a letter for you." I open my bag, remove the letter, and present it. "From your father."
"God, really? All right, let's see it...oh, of course, he's mad again and wants me to return to my post as Champion. Seriously, old man, lay off!" He crumpled the letter and discarded it on the ground.
Unwilling to believe this guy, I pick up the letter and read it to myself. "Whoa... you really are the Champion, aren't you?"
Steven waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Don't drool too much, kid."
"What are you doing in a cave instead of at the Pokemon League, defeating people and crushing dreams?"
"Because it's boring. Who needs to be supreme leader and authority over all of Hoenn when you can say screw all that and dig for rocks in a cave? That's way more fun!"
"You're... you're serious?"
"Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't want to dig for rocks in a cave?! By the way, take this. It's my favorite move, Steel Wing."
I catch the disc and put it in my bag, where it will probably sit forever because none of my Pokemon can learn itglasgkah;oerialjv.bblkbjr
"So, can I have your number? If I decide to quit the champ job, I'll call you if I choose you to succeed me."
"What the... okay, fine, whatever." So I get Steven's number. I will never ever call him.
"Right! I think I've taken all the shiny cool rocks out of here, so I'm out! Peace!"
He runs out of the cave. I run out after him but he is gone. Like, he must have run literally at light speed. Whatever.
[this next part is boring. I decide that I do not want to risk Zenith fighting against all of Dewford Gym so I get on the boat and head to Slateport City. I skip all the trainers and head right up to Route 110 where I encounter a new teammate - Gale the female Jolly Lightningrod Electrike (yes I mad).
I train, train, train, and train some more, taking like 5 minutes a battle because all I can do is Thunder Wave and Tackle (Howl and Leer are a waste of time). Fast forward five or six levels and Gale is starting to become a respectable member of my team. I start going back towards Dewford and stop at the soda house on the way. Some girl uses a Goldeen on me (this Goldeen obviously had a troll face on because it knew I didn't have Spark) and hits Supersonic because the First Law of Confusion in Pokemon states that when the enemy uses Supersonic, its accuracy is 95 instead of 55. The Second Law of Confusion in Pokemon states that whenever you have a boosted Attack stat, the chances of you hitting yourself in confusion is also 95 as opposed to 50. So, naturally, after I Howl once and become confused, I hit myself. It nearly kills me, but thankfully it doesn't, because, y'know, that would be cruel. No, instead of that I'm at 3 HP and Goldeen Pecks Gale through the neck for the kill. WELP.
At this point I'm like screw it. I go back to Dewford, stomp Brawly, and head back to Route 110. I STILL do not have anyone that can learn Cut. And since I caught Gale on Route 110, that ENTIRE ROUTE is off limits. I'm starting to think I am gonna end up going through the game with just Zenith and Lenny.
Oh, and Lenny evolved (and is still alive). u mad todd? u jelly bro?]
THE TEAM SO FAR
Zenith (M) L23 / Jolly
Lenny (M) L19 / Brave
After another day's training, I felt like Zenith was able to take Roxanne on fairly easily. Even though he had a type advantage, I didn't want to risk anything. I walked into the gym (darndest thing, I swear to God it looks exactly like Dad's gym from the outside) and I spotted ol' Roxie in the back. We lock eyes and I nod my head in acknolwedgment. She nods back and I'm hoping Roxanne isn't like a guy in drag. Oh man, Roxanne does sound like a drag queen name. I pray a silent prayer as I step forward. All of her cronies gang rush me, singing Roxanne's praises. I notice their use of the pronoun "she" and breathe a sigh of relief. But wait. Maybe she's just really good at dressing up..? UGH I can't think of that. I take on all three of her peons at once, and Zenith blows them all away. (Lenny helps out a little, but I'm still bitter over losing Ganon, so he doesn't get much experience.)
I head to the back of the gym and I get a closer look at Roxanne. The red leggings are a bit off-putting, but overall I'm pleased. She certainly looks female enough. I decide that if Roxanne is really a guy, my hat's off to her, but that's all she's getting off of me if she tries anything funny. I play it cool. "Hey, I'm Brendan."
"Nice to meet you, Brendan. I'm Roxanne of the Rustboro City Gym. Are you here for a challenge?"
"Yeah."
And silence. Say something, you idiot! Your girl problems are bad enough, you don't need this on top of it!
"So...were you born a man?"
OF ALL THE THINGS TO SAY, SON OF A
Fortunately, Roxanne laughs it off. "I assure you, I'm 100% female. Well then, shall we get started, Brenda?"
I bite my tongue. I deserved that. I let out a socially awkward chuckle. "Come on, Zenith...!"
[this battle is, as you might expect, not at all interesting because, y'know, Water beats Rock lol. Oh but the game had the last laugh since Zenith went from 15 to 17 over the course of the battle which means I missed out on Mud Shot. ffffuuuuuu]
So I win against Roxanne. Of course, the battle was the easy part. The worst of it was yet to come: "Of course you won, you stupid kid. Ooh, yeah, Water beats Rock, aren't you smart? You thought I had balls? I must if I'm gonna use a crappy type like Rock. Geez, what isn't Rock weak to? I use it because I like it and I'm the boss. What do you got? A stupid Marshtomp who can shoot stupid water of its stupid mouth."
"Oh yeah? At least I can catch different Pokemon. Who raises two of the same Pokemon? And you're a Gym Leader. Aren't you supposed to have strong Pokemon? All you had was a Nosepass. No, wait, you did have two Geodude, but they died so quickly I forgot they were even there."
She's turning redder and redder and I am trying so hard not to start laughing. Finally she lets out her breath and shouts at me, "Fine! Take the stupid badge and the stupid TM. It has Rock Tomb in it, lowers speed or whatever. Now get out."
I catch my loot and head out with my head held high. Just to rub it in her face, I let Zenith out and we high five right before we walk out the door.
I walk out of the gym and who should I see running past but a guy from Team Aqua. "Get out of the way! Move it!" He pushes his way past a crowd of people and takes off east.
Lagging far behind him is a guy in a suit panting, "Wa...wait! Pleas... please don't... oh god, I am out of shape..." He looks at me and his eyes bug out like I'm wearing a sign that says "I fix everyone's problems" and manages to ask me for help. "Brendan, you... whew... you gotta help me, listen, Team Aqua stole my Goods! You gotta get 'em back for me!"
Sounds like he made off with your pride, too. "Same guy from the forest?"
"I don't know, they all look the same..." he paused a moment to finally catch his breath. "But seriously, please, you gotta help! I'll make it worth your while. For real this time!" He added after I shot him a skeptical look.
"All right, fine, fine, no need to get your panties in a twist," I relented. "I dunno how I'm gonna catch him, though, he took off pretty quickly."
The researcher smiled. "That he did, but it's a dead end that way. There's a tunnel being built, but it's not done yet. If you hurry, you might be able catch him!"
All right. I leave the city and head back to Rusturf Tunnel. After the disaster I had getting Pokemon here I just wanted to get out as fast as I could. When I get there, sure enough there's the grunt trying to claw his way through the rocks. I decide to let Lenny have some fun and I sic him on the thief. Lenny takes off like a bullet and he leaps on him and starts biting on him and stuff, it was great. The grunt screams like a banshee and tries to kick Lenny off of him, but I wasn't gonna have any of that. Zenith came out all on his own and delivered an impressive uppercut which had me smiling. He manages to loosen himself from Lenny and takes off running out of the cave, leaving behind what I figure were the stolen goods and... a Wingull? I'd take it, but both Wingull and Pelipper are hideous Pokemon. I decided to leave it and exit the cave.
"PEEEEEEKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
All of a sudden, there's an old guy hugging the Wingull I found in the cave. I guess it was his? "Oh, Peeko...Daddy missed you, baby..."
All right then! "So, uh, you guys want me to leave you two alone?"
"Oh! Oh, hello! Where are my manners? I'm Briney, and this beautiful young thing is Peeko. Oh, when she was taken from me... I didn't know what I was going to do! I can't thank you enough for saving her! How can I ever repay you?"
Oh god, no, no, no, not this again. I am sick and tired of old guys trying to reward me! Lord help me, I forgot about the researcher. I can't wait to see what his reward is. "Uh...just being a good Samaritan, you know..."
"Well, no problem, young man! I live just outside Petalburg City, so don't hesitate to stop by if you ever need anything. Come, Peeko! Let's go back home!"
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Back in town, I hand over the stolen goods to the ecstatic researcher. "This what you're looking for?"
"Oh, yes, that's it! Thanks, Brendan, you really saved me. Now, for your reward, I've got another ball for you..." but before I can open my mouth to object, he tosses me another Great Ball. Okay, fine. "Actually, I've got one more favor to ask. Last one, I promise. Could I trouble you to take those goods to the shipyard in Slateport City for me? After this latest incident, I'm not sure the president will trust me much anymore. After I tell him how you saved me again, he's sure to make it worth your while, and I'm not talking about Great Balls, either! What do you say?"
No. Absolutely not. I'm sick of doing your dirty work and I hope you get eaten by a bunch of rabid Wurmple. "Sure, no problem."
"Thanks, Brendan, you won't regret it! Now, if you'll follow me..."
All of a sudden we're in a building. How did we get here??? I swear, all I did was blink and here we are! "Brendan, this is the third floor of Devon Corporation. It's where our president's office is. Stay here a minute while I go relay what happened, kay?"
"Yeah, sure." I don't even care about the job at this point. I just want to know how I got here. Just how long has it been? What if I've been in a trance for a few months? I should call home and check. Do we even have a phone? "Hey, could I use your phone?"
"Perfect timing, Brendan! Come on over here. The president would like a word with you." I head on over to the desk where the president is sitting. "President Stone, this is Brendan, the young man I told you about earlier."
The older man smiled and extended a hand. "Brendan, Brendan, thank you for saving my associate. How old are you, son?"
"Ten," I lied.
"Bull," President Stone countered. "You can't fool these old eyes. But if you've got a reason for hiding your real age, I won't bother you about it. I wonder simply because there's going to be an opening as a security guard very soon, and I hoped you'd been old enough to apply. But enough about that. I heard that you've been bribed into doing this guy's job, and I'd like to add my own personal request. I've got a letter for my good-for-nothing son Steven. He's... well, we'll just say he's got a rather important job that he continues to shirk, and I'm tired of substituting for him. I've got a business to run. So if you'd take this letter to him in Dewford Town, I'd be grateful."
He hands me an envelope. I accept it, look it over, and stick it into my bag.
"Now, you should know that I am a great president. So, I'd never be so cheap as to ask a favor for nothing in return," he continued, opening a drawer in his desk. "That's why I want you to have... this!"
Now this is more like it. "Sweet, a PokeNav!"
"You know of them? Saves me the trouble of explaining it, then, doesn't it?" President Stone leaned back in his chair. "If you get lost, you can use that to check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily. Thanks a bunch!"
All right, cool, I got a PokeNav, which is way better than getting Great Balls. I head out of the building.
"HEY! LISTEN!"
I turn around so fast I almost deck this guy for scaring me like that, but I manage to stop at the last second. "What the heck, dude?!"
"I've been developing an added feature for the PokeNav, and it turned out great! Brendan, may I see that PokeNav? The one our president gave you?"
"What? Dude, no, get your own PokeNav, I don't even know you, and how the heck did you know my na-"
He snatches the PokeNav out of my hand and tinkers with it before shoving it back in my hands. "Hehehe, it's much better now! I installed Match Call on your PokeNav!"
"What is that, some kind of virus? What did you do my PokeNav???"
"Easy, kid. You know the Trainer's Eyes function, right? Match Call is an extended version of it. Think of it like Trainer's Eyes 2.0. Using Match Call, you can actually call people you've registered on the PokeNav. That's all."
"If that's all it is, then why don't all PokeNavs have the Match Call function?"
"Well, they do. Yours is the only one that doesn't. You see, the president has the old Sapphire version. In order to stay compatible with the new Emerald version PokeNavs, it had to be upgraded."
"All right, gotcha. Well, thanks, I'll be seeing y-"
"President Stone should be registered in your PokeNav. Why don't you test out your new PokeNav and give him a call?"
I flip open the PokeNav and realize that the nerd is telling the truth. All the old men in this world want me, I swear to God. No way am I indulging this creep's request. "Uh, no, that's okay, I'll figure it out."
"Do it."
"Okay, okay, geez!" I ring up the president.
"Hello, Brendan!" I hear from the central speaker. "Stone here. Looks like the PokeNav is working great!"
"Yeah, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna go."
"Sure thing. You're looking reeeal nice down there. Want to know how I know?"
No. "O...kay?"
And then he says, barely above a whisper, "I can see you from my window."
All right, that's it, I'm outta here. I hang up and run as fast as I can south toward the city exit, and then I see her. That beautiful brunette who has eluded me for days. Unfortunately for me, I look thoroughly creeped out and a little sweaty from all the running. Still, I play it cool as she approaches me. "Hi, Brendan. What brings you here?" She pieces together possible scenarios. "Oh, did you fight Roxanne?"
"Yeah. Stomped her. Did she yell at you, too?"
"Huh? Well, no. She did grumble a little bit about Grass-types, but other than that she was pretty cool about it. I even got her number afterwards. Why would she yell at me?"
She got Roxanne's number? Why would she... is she...? "I, uh... never mind. So, uh, think I could get your number?"
"No problem! I was actually looking for you so I could ask for yours. Here, hold your PokeNav out like this... and then you push this button here, and there you go! I'm in your book, and you're in mine. That's the speedy method. If you're not near the other person, you have to actually type their number in. It's kind of a hassle."
My day is looking up. "Thanks. So where are you headed now?"
"I don't know. I think I might head east. How about you?"
I explain to her about my new job as a delivery boy, the elderly's penchant to hit on me, and how there's a Gym in Dewford so I might as well get a badge out of it.
She laughs. "Sounds like you've got your hands full, but what do you say to a battle before we part ways?"
"Here in town? Don't you think that's a bit... dangerous?"
"Go, Wingull!"
I guess not! [Stolen session activated]
"Okay, I give up. Pretty cool that your Mudkip's evolved already. I think I'm going to stand here until you're out of sight, so bye!"
Uh... okay... I head south out of the city [but not before getting Cut - work that into the story however you like], a bit saddened because I have no one that can use Cut. I see you, alternate path through Petalburg Woods, but I guess you'll have to wait.
Just outside the woods, I see Briney's house and figure I should stop in. I recall May mentioning him being a sailor during our battle, so I hope he can give me a lift. The door's unlocked so I walk on in. "Mr. Brine--OH DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN"
"Yah! Why doesn't anyone in this world knock before they open the door?!" Mr. Briney quickly scrambled behind a table; Peeko hopped behind there with him. "Brendan. Oh, it's you. Nearly gave me a heart attack. What can I do for you?"
There are no words. "BUT. YOU JUST. I SAW. YOU AND. BUT I. JESUS!"
"Look, to each his own, right? If you keep this a secret from everyone, I'll do anything. You wanna use my boat? I'll take you anywhere you want to go, just don't tell anyone what you saw."
"Dewford."
"Peeko, we're setting sail, my darling!"
So we sail in awkward silence the whole time. My dad calls me and I tell him how I'm doing (totally fine and not at all traumatized). We land in Dewford and I take off like a jet, far, far away. The gym isn't even on my mind. I run into a nearby cave and just sit there, pondering what happened back in the cabin. I can never unsee, and that's the problem here. Maybe I can find a powerful Psychic-type to erase my brain. Yeah, that'll work. As I get up and dust myself off, a hiker comes up to me and asks, "You lost, son?"
"Nah. Just got here, delivering a letter to some dude named Steven."
"Steven? A guy came in here a little while ago who said his name was Steven. Said he was looking for rocks or somethin'? Anyway, he went that-a-way if you wanna go get him. It gets pretty dark in there, though, so you'll need this to get through easily." He tosses me a disc. "That's a Flash HM. You use that and you'll light that cave right up. You need the badge from Dewford if you wanna use it out of battle, though."
Well not that that's gonna do me any good because last I checked, neither of my Pokemon could even learn Flash. Where's May when you need her? "Thanks, but I'll be fine."
I head toward the stairs and I encounter a weak-looking Zubat. A girl. Knowing that Lenny will be useless against Brawly, I decided to capture her. I name her Amt because no amt of training will ever make this Zubat strong.
I heal her up and head deeper into the cave. Amt can't learn Flash, either, so that helps me none. I bumble around in the dark and trip over another Pokemon; this time it's a Sableye. Sableye looks much cooler than Zubat (and can probably learn Flash, knowing my luck) so I decide to have Amt take it on. I command a Supersonic attack and Sableye dodges it effortlessly. He then lunges at Amt, claws extended, and with a single swipe, tears Amt's head clean off. She falls to the ground, dead. I cannot believe I just lost a third Pokemon. Lenny comes out and revenge kills the Sableye, but that doesn't help. I saw a Zubat that was especially buff-looking later on, but I didn't care. I just wanted to find Steven, deliver this dumb letter, and get out of this stupid cave.
Finally, after only twenty minutes, I find myself back at the beginning of the cave, except I'm on a higher path. I follow this path to a secret room where there's a guy with gray hair wandering around. Great, another old guy. Just my luck. "Hey, old guy, are you Steven?"
"Old? No. Steven? Yes. And my hair is platinum, not gray. And you are?"
"Brendan. I have a letter for you." I open my bag, remove the letter, and present it. "From your father."
"God, really? All right, let's see it...oh, of course, he's mad again and wants me to return to my post as Champion. Seriously, old man, lay off!" He crumpled the letter and discarded it on the ground.
Unwilling to believe this guy, I pick up the letter and read it to myself. "Whoa... you really are the Champion, aren't you?"
Steven waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Don't drool too much, kid."
"What are you doing in a cave instead of at the Pokemon League, defeating people and crushing dreams?"
"Because it's boring. Who needs to be supreme leader and authority over all of Hoenn when you can say screw all that and dig for rocks in a cave? That's way more fun!"
"You're... you're serious?"
"Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't want to dig for rocks in a cave?! By the way, take this. It's my favorite move, Steel Wing."
I catch the disc and put it in my bag, where it will probably sit forever because none of my Pokemon can learn itglasgkah;oerialjv.bblkbjr
"So, can I have your number? If I decide to quit the champ job, I'll call you if I choose you to succeed me."
"What the... okay, fine, whatever." So I get Steven's number. I will never ever call him.
"Right! I think I've taken all the shiny cool rocks out of here, so I'm out! Peace!"
He runs out of the cave. I run out after him but he is gone. Like, he must have run literally at light speed. Whatever.
[this next part is boring. I decide that I do not want to risk Zenith fighting against all of Dewford Gym so I get on the boat and head to Slateport City. I skip all the trainers and head right up to Route 110 where I encounter a new teammate - Gale the female Jolly Lightningrod Electrike (yes I mad).
I train, train, train, and train some more, taking like 5 minutes a battle because all I can do is Thunder Wave and Tackle (Howl and Leer are a waste of time). Fast forward five or six levels and Gale is starting to become a respectable member of my team. I start going back towards Dewford and stop at the soda house on the way. Some girl uses a Goldeen on me (this Goldeen obviously had a troll face on because it knew I didn't have Spark) and hits Supersonic because the First Law of Confusion in Pokemon states that when the enemy uses Supersonic, its accuracy is 95 instead of 55. The Second Law of Confusion in Pokemon states that whenever you have a boosted Attack stat, the chances of you hitting yourself in confusion is also 95 as opposed to 50. So, naturally, after I Howl once and become confused, I hit myself. It nearly kills me, but thankfully it doesn't, because, y'know, that would be cruel. No, instead of that I'm at 3 HP and Goldeen Pecks Gale through the neck for the kill. WELP.
At this point I'm like screw it. I go back to Dewford, stomp Brawly, and head back to Route 110. I STILL do not have anyone that can learn Cut. And since I caught Gale on Route 110, that ENTIRE ROUTE is off limits. I'm starting to think I am gonna end up going through the game with just Zenith and Lenny.
Oh, and Lenny evolved (and is still alive). u mad todd? u jelly bro?]
THE TEAM SO FAR
All right, two down, six to go. Actually, when did I start caring about gym badges? Huh.
I look over at Briney standing by his boat. I made him swear he'd wait for me in public to avoid any... mishaps. Still, he's really weird, and I seriously consider swimming back to Slateport. I should be able to get in the museum by now. I end up deciding against it since I might damage... whatever this package is. I decide against it and board Briney's boat. The ride back to Slateport City is only slightly awkward.
When I get there, I find the shipyard and head on in. It's pretty much barren except for a couple of dudes, and they're both ignoring me. One of them looks like a nerd and I'm not really willing to deal with them after what happened in Rustboro, so I go to the other man at a table.
"Yo, I got a package for you." I wave it around for emphasis.
Of course, he ignores me. "Um... If this goes here..."
"Excuse me! Package here!"
"...doohickey..."
"I'm gonna doohickey you in the face if you don't answer me."
"Aaargh! I can't make heads or tails of this!"
I look down at what he's so frustrated about. "Oh, are you kidding me?" Angry, I grab his paper and flip it over. "There!"
He glances it over, mutters something I don't catch. "Well, I'll be! It was upside down the whole time! Don't I feel silly? The name's Dock. Who are you?"
"Brendan. I got a package for you."
"Oh, those are the Devon Goods that we ordered. Good, good. Only problem is, the captain's not in right now. I think he's over at the museum. Could I get you to deliver that to him?"
Geez. "Might as well...everyone else has asked me to deliver something, why not you too?"
"What was that?"
"I'd be glad to!" I take the package and leave the shipyard. I head over to the museum, hoping to get this over with so I can get on with... whatever it was I was gonna do with my life. Luckily the museum is open. Team Aqua is all over the place and I wonder why the cops don't just walk in and arrest the lot of them.
The receptionist smiles at me. "Welcome to the Oceanic Museum. The entrance fee is $50."
"Look, I'm not staying, I just want to deliver this package to Captain Stern," I explain, holding up the box to show her. "Can't I just go give it to him?"
"The entrance fee is $50." She doesn't even blink. What's her deal? "Would you like to enter?"
Fine. You robot woman. I toss her the money
[Actually, what would happen if you couldn't afford to get in the museum, and had no possible way to earn the money to get in? Someone should look into that...]
and I feel myself getting stared down by a dozen Aqua grunts. I can hear the murmurs about what happened in Petalburg Woods. I guess word travels fast around criminal organizations.
I ignore them and head upstairs. I really hope this is Stern so I can finally be done here. "Are you Captain Stern?"
The man looks down at me, adjusts his glasses. God, he's a nerd. "Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"
I practically shove the box into his hands. "Package. Devon. Here."
"Oh, these are the parts I ordered. I wasn't expecting someone so..." He looks me over. "Young."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, WE'LL BE TAKIN' THOSE PARTS, MATEY!"
All of a sudden, two Aqua idiots barge in and accost us. Stern seems unfazed. "And who are you?"
One of the grunts proudly points to his hat. "YARGH, WE BE TEAM AQUA, AND OUR BOSS DOES BE WANTIN' THEM PARTS YE GOT THERE."
The other one almost seems embarrassed to be with his friend. "Ugh, come on, we're not pirates! Will you please just stop that?" He looks over at me. "Sorry, he's new."
"AHAHAHAHA, GO CARVANHA!"
Welp. My Pokemon make short work of him. [this happened so long ago I don't remember what happened]
"YARG, MY POKEMON HAS WALKED THE PLANK! HELP ME, MATEY!"
I've still got my Pokemon out. I look over at the other grunt. "Round two?"
"What, are you kidding?" he says to me. "I just saw how badly you stomped his Pokemon. I don't want to fight you, but I'm going to let you beat my Pokemon anyway just so when I say we got beaten, it ain't a lie." He chucks down his Poke Ball and I destroy the Zubat inside in a matter of seconds. "All right, sorry to have bothered you. We'll be going now..."
Just then, another person walks in. He has an epic beard and mustache, and looks way more awesome than these guys. If it wasn't a dead giveaway by his outfit who he worked for, I would be this man's friend out of principle. Heck, I still might. He's that cool. "What is going on here? I send you two to take a single box, and yet it has been... 20 minutes," he begins, glancing at his watch. "What happened?"
"CAPTAIN, WE WERE DEFEATED BY--"
"This kid beat us, boss," the sane grunt says, pointing to me. Stern is behind me, holding the box like it were a small child.
The awesome man towers over me by a good foot or so and makes a good effort at using his size to intimidate me. "Wahahahahaha!" He lets out the manliest of laughs, and I almost--almost--joined in with him. "This kid? What's your name, kid?"
"Brendan, sir," I said before I realized I'd said it. "You must be one of the higher-ups in Team Aqua."
"You might say that. I am Archie, leader of Team Aqua. We are dedicated to expanding the great seas. What does a kid like you have against Team Aqua? I doubt you're part of Team Magma. I can see it in your eyes. You, you're a good kid. You some environmentalist or something?"
This time, I laughed. If it weren't for his good demeanor and mutual dislike for his grunts, I might have been scared to be in the presence of the leader of Hoenn's top crime syndicate. But by the time I was done, I decided I had to come up with a valid-sounding reason for interfering with his plans. "I'm just the delivery boy. Stone's lackey was too chicken to do it himself, so they asked me to do it because I whooped a couple of your grunts earlier when they tried something in Petalburg Woods."
That went swimmingly. Now I'm probably a dead man. Archie raises an eyebrow at me, and something goes off in his head. "That was you?" He rubs his beard. "I see..." A chuckle. "Well, I'll tell you what, Brendan, you are one of the ballsiest trainers I've ever met. Not only do you stand there and have the audacity to out yourself as the only thorn in my side I've experienced thus far, but you do not even seem afraid of me. Do you know how strong I am?"
I place my hands in my pockets and shrug. "To be honest, no. I'm from Johto. I just moved here. I didn't know Team Aqua existed until a few days ago. Given the fact that these two weaklings haven't stopped sweating since your arrival, I would think it's safe to say that you're pretty strong. After all, you wouldn't be the leader if you weren't."
"Ha! Very astute, kid. I like you. You want in? If you're as skilled in battle as you are with that tongue, you could be on the fast track to administrator."
I held in a snicker. "Not that that totally didn't make you sound like a pedophile or anything just now, but I'll pass. I'm not really a fan of being told what to do."
Suddenly, Archie's expression turns more serious. "I see. Then I will leave you today with a warning. What we are doing is a magnificent undertaking. I don't expect you to completely understand, but you would do well to stay out of our way. If you should choose to interfere with us again, the consequences will cost you dearly." He turns to his grunts. "Come on! We're leaving."
"Boss, what about the-"
"I said we're leaving!"
And then they left. Stern, having watched the whole thing silently, simply hmmed. "Okay then. Well, Brendan, thanks again for delivering these. Guess you can go now."
"Would you happen to have any idea what it is they're planning, Captain?"
"Not a one. Now, if you'd excuse me..."
Fine, jerk. See if I help you again. I head downstairs and see a lone grunt. "Hey buddy! Your pals have already took off."
He takes one look at me, screams, and runs, leaving behind a TM. Cool. I scan it and find that it's the move Thief. I put it in my bag along with the other TMs I figure I will never use. With a quick heal, I head out of the city. [Just remembered I have to go back and do tricks]
After reaching the dead end on Route 103, I go back to Route 110 and start on the very, very grassy path to the next town, and then I can see her. May rides up to me fast as can be on a slick-looking bike and when she sees me, she is all smiles. "Brendan! Boy, am I glad to see you! It's been a while. How have you been?" She parks her bike and runs up to my current location. She leaps into my arms in a hug. She knows just what to do to make my mood better.
"Hey there. I'm doing okay. Just kinda traveling around, you know? Got a badge from Brawly," I smile at her. I leave out the part about my run-in with Team Aqua. I don't really see a reason to make her worry.
"That's really cool! We should totally have a battle. I've gotten a lot stronger since I saw you in Rustboro. What do you think? You game?"
Actually, this time I am definitely in the mood. It's been a while since I last saw her. "Absolutely."
[you know, some day I will write out some battles I do, but as it stands right now, this battle was only _slightly_ difficult, and that's only because I couldn't switch Lenny out once Grovyle hit the field. I didn't want to risk Zenith dying from a lame crit on Absorb, plus I figured there wasn't really anything he could do against Grovyle _anyway._ So I win this.]
After the battle, May doesn't even seem upset that she's 0 for 3 against me. "Wow, Brendan. Your Pokemon are pretty strong. But why don't you catch anything else?"
The battle was over too quickly for my liking. She's going for her bike. She's gonna leave. Make your move, man. Now or never. "It's kind of a long story. Why don't you walk with me and I'll tell it to you? I'll take care of your bike," I say, swooping in before she can get to it. I prop up the kickstand and motion for her to follow. She doesn't move. "What's wrong? Do you have somewhere to be?"
She smiles again. "No, not really. But I wanted to give you this." She hands me a couple of... sticks? With bulbs on them? The heck is this? "I know, right? It's weird. It's an Itemfinder. When you use it near an item that's hidden, it'll lock onto it and point you in the right direction."
"That is kind of weird." I put the sticks in my bag. "I dunno if I'll ever use it, but thanks."
"Yeah, it kinda seems like a real hassle to use. I don't think I'll use mine, either," she says, beginning to walk with me along the route. "So, I believe you owe me a story..."
"I used to have four additional Pokemon, but almost all of them were killed by the Claydol Sniper."
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, Brendan..." She pauses a second, feeling a little terrible about having brought up the subject, but then curiosity gets the better of her. "You said "almost" all of them. What happened to the others?"
"That was Gale, my Electrike. He got a horn through the neck."
"...Oh. Wow. I'm... I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, that's just so terrible..."
*thok*
What was that? The sound was familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. "Hey, May, did you hear that?" I look at May, who has stopped walking and started staring into space. "May. You all right?" I look in the direction she's staring at, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I look back at her just in time to see her eyes roll into the back of her head. I throw her bike down and catch her as she falls, and it's then that I see something sticking out of her neck. A dart? I don't care. I grab it and yank it out and do everything I can to try and wake her up, but nothing works. At least she's still brea-
*thok*
Ugh. Wow that is some fast-acting poison. I can't even move. I feel my head spinning. Who shot us? I try to look around and out of the corner of my eye I see a couple of dudes dressed in red walk up to us. One of them kicks me over onto my back. "This him?"
Another takes something out of his pocket, looks at it, then back at me. "Looks like him. Hehe, he don't look like much."
"Gggggffffsssf." Well that's just peachy.
The one closest to me laughed. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that!"
"Gggggaaaaaaaaa"
"Hoo boy, that is hilarious. All right, we got what we came for. Load her up and let's go," he instructs, pointing to May's unconscious body. Great. Just great. I'm sorry, May. I swear, I'll find you and I'll resc..ue...
Some time later, I finally come to my senses. I ache all over. I struggle to get up and find May's bike is still here. I guess I'll keep it until I get her back. I doubt anyone else even saw us get attacked, and if I talk to anyone, all they're gonna wanna do is battle. So that's out of the question. Guess all I can do... is go forward.
I reach Mauville City and spot a Gym. I do not care. Wally is standing outside the Gym with his Ralts. He tries to wave me down. "Oh! Brendan! Over here! Wanna battle?"
I let out Lenny and point to Ralts. Lenny leaps at the poor Pokemon, grabs it by its head, and hurls it into the Gym door. I put Lenny away and head west from there to do a little training. I find a Pokemon that I decide will be Lenny's girlfriend. He needs him a girl in his life. I capture her and teach her Cut (yay!).
[insert training here]
Finally I am ready to take on Mauville's gym. I am cursing myself wildly for missing out on Mud Shot; this would make this Gym so much easier. Wattson's goons are no trouble at all, and of course I decide to take on Wattson without stocking up on healing items...
[This battle was pretty tough because I ran out of Super Potions pretty quickly. Lenny ate a critical hit turn 1 and got exploded on a couple turns later, but he lived. Mud-Slap's pathetic base power reared its ugly head, proving a 2hko against Magnemite and Magneton even though Zenith had a decent level advantage. The hardest part of the fight was, of course, keeping everyone alive. Lenny was actually the MVP here thanks to Intimidate and a Bite attack that seems to crit a ton]
...but I won. Badge get. Now I can go north.
[training]
I come to the base of Mt. Chimney, where I capture a Numel. I am really hungry at this point, so I name him bacon. Mmm.... bacon.
The lift is out of order, so I can't even go up the mountain. Looks like I'm hoofing it through Fiery Path. While I'm there I come across a Grimer. I catch it. I cannot think of a nickname for her. I think, "Who could I name this Grimer after? Let's see. She's smelly, grimy, and probably has no friends. Do I know anyone like that?" And then - inspiration.
As I continue my journey north, Roxanne starts making short work of people's Trainers. I get a cool Secret Power TM from some guy and I let Roxanne learn it because Pound ain't cutting it. Eventually I get to Route 113 and have fun walking through the ash. I see some Spinda dancing around, and one of them bumps into me. I slaughter it mercilessly. [there is no way I'm raising Spinda, Spinda can die in a fire] I see a cute girl with a parasol and I head over to flirt. Of course, all she wants to do is talk about her stupid Numel and battle. Roxanne's my lead and though she's at a disadvantage, I'm not worried.
"Okay, Numel, use Magnitude!"
Oh no.
BOOM! A huge spike comes out from the ground, impaling Roxanne upon it, killing her. That's it. Time to show her what a real Magnitude looks like. bacon summons up all his bacony strength and summons a somewhat smaller spike, but it does its job. Numel is gutted through the hump and I feel good... for about two seconds. All of a sudden, this kid dressed up like some Koga wannabe leaps out from a pile of ash and screams, "SELFDESTRUCT NINJUTSU!!" He throws a Koffing at bacon, and it explodes on impact. I go flying into a nearby building and bacon, of course, is blown to smithereens. Lenny automatically comes out and disembowels both the kid and his two other stupid Koffing. BEEEEEEEEEEAST. >:O
I make it to Fallarbor Town with no sign of Team Aqua, May, or the guys who kidnapped her. I heal up and head to Route 114, where I encounter a Swablu. After a bit of a struggle, he is mine. I hope that Pride stays on my team forever because Altaria is awesome.
THE TEAM SO FAR
Zenith (M) L28 / Jolly
Lenny (M) L28 / Brave
Zelda (F) L29 / Hasty
Pride (M) L19 / Calm
I look over at Briney standing by his boat. I made him swear he'd wait for me in public to avoid any... mishaps. Still, he's really weird, and I seriously consider swimming back to Slateport. I should be able to get in the museum by now. I end up deciding against it since I might damage... whatever this package is. I decide against it and board Briney's boat. The ride back to Slateport City is only slightly awkward.
When I get there, I find the shipyard and head on in. It's pretty much barren except for a couple of dudes, and they're both ignoring me. One of them looks like a nerd and I'm not really willing to deal with them after what happened in Rustboro, so I go to the other man at a table.
"Yo, I got a package for you." I wave it around for emphasis.
Of course, he ignores me. "Um... If this goes here..."
"Excuse me! Package here!"
"...doohickey..."
"I'm gonna doohickey you in the face if you don't answer me."
"Aaargh! I can't make heads or tails of this!"
I look down at what he's so frustrated about. "Oh, are you kidding me?" Angry, I grab his paper and flip it over. "There!"
He glances it over, mutters something I don't catch. "Well, I'll be! It was upside down the whole time! Don't I feel silly? The name's Dock. Who are you?"
"Brendan. I got a package for you."
"Oh, those are the Devon Goods that we ordered. Good, good. Only problem is, the captain's not in right now. I think he's over at the museum. Could I get you to deliver that to him?"
Geez. "Might as well...everyone else has asked me to deliver something, why not you too?"
"What was that?"
"I'd be glad to!" I take the package and leave the shipyard. I head over to the museum, hoping to get this over with so I can get on with... whatever it was I was gonna do with my life. Luckily the museum is open. Team Aqua is all over the place and I wonder why the cops don't just walk in and arrest the lot of them.
The receptionist smiles at me. "Welcome to the Oceanic Museum. The entrance fee is $50."
"Look, I'm not staying, I just want to deliver this package to Captain Stern," I explain, holding up the box to show her. "Can't I just go give it to him?"
"The entrance fee is $50." She doesn't even blink. What's her deal? "Would you like to enter?"
Fine. You robot woman. I toss her the money
[Actually, what would happen if you couldn't afford to get in the museum, and had no possible way to earn the money to get in? Someone should look into that...]
and I feel myself getting stared down by a dozen Aqua grunts. I can hear the murmurs about what happened in Petalburg Woods. I guess word travels fast around criminal organizations.
I ignore them and head upstairs. I really hope this is Stern so I can finally be done here. "Are you Captain Stern?"
The man looks down at me, adjusts his glasses. God, he's a nerd. "Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"
I practically shove the box into his hands. "Package. Devon. Here."
"Oh, these are the parts I ordered. I wasn't expecting someone so..." He looks me over. "Young."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, WE'LL BE TAKIN' THOSE PARTS, MATEY!"
All of a sudden, two Aqua idiots barge in and accost us. Stern seems unfazed. "And who are you?"
One of the grunts proudly points to his hat. "YARGH, WE BE TEAM AQUA, AND OUR BOSS DOES BE WANTIN' THEM PARTS YE GOT THERE."
The other one almost seems embarrassed to be with his friend. "Ugh, come on, we're not pirates! Will you please just stop that?" He looks over at me. "Sorry, he's new."
"AHAHAHAHA, GO CARVANHA!"
Welp. My Pokemon make short work of him. [this happened so long ago I don't remember what happened]
"YARG, MY POKEMON HAS WALKED THE PLANK! HELP ME, MATEY!"
I've still got my Pokemon out. I look over at the other grunt. "Round two?"
"What, are you kidding?" he says to me. "I just saw how badly you stomped his Pokemon. I don't want to fight you, but I'm going to let you beat my Pokemon anyway just so when I say we got beaten, it ain't a lie." He chucks down his Poke Ball and I destroy the Zubat inside in a matter of seconds. "All right, sorry to have bothered you. We'll be going now..."
Just then, another person walks in. He has an epic beard and mustache, and looks way more awesome than these guys. If it wasn't a dead giveaway by his outfit who he worked for, I would be this man's friend out of principle. Heck, I still might. He's that cool. "What is going on here? I send you two to take a single box, and yet it has been... 20 minutes," he begins, glancing at his watch. "What happened?"
"CAPTAIN, WE WERE DEFEATED BY--"
"This kid beat us, boss," the sane grunt says, pointing to me. Stern is behind me, holding the box like it were a small child.
The awesome man towers over me by a good foot or so and makes a good effort at using his size to intimidate me. "Wahahahahaha!" He lets out the manliest of laughs, and I almost--almost--joined in with him. "This kid? What's your name, kid?"
"Brendan, sir," I said before I realized I'd said it. "You must be one of the higher-ups in Team Aqua."
"You might say that. I am Archie, leader of Team Aqua. We are dedicated to expanding the great seas. What does a kid like you have against Team Aqua? I doubt you're part of Team Magma. I can see it in your eyes. You, you're a good kid. You some environmentalist or something?"
This time, I laughed. If it weren't for his good demeanor and mutual dislike for his grunts, I might have been scared to be in the presence of the leader of Hoenn's top crime syndicate. But by the time I was done, I decided I had to come up with a valid-sounding reason for interfering with his plans. "I'm just the delivery boy. Stone's lackey was too chicken to do it himself, so they asked me to do it because I whooped a couple of your grunts earlier when they tried something in Petalburg Woods."
That went swimmingly. Now I'm probably a dead man. Archie raises an eyebrow at me, and something goes off in his head. "That was you?" He rubs his beard. "I see..." A chuckle. "Well, I'll tell you what, Brendan, you are one of the ballsiest trainers I've ever met. Not only do you stand there and have the audacity to out yourself as the only thorn in my side I've experienced thus far, but you do not even seem afraid of me. Do you know how strong I am?"
I place my hands in my pockets and shrug. "To be honest, no. I'm from Johto. I just moved here. I didn't know Team Aqua existed until a few days ago. Given the fact that these two weaklings haven't stopped sweating since your arrival, I would think it's safe to say that you're pretty strong. After all, you wouldn't be the leader if you weren't."
"Ha! Very astute, kid. I like you. You want in? If you're as skilled in battle as you are with that tongue, you could be on the fast track to administrator."
I held in a snicker. "Not that that totally didn't make you sound like a pedophile or anything just now, but I'll pass. I'm not really a fan of being told what to do."
Suddenly, Archie's expression turns more serious. "I see. Then I will leave you today with a warning. What we are doing is a magnificent undertaking. I don't expect you to completely understand, but you would do well to stay out of our way. If you should choose to interfere with us again, the consequences will cost you dearly." He turns to his grunts. "Come on! We're leaving."
"Boss, what about the-"
"I said we're leaving!"
And then they left. Stern, having watched the whole thing silently, simply hmmed. "Okay then. Well, Brendan, thanks again for delivering these. Guess you can go now."
"Would you happen to have any idea what it is they're planning, Captain?"
"Not a one. Now, if you'd excuse me..."
Fine, jerk. See if I help you again. I head downstairs and see a lone grunt. "Hey buddy! Your pals have already took off."
He takes one look at me, screams, and runs, leaving behind a TM. Cool. I scan it and find that it's the move Thief. I put it in my bag along with the other TMs I figure I will never use. With a quick heal, I head out of the city. [Just remembered I have to go back and do tricks]
After reaching the dead end on Route 103, I go back to Route 110 and start on the very, very grassy path to the next town, and then I can see her. May rides up to me fast as can be on a slick-looking bike and when she sees me, she is all smiles. "Brendan! Boy, am I glad to see you! It's been a while. How have you been?" She parks her bike and runs up to my current location. She leaps into my arms in a hug. She knows just what to do to make my mood better.
"Hey there. I'm doing okay. Just kinda traveling around, you know? Got a badge from Brawly," I smile at her. I leave out the part about my run-in with Team Aqua. I don't really see a reason to make her worry.
"That's really cool! We should totally have a battle. I've gotten a lot stronger since I saw you in Rustboro. What do you think? You game?"
Actually, this time I am definitely in the mood. It's been a while since I last saw her. "Absolutely."
[you know, some day I will write out some battles I do, but as it stands right now, this battle was only _slightly_ difficult, and that's only because I couldn't switch Lenny out once Grovyle hit the field. I didn't want to risk Zenith dying from a lame crit on Absorb, plus I figured there wasn't really anything he could do against Grovyle _anyway._ So I win this.]
After the battle, May doesn't even seem upset that she's 0 for 3 against me. "Wow, Brendan. Your Pokemon are pretty strong. But why don't you catch anything else?"
The battle was over too quickly for my liking. She's going for her bike. She's gonna leave. Make your move, man. Now or never. "It's kind of a long story. Why don't you walk with me and I'll tell it to you? I'll take care of your bike," I say, swooping in before she can get to it. I prop up the kickstand and motion for her to follow. She doesn't move. "What's wrong? Do you have somewhere to be?"
She smiles again. "No, not really. But I wanted to give you this." She hands me a couple of... sticks? With bulbs on them? The heck is this? "I know, right? It's weird. It's an Itemfinder. When you use it near an item that's hidden, it'll lock onto it and point you in the right direction."
"That is kind of weird." I put the sticks in my bag. "I dunno if I'll ever use it, but thanks."
"Yeah, it kinda seems like a real hassle to use. I don't think I'll use mine, either," she says, beginning to walk with me along the route. "So, I believe you owe me a story..."
"I used to have four additional Pokemon, but almost all of them were killed by the Claydol Sniper."
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, Brendan..." She pauses a second, feeling a little terrible about having brought up the subject, but then curiosity gets the better of her. "You said "almost" all of them. What happened to the others?"
"That was Gale, my Electrike. He got a horn through the neck."
"...Oh. Wow. I'm... I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, that's just so terrible..."
*thok*
What was that? The sound was familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. "Hey, May, did you hear that?" I look at May, who has stopped walking and started staring into space. "May. You all right?" I look in the direction she's staring at, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I look back at her just in time to see her eyes roll into the back of her head. I throw her bike down and catch her as she falls, and it's then that I see something sticking out of her neck. A dart? I don't care. I grab it and yank it out and do everything I can to try and wake her up, but nothing works. At least she's still brea-
*thok*
Ugh. Wow that is some fast-acting poison. I can't even move. I feel my head spinning. Who shot us? I try to look around and out of the corner of my eye I see a couple of dudes dressed in red walk up to us. One of them kicks me over onto my back. "This him?"
Another takes something out of his pocket, looks at it, then back at me. "Looks like him. Hehe, he don't look like much."
"Gggggffffsssf." Well that's just peachy.
The one closest to me laughed. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that!"
"Gggggaaaaaaaaa"
"Hoo boy, that is hilarious. All right, we got what we came for. Load her up and let's go," he instructs, pointing to May's unconscious body. Great. Just great. I'm sorry, May. I swear, I'll find you and I'll resc..ue...
Some time later, I finally come to my senses. I ache all over. I struggle to get up and find May's bike is still here. I guess I'll keep it until I get her back. I doubt anyone else even saw us get attacked, and if I talk to anyone, all they're gonna wanna do is battle. So that's out of the question. Guess all I can do... is go forward.
I reach Mauville City and spot a Gym. I do not care. Wally is standing outside the Gym with his Ralts. He tries to wave me down. "Oh! Brendan! Over here! Wanna battle?"
I let out Lenny and point to Ralts. Lenny leaps at the poor Pokemon, grabs it by its head, and hurls it into the Gym door. I put Lenny away and head west from there to do a little training. I find a Pokemon that I decide will be Lenny's girlfriend. He needs him a girl in his life. I capture her and teach her Cut (yay!).
[insert training here]
Finally I am ready to take on Mauville's gym. I am cursing myself wildly for missing out on Mud Shot; this would make this Gym so much easier. Wattson's goons are no trouble at all, and of course I decide to take on Wattson without stocking up on healing items...
[This battle was pretty tough because I ran out of Super Potions pretty quickly. Lenny ate a critical hit turn 1 and got exploded on a couple turns later, but he lived. Mud-Slap's pathetic base power reared its ugly head, proving a 2hko against Magnemite and Magneton even though Zenith had a decent level advantage. The hardest part of the fight was, of course, keeping everyone alive. Lenny was actually the MVP here thanks to Intimidate and a Bite attack that seems to crit a ton]
...but I won. Badge get. Now I can go north.
[training]
I come to the base of Mt. Chimney, where I capture a Numel. I am really hungry at this point, so I name him bacon. Mmm.... bacon.
The lift is out of order, so I can't even go up the mountain. Looks like I'm hoofing it through Fiery Path. While I'm there I come across a Grimer. I catch it. I cannot think of a nickname for her. I think, "Who could I name this Grimer after? Let's see. She's smelly, grimy, and probably has no friends. Do I know anyone like that?" And then - inspiration.
As I continue my journey north, Roxanne starts making short work of people's Trainers. I get a cool Secret Power TM from some guy and I let Roxanne learn it because Pound ain't cutting it. Eventually I get to Route 113 and have fun walking through the ash. I see some Spinda dancing around, and one of them bumps into me. I slaughter it mercilessly. [there is no way I'm raising Spinda, Spinda can die in a fire] I see a cute girl with a parasol and I head over to flirt. Of course, all she wants to do is talk about her stupid Numel and battle. Roxanne's my lead and though she's at a disadvantage, I'm not worried.
"Okay, Numel, use Magnitude!"
Oh no.
BOOM! A huge spike comes out from the ground, impaling Roxanne upon it, killing her. That's it. Time to show her what a real Magnitude looks like. bacon summons up all his bacony strength and summons a somewhat smaller spike, but it does its job. Numel is gutted through the hump and I feel good... for about two seconds. All of a sudden, this kid dressed up like some Koga wannabe leaps out from a pile of ash and screams, "SELFDESTRUCT NINJUTSU!!" He throws a Koffing at bacon, and it explodes on impact. I go flying into a nearby building and bacon, of course, is blown to smithereens. Lenny automatically comes out and disembowels both the kid and his two other stupid Koffing. BEEEEEEEEEEAST. >:O
I make it to Fallarbor Town with no sign of Team Aqua, May, or the guys who kidnapped her. I heal up and head to Route 114, where I encounter a Swablu. After a bit of a struggle, he is mine. I hope that Pride stays on my team forever because Altaria is awesome.
THE TEAM SO FAR
