Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 29: Battling for the Boulder Badge!

The sun swept in from the window, seeping into Lucas' eyes and waking him up. Lucas stretched his arms and leapt out of the Pokemon Centre bed, getting changed out of his pyjamas and then stuffing them into his bag, then getting changed into his trainer kit. Then, he took his three Pokeballs out and threw them onto the bed. Torchic, Zorua and Shroomish all popped out of their Pokeballs and landed on the bed. Lucas pet all of them on the head, being slightly more gentle with Shroomish.

"Alright, today we're gonna enter the Rustboro Gym, and get that gym badge!"

Zorua and Torchic were fully on board, but Shroomish was apprehensive after the previous battle with Torchic. However, Lucas wasn't bothered by it at all and just said,

"I know you won't want to battle for a bit, so you can take a rest for the time being, Shroomish. Me, Zorua and Torchic will be able to win, I'm sure. So, you can hop into your Pokeball for now."

Shroomish nodded and then hopped into its Pokeball, while Torchic launched itself onto his shoulder, and Zorua trailed by his side as he walked out of the room. He walked along the vast corridor of rooms, finding a flight of stairs and dashing down into the lobby. He then found that no one was there. He checked the time on his Rotom Phone and found he was up probably earlier than a lot of people. But, he had woken up in time for the gym's opening.

"They're not gonna mind me going a bit earlier.", Lucas thought as he dashed out of Pokemon Centre, on track for the Rustboro Gym. He'd memorized the path and what the streets leading up to it looked like, so making his way over to the gym was no problem at all for Lucas. Then, he rushed into the stadium, past the ticket booth and into the reception. Someone was standing at the desk, frantically typing on a keyboard connected to a modern looking computer.

But, in front of her, a line was starting to form, as she gave away tickets to customers for the battles that many contestants would be having today. But, this time, Lucas would be one of those contestants, and he wasn't planning on going back to that Pokemon Centre empty-handed. The queue eventually subsided as the customers left the reception area and to their seats in the stadium. Lucas stepped up to the reception and said,

"Could I get a battle against Roxanne, please?"

The receptionist nodded and then looked up something on her computer, then looked back at him and asked,

"Are you one of those kids that got a Pokemon from Professor Birch?"

"Yes, I am!"

"So, you've already got one badge from Petalburg, I presume."

"Yes, its right here.", Lucas said as he pulled out the badge with a silent sense of pride. The receptionist looked back at her computer and said,

"Alright, you're booked in for 8:30, only half an hour from now. Do whatever you need to prepare, and I wish you good luck."

"Thank you.", Lucas said as he stretched and walked away from the reception area, stretching and asking Torchic and Zorua,

"You guys want to do some quick training while we're waiting?"

Zorua and Torchic both nodded, with Torchic seeming extremely enthusiastic in anticipation of the battle. And, so, they walked back to the Pokemon Centre and trained the next twenty minutes away. They spun and hopped as they threw out their own moves, often clashing with each other and then both backing off. Torchic practised its Flame Charge by dashing around the battlefield and burning the ground beneath its feet. Then, Zorua improved its durability, by putting up an attack against Torchic's Flame Charge.

So, when it was time to return to the stadium, they felt confident when they stepped out onto the stadium floor, ready to face Roxanne. Lucas stepped onto his platform, falling under the eyes of many spectators cheering so loud that it was deafening. But, it only made Lucas more excited to get the show on the road. Meanwhile, Roxanne walked out of the opposite end of the stadium, waving politely at the roaring audience. The referee stood in the centre and then yelled,