Pokémon Journey: Hoenn

Chapter 13: A Rock-Hard Attack! (Part 2)

Last chapter saw James overcome Roxanne's defensive tactics to emerge victorious. Now it's Richard's turn to step into the challenger's corner.

Chapter 13: A Rock-Hard Attack! (Part 2)

Rustboro City, Hoenn

2:11pm, 14th April 2006

As Richard entered the passageway leading to the main arena in the Rustboro gym, he spotted James walking back in the opposite direction.

"Great work out there!" He grinned as they got closer, offering his hand for a high-five.

"Thanks." James accepted the gesture. "It was tough going for a while, but we were able to pull through." He lent closer to Richard and spoke in a low voice. "Be careful. She's already got a good handle on our preferred tactics – you saw how she forced me to go on the offensive. She'll have come up with counters for you as well."

"Got it." Richard nodded. "I'll figure something out. Thanks for the tip!"

"No problem. Good luck out there." James continued walking past him and disappeared into the lobby.

"Right!" Richard turned back to look straight ahead. "Guess I'd better not keep everyone waiting!"

"So, you're next then, Richard?" Roxanne called across the arena as Richard emerged from the passageway.

"Looks that way, yeah!" Richard grinned back. "Sorry you had to tangle with James before the main event!"

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" Roxanne assured him. "I'm confident of my strength, even when fighting multiple battles! I promise I won't disappoint you!"

"Glad to hear it!"

"Wow, Richard's really talking big," Nicola sighed. "It's like he isn't nervous at all."

"You should try and go into your battle like that as well," said Will.

"Huh?" Nicola looked at him. "What do you mean? How can I?"

"Well, a trainer is the team leader," Will replied. "If they don't seem confident, then the pokémon will lose confidence as well. And then they're more likely to lose."

"So, is Richard just acting like he's confident?" Nicola wondered, looking back at the arena.

"It's hard to say with Richard!"

Nicola and Will looked around to see James walking along the stand towards them.

"What do you mean?" Nicola asked.

"Richard does tend to act more confident than he actually is," James explained. "But he behaves in the exact same way when he really is confident."

"So, what you're saying is that we don't know how confident he is…" Will summarised.

"It's pretty handy for him." James nodded. "It makes it harder for the opponent to work it out!"

"That's something I should probably do too," Nicola sighed.

"Well, you'll have the benefit of Roxanne not coming up with specific tactics to counter you," James replied. "Not that you shouldn't be careful though."

"I'll keep it in mind." Nicola nodded.

There was a brief pause.

"Oh, yeah! Congratulations on winning!" Nicola suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah, great work, James," Will added. "I really thought it was over when Charka was trapped by Constrict the second time."

"Yeah, we got lucky there," James replied. "The way Roxanne set up Lileep's defences was flawless – I had no choice but to run the gauntlet and attack up close."