Trainer's Guide to the Pokémon World; Volume 2: Hoenn

A Rocky Start

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!! After a fortnight hiatus, this story has returned, with an updated schedule once again. During this 2 week break, I noticed that because of the schedule I'd given myself, I was beginning to actually dread uploading this thing, and not want to. If that continued, I may have even stopped writing this all together. Ironic, the strategy I implemented to prevent me from growing bored of this fic almost made me give it up. So, I will be uploading this every Tuesday and Thursday. But with that, here's the gym battle I promised.

After the Contest, Max and Bonnie set off again towards the Rustboro Gym. Tierno and Shauna decide to accompany them to the gym, to watch Bonnie compete in her first battle in Hoenn. Bonnie expects this walk to be short enough, but Max just has to ruin it by reminding her that they've still got another day of walking, longer if he gets distracted by any pokémon he sees. Bonnie puts a stop to that idea by threatening to throw his notebook into the river should he stop to write anything down. Max promises he won't, then pulls out one of his audio logs. As they head off down to Rustboro City, Bonnie falls into a bit of a trance listening to Max geek out about pokémon. at one point, she even has to be pulled to the side by Shauna, because she was so distracted by Max she nearly walked into a tree, something that makes Max laugh so hard he has to pause his recording. Bonnie just glares at him and keeps walking.

True to Max's estimation, it takes them until the next day to reach Rustboro City. By this time, Bonnie is very annoyed by how long it's taken for her to have her first gym battle in Hoenn. I swear it didn't take us this long to get to Santalune!" she complains. Max nods in agreement. "well, there was a lot more stuff to get through before we get to the gym," he points out. "But hey, at least we're here now." "I suppose," Bonnie agrees. Then, she takes his hand and begins to pull him into the City. "Now come on! you're showing me the way to the gym!" Max becomes too flustered to say anything, so he just nods and follows after her. Tierno and Shauna laugh at this, then follow after the pair.

Rustboro City is around the same size as Santalune, but not as pretty in Bonnie's opinion. Max leads her to a building that looks to be a trainer's school. "I thought you were leading me to the gym?" Bonnie asks him. "This is the gym," Max explains. "It also serves as a pokémon trainers school for kids who aren't old enough to become trainers yet." Max smiles a bit at the memory of his time there when he came here with Ash, May and Brock. Max leads the way in, with Tierno and Shauna following behind them. When they arrive, they're greeted by a young woman leading a group of children towards a large set of double doors, with her back to them. "Oh, you're just in time," she says, not looking at them. "I was just about to have one of my volunteers do a practice battle with me as a demonstration for my students." She then turns around and locks eyes with Max. "Well, if it isn't Max Maple," she says, beaming. "I was wondering when I'd see you in my gym." Max waves modestly, while Bonnie looks between them with confusion. "You two know each other?" she asks. Max shrugs. "I attended one of her classes back while I was travelling with Ash," he explains. "Bonnie, this is Roxanne, the Rock Type Gym Leader of Hoenn."

Both of them shake hands, then Roxanne turns to Max. "I take it you're here to challenge me yourself?" she asks him. Max shakes his head. "Actually, I'm here to support my friend" he explains, putting an arm around Bonnie's shoulder and causing her to blush. Roxanne notices, but doesn't say anything. "Th-That's right!" Bonnie says, a bit more flustered than she would've liked. "I'm here to earn my first badge!" Roxanne smiles, then turns to the double doors. "Kenny, it's alright. I've got someone here to challenge the gym!" A boy around Max and Bonnie's age with blue hair comes through the doors, looking a bit relieved. He wears a yellow jacket and black jeans, with a white t-shirt. He and Max lock eyes and they both grin. "Hey!" they exclaim at the same time. "It's been a while!" Then, they walk over to each other and high-five. Seeing the look of confusion on Bonnie's face again, Max explains, "This is Kenny, an old friend of mine, but we haven't really spoken in a while. Kenny, this is Bonnie." Kenny looks between the two of them. "Is she your girlfriend?" he asks innocently. Both of them go bright red at this. "We're not dating!" they both say. "We're just friends!" Everyone in the room looks at them sceptically. "Which way to the gym?" Bonnie asks quickly, trying to change the subject. The students begin to look excited at the prospect of seeing a proper gym battle. Roxanne smiles, then leads the way into the gym, while Kenny leads everyone else to the stands.