Pokemon - To Catch Them All - Jubilife City

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#57 of Pokemon - To Catch Them All

Leo makes his way to Oreburgh City and challenges the Gym Leader Roark


I made my way back to Sandgem Town bonding with my Pokemon through battles against wild Pokemon as I made my way. Once arriving at Sandgem Town I headed North and arrived at Route 202 which would eventually bring me to Jubilife City, which from what I knew was a bustling city with lots to do. Before I got there though, I needed to fully explore Route 202 and catch any new Pokemon. Speaking off new Pokemon, there was only one new one that I had yet to catch and that was a Shinx. They were quite common though and within moments of exploring the grass I came across a wild Shinx that stared me down cutely before realising I intended on catching it.

"I need your help Piplup!" Piplup appeared standing over Piplup showcasing some prideful personality but only to his opponents in battle. "Piplup use Bubble!" While Bubble may not have been all that powerful, it wasn't a bad beginning move for him. Shinx however, managed to evade the slow moving Bubbles and began charging forward with a powerful Tackle. "Piplup use Pound!" Piplup brought his flipper down to meet Shinx's Tackle and the two clashed, trying to force the other to back down. Both sides weren't giving an inch though but that's what provided me with an opportunity. "Now Piplup use Bubble while Shinx can't move!" Piplup smirked understanding the strategy and also realising that his trainer wasn't just smart and kind, but quite devious as well. Piplup followed suit landing several Bubbles against the Shinx and landing a even more powerful Pound against the stunned Shinx.

Piplup backed away as Shinx slumped down to the ground and I threw a Pokeball at the weakened Shinx. I watched as the ball shook, once, twice, three times before the capture was confirmed. "Shinx has been registered to your Pokedex. Shinx the Flash Pokemon a Electric Type. Its forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Its body shines when it is in danger." I healed up Shinx introducing myself to the now placid and calm Pokemon. Shinx was much like when I had caught Growlithe in Kanto. A aggressive Pokemon in battle, but outside of Pokemon a loyal puppy like Pokemon that followed my commands without fail. I continued advancing through the route, training up all of my Pokemon ensuring they were prepared for future battles against gym leaders and other tough opponents.

Speaking of training, I was then challenged by my first opponent a Youngster who sent out a Starly and I sent out my newest capture, Shinx as even though he didn't have an electric attack he was still powerful. With a few Tackles, Shinx managed to claim his first win against an actual trainer and not a wild Pokemon. Next was a Lass who sent out a Bidoof and I sent out my Kricketot and unfortunately throughout the duration of the battle, Kricketot had to take several attacks in order to unleash an exceptionally powerful Bide which knocked out Bidoof in a single hit. The next opponent was a Youngster who sent out a Burmy and I sent out my Chimchar having him use Ember defeating Burmy with the super effective move.

With those wins I had defeated all the trainers on Route 202 and had also caught all the Pokemon I needed to catch. As such, I continued North and arrived at Jubilife City. As mentioned previously, Jubilife was a large city where many people worked and shopped. There was a Trainers school in which new trainers travelling from all over entered in order to understand the basics a trainer or coordinator needed to know. Having been a trainer for some time now I already understood everything I needed to. There was even a TV station which was a surprise to see, but as it was a very busy city its location made sense. Not too mention the Poketch was made and developed right here in Jubilife City however, its functions were much like that of my Rotom Phone and as such I didn't need one while travelling through Sinnoh.

Before continuing on I did have my Pokemon healed up and I also stocked up on some Pokeballs and grabbed some more healing items for the road ahead. I headed North which was out of my way, but it had some new Pokemon for me to catch, well specifically only one and that was Budew. I already had a Roserade which I evolved from a Roselia caught in the Hoenn Region, but I didn't have a chance to catch a Budew while travelling there. As such I decided to catch a Budew in Sinnoh. I began exploring through the grass coming across all sorts of unique and interesting Pokemon until I eventually encountered a Budew. "I need your help Starly!" Starly appeared flying over to the Budew. "Use Wing Attack!" Starly landed a powerful, super effective Wing Attack which seemed to end the battle as soon as it began. As such I threw a Pokeball at the weakened Budew and watched as the ball shook, once, twice, three times before the capture was confirmed. "Budew has been registered to your Pokedex. Budew the Bud Pokemon a Grass and Poison Type. It lives alongside clear ponds. It scatters pollen that induces harsh sneezing and runny noses."

I thanked Starly before healing up Budew who seemed rather cheerful and happy at having been caught. Budew also didn't seem to mind that he had realistically been caught to fill in the gap of my Pokedex. Even though I assured him he would always be loved and appreciated by me everyday. Budew appreciated my honesty and as such dedicated himself to helping me catch every Pokemon I could through all of Sinnoh. As I explored further through Route 204 I was challenged by a Lass who sent out a Bidoof and I sent out my Piplup having him use a few Bubbles defeating Bidoof. The second was a Youngster who sent out a Magikarp which flopped aimlessly on the ground and I sent out my Shinx having him use Tackle defeating Magikarp. The final trainer was a Lass who sent out a Budew and I sent out my Starly having him use Wing Attack defeating Budew.

I continued heading North and arrived at a small cave, which was called the Ravaged Path, my Rotom informed me that there were no new Pokemon to catch here and when I entered I also found that the cave had been blocked by several rocks making the area currently impassable. I knew that Pokemon could smash through those rocks with relative ease but I needed to get stronger in order to do that. I headed back South through Jubilife before I headed East and arrived at Route 203 where again Rotom informed me I had currently caught every Pokemon available here and as such I simply advanced continuing to train my current Pokemon. The first trainer was a Youngster who sent out a Kricketot and I sent out my Chimchar having him use Ember defeating Kricketot with a single hit. The next Pokemon sent out was a Zubat and I substituted for my Piplup having him use Bubble defeating Zubat before it could confuse my Piplup.

Next was another Youngster who sent out a Shinx and I sent out my Kricketot. Kricketot had to take several attacks from Tackle much to my dismay but he managed to take the attacks and unleash a powerful Bude defeating Shinx with a single attack. As a result of his victory, Kricketot began glowing signalling he was already evolving and I watched with eager anticipation. "Kricketune has been registered to your Pokedex. Kricketune the Cricket Pokemon a Bug Type. It signals its emotions with its melodies. Scientists are studying these melodies." Kricketune happily embraced me with a surprising hug. Though he was careful as he seemed to have sharp blades on his arms now. However while embracing me he showed me his happiness with his melodies as the Pokedex had mentioned. Kricketune had even learned a reliable attack Leech Life which was something worth celebrating.

After congratulating Kricketune I continued onwards and was challenged by a Youngster who sent out a Machop and I sent out my Starly having him use Wing Attack defeating Machop with the super effective move. Next was a Lass who sent out who sent out a Bidoof and I sent out my own Bidoof and mine turned out to be much stronger using Tackle defeating Bidoof. The second Pokemon sent out was a Abra and I continued battling with Bidoof who landed a Tackle defeating Abra as well. Next was a Starly and I substituted for my Shinx having him use his newly learned Spark defeating Starly. The final Pokemon sent out was a Budew and I substituted for my Chimchar having him use Ember defeating Budew. The final opponent on the route was a Lass who sent out a Psyduck and I sent out my Shinx having him use Spark defeating Psyduck.

After Shinx's victory he began glowing signalling he had reached his evolution already. When the glow faded Shinx was replaced by a Luxio a cool and strong looking Pokemon. "Luxio has been registered to your Pokedex. Luxio the Spark Pokemon a Electric Type. It rests its forelegs on others to communicate with rhythmic electric pulses from its claws." Luxio attempted to show me this rhythmic language however, the language must be only understood by other fellow Electric types or more likely fellow members of his own species. Still I knew Luxio was attempting to show me his thanks to helping him reach his evolution stage so early into our journey. I happily hugged him back with his front paws on my shoulders showing that even when I was knelt down he was already increasing in size thanks to evolution.

I headed East and at the end of the route there was a small cave which would lead me to Oreburgh City sight of the first gym. I entered the cave which Rotom informed me was called the Oreburgh Gate a fitting name. Rotom also helpfully informed me there were no new Pokemon available here to be caught. Before I could leave I was challenged by a Picnicker who sent out a Bidoof and I sent out my Chimchar having him use Ember defeating Bidoof with relative ease. As testament to his strength, Chimchar had already begun evolving following in the footsteps of Luxio and Kricketune before him. When the glow faded, Chimchar was replaced with a grinning Monferno. His tail flame had grown bigger showing his excitement, or perhaps his newfound fiery personality. Monferno happily punched the air rapidly creating a light breeze as he showcased his newfound move Mach Punch. "Monferno has been registered to your Pokedex. Monferno the Playful Pokemon a Fire and Fighting Type. To intimidate attackers, it expands the fire on its tail to make itself appear bigger."

Monferno happily leaped up showing his improved acrobatics skills as he landed on my chest where I managed to catch him noticing evolution had made him slightly heavier. Monferno was happy to embrace his trainer, thankful to him showing him patience and kindness which further allowed him to reach his evolution. I happily congratulated Monferno and Piplup exited his Pokeball extending a flipper to his friend showing his happiness at his fellow friend evolving. My next opponent was a Camper who sent out a Starly and I sent out my own Starly having him use Wing Attack defeating Starly. The second Pokemon sent out was a Zubat and I had Starly continue battling finishing Zubat with a second Wing Attack.

Thanks to Starly's victory he too began evolving into his next form. When the glow faded Starly was now a Staravia, who looked awesome, he seemed to look rather prideful as he used his wings to move his feathers which seemed to be shaped like a cone back into a position he found acceptable. Once that was done, Staravia proceeded to immediately ruin what he had organised and immediately embraced me pushing his beak into my chest while his wings enveloped me much like previous Flying Types had done before him. "Staravia has been registered to your Pokedex. Staravia the Starling Pokemon a Normal and Flying Type. They live in forests and fields. Squabbles over territory occur when flocks collide." I happily congratulated Staravia on evolving and he eventually released me from his wing like hug. At that I had already reached the end of Orebugh Gate and had now arrived in Oreburgh City.

Oreburgh was a mining town, as south of Oreburgh was a mine where coal was dug up for energy. The main attraction to the city was either for the gym challenge or people interested in the museum which had lots of unique items on display. I had heard that the museum even restored fossil Pokemon and that some fossils were on display at the museum if I so wanted to see what the fossils looked like when I hopefully found them. Before I went on to challenge the gym I decided to do some exploring north on Route 207, most of the route was inaccessible as one needed a bike in order to climb up a slope. Not too mention the Pokemon found here had already been obtained in previous areas. However it still made for a good location to train my Pokemon.

Monferno easily defeated the multitude of Pokemon that lived here, the Machop were a good challenge for his physical strength but he managed to defeat them and even the Rock Type Geodude which would have been a challenge had Monferno not evolved already. Piplup had recently learned Water Gun which was more powerful than Bubble and helped him defeat the Geodude and Ponyta that occasionally challenged him. Piplup was quick to defeat challengers so as to not waste any of his trainers precious time. I had Staravia avoid the Geodude but against the other Pokemon Staravia easily held his own and grew ever stronger. Bidoof had been growing steadily stronger as he managed to defeat the Ponyta and give a good challenge to the Machop every now and then. However, thanks to those repeated victories he had begun to evolve. "Bibarel has been registered to your Pokedex. Bibarel the Beaver Pokemon a Normal and Water Type. While its movements out of water are sluggish, it can swim as fast as any Feebas." Bibarel happily embraced me thanking me for helping him reach his evolution which also helped him easily defeat his opponents too.

Kricketune had too been growing stronger as he managed to defeat the wild Pokemon without much effort, though I did worry when he battled against Ponyta and Geodude though he proved my concerns were unnecessary as he defeated his opponents with relative ease. Luxio avoided the Geodude simply because his electric attacks had no effect on them. However against the other wild Pokemon Luxio had a overwhelming advantage, his attacks stunned his opponents into defeat. Budew had no trouble against the wild Geodude as he absorbed their strength with Absorb and even dealt with the Machop's by paralysing them and draining their strength to restore his health and stamina whenever he needed to. Budew was definitely close to evolving, he just needed that extra push, a battle which could actually challenge him.

After that short training session I headed south and arrived at the Oreburgh Mine, where I slowly navigated the area trying to ensure I didn't interrupt the Pokemon as they worked transporting the coal from the mine. The mine itself was home to Zubat, Geodude and Onix so there were no new Pokemon that I needed to catch for the Pokedex. however, there were trainers to battle and get stronger against. The first opponent was a Worker who sent out a Geodude and I sent out my Piplup having him use Water Gun defeating Geodude. The second Pokemon sent out was a Machop and I substituted for my Staravis having him use Wing Attack defeating Machop. The second trainer was a Worker who sent out a Geodude and I sent out my Piplup having him use Water Gun defeating Geodude once more.

At that, I had defeated all the trainers in the mine and decided to finalise my preparations for my gym battle and thanks to my research I knew that Roark the Gym Leader used three Pokemon in his matches and he always swapped them around in his battles. He used Geodude, Onix and a Rampardos. Rampardos was his strongest Pokemon and it was the evolved form of Cranidos one of the restored fossils found in the Sinnoh Region. I had already figured out the Pokemon that I would be battling with against Roark and they were Monferno, Piplup and Budew as they had the best type advantages for going against Rock and Ground Pokemon. I headed out of the mine and quickly headed to the Pokemon centre having my Pokemon healed up and battle ready.

At that I headed to the gym and entered confident that I could win against Roark though I did have some concerns about battling that Rampardos. At the gym entrance I was surprised to see that the gym was actually build into a cave. It really showcased that the gym was centered around Rock Pokemon. As I entered the gym a man greeted me at the entrance. "Hello there, are you here for a gym battle?" I nodded my head, "yes my name is Leo I've come here from the Kanto Region to challenge the gyms here in the Sinnoh Region." The guy then introduced himself. "Kanto, haven't heard that name in quite some time, anyways, my name is Ian and I manage the gym here and look after the Rock Pokemon here. The gym leader as I'm sure your aware is Roark and he specialises in said Rock Pokemon." I thanked him for the information. "I must say you've got good luck, Roark just returned from the mine doing his search for fossil Pokemon, so he's here already if you'd like to challenge him now." I accepted immediately and followed Ian to where Roark was waiting.

It didn't take long for Ian to find Roark who spoke curious as to whether I was a gym challenger. "Roark this is Leo he's from the Kanto Region and here to challenge you for a gym badge." Roark smiled welcoming me, "is that so, well welcome to the Kanto Region and I'm sure you already know, but I'm Roark the gym leader and I specialise in Rock Types. If your ready we can head to the battlefield and commence our battle." I accepted once more and followed Roark and Ian to the battlefield. Once there both me and Roark took our positions while Ian commenced the duty of the referee. "The Oreburgh City gym battle between Leo the challenger and Roark the Gym Leader is about to get underway. The battle will be three on three and as soon as three Pokemon from either side are unable to continue battle the challenge is over. In addition only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Now let the battle begin!" Ian announced as Roark and I brandished out Pokeballs.

"Geodude I choose you!" Roark sent out his Geodude, "so Geodude is up first, that makes things better than I had thought. I need your hell Budew!" Budew appeared glaring down at Geodude who smirked confidently. "Leo you may go first." Roark offered me which I accepted "thank you, now Budew use Growth!" Budew started off by powering up. "Are you sure that was the smartest move, you've left Budew in a vulnerable position. Geodude finish Budew with Rollout!" Geodude began rolling straight towards Budew who had just finished powering up. However, Rollout did score a powerful hit against Budew. "While Geodude is close Budew use Mega Drain!" Budew happily began absorbing energy from Geodude and with his increased power Geodude went down in just one hit. "Geodude is unable to battle, Budew wins!" Ian announced as he observed Geodude who was definitely unable to battle.

Just as Roark was about to return his Geodude to his Pokeball, Budew stunned everyone when he began to evolve. When the glow faded a Roselia stood happily staring down his fallen opponent. "I see, you knew Budew was close to evolving and used this battle as a means of activating that evolution. Not bad at all, return Geodude." Once in his Pokeball Roark thanked Geodude for putting up a good fight against an opponent with a type advantage. "Onix your up next!" Roark's second Pokemon was his Onix and judging on its appearance it was strong, not as strong as my former Onix, but this Onix had seen many tough battles and should not be underestimated. "Roselia can you keep going?" Roselia nodded anticipating a tough battle.

"Onix use Stealth Rock!" Onix roared before unleashing Stealth Rock and knowing the attack would be problematic I attempted to counter the only way I could. "Roselia Stun Spore!" Both moves did as intended, Stealth Rock surrounded the surprised Roselia, meanwhile Onix struggled to move, paralysed from Stun Spore which would give my Pokemon a massive advantage in the future. However, even though the Stealth Rocks meant switching would hurt my Pokemon in waiting, I still felt a substitution would be necessary to safely defeat Onix without anyone being knocked out. "Return Roselia, thanks for everything you did out there, thanks to you I have a plan for victory." At that Roark seemed curious. "Substituting your Pokemon even when Stealth Rock has been used is a potentially dangerous move, but I'm curious to see what your strategy is." I brandished my second Pokeball. "I need your help come out Monferno!" Monferno appeared and was suddenly struck by Stealth Rock, however the damage seemed like it was weak as Monferno brushed the attack off.

"Monferno Mach Punch go!" Monferno dashed forward accelerating towards Onix who watched the approaching Monferno carefully. "Onix use Screech!" Onix attempted to stop Monferno by using Screech but the paralysis from Roselia's Stun Spore prevented Onix from utilising the move. Meaning, Monferno climbed up Onix's rocky snake like body and landed a powerful, super effective Mach Punch right on Onix's head sending it plummeting to the ground with a heavy thud creating a slight dust cloud obscuring my view of what had happened. When the smoke cleared Monferno was walking back towards me as Onix was clearly unable to continue battling. "Onix is unable to battle, the winner is Monferno." Ian declared as Roark returned his fallen Onix to his Pokeball. "You battled really well Onix take a long rest." Roark smiled over at me definitely interested in our battle. "Your much stronger than I had expected. Your Pokemon's movements, their very moves are always done to perfect succession. The Pokemon you've chosen know what they need to do and they do it without fail. You've even carefully selected the perfect team in your eyes to defeat me However, I'm not going down just yet, you've got to deal with my strongest Pokemon now. I need your help Rampardos."

Rampardos appeared roaring showing his incredible strength, however Monferno remained unfazed and repeatedly used Mach Punch against the air showcasing his strength. Rampardos looked imposing and I knew this would be my first real challenge of tough opponents in the Sinnoh Region. "Rampardos Headbutt!" Rampardos began running right towards Monferno who seemed slightly surprised and impressed at Rampardos' speed. "Monferno counter that with Mach Punch!" Monferno jumped upward before descending meeting Rampardos' Headbutt. The two moves collided sparks shooting off everywhere. Rampardos managed to push Monferno back but he landed effortlessly on his feet as he glared at Rampardos.

"Rampardos use Zen Headbutt!" Rampardos ran toward Monferno again with a even stronger Zen Headbutt, but I still remained confident in Monferno's abilities. "Monferno counter that by using Mach Punch once more!" Again Monferno met Rampardos head on and tried to block Zen Headbutt. Rampardos proved to be much stronger and threw Monferno back with much more power. Monferno just barely managed to land on his feet but began breathing heavily from the repeated attacks. "Monferno come back!" Monferno seemed surprised but I explained the situation when he was in his Pokeball. "You battled really well, it just seems Rampardos is more stronger physically than I had first anticipated. I know we can still win, but I need you to get some rest in the event that I need your help once again." Monferno understood but didn't doubt that I would win since I had shown Monferno that I always had a strategy in place.

"Your up, come on our Piplup!" Piplup appeared glaring down Rampardos but was surprised when he suddenly took some damage from the Stealth Rock that Onix had set up earlier in the match. Thankfully the damage seemed relatively low as Piplup managed to quickly recover and stare down at Rampardos angry at the sudden surprise attack. "Piplup Water Gun!" Piplup quickly fired Water Gun at Rampardos. "Rampardos counter that with Flamethrower!" Rampardos used Flamethrower which managed to block Water Gun creating a cloud of steam that blocked our view. "Piplup stay strong!" Piplup nodded even though he knew his master couldn't see him nodding. Piplup carefully watched the battlefield listening to see whether he could hear or see Rampardos but nothing alerted Piplup to his presence.

"Rampardos show them your strongest move, Head Smash!" I could hear Rampardos roar loudly as I could suddenly see a large blue glow as Rampardos ran towards Piplup scoring a massive hit against Piplup. Thankfully, Head Smash was a move that did recoil damage meaning Rampardos did take some damage which I could take as a silver lining. Eventually the steam cleared and I could tell Piplup looked worse for wear as he was bruised from that incredible Head Smash. Roark appeared confident seeing his Rock Type outpowering a Water Type but he couldn't underestimate my Piplup as he wasn't even close to giving up. "Piplup use Water Gun once more!" Piplup fired Water Gun but was countered by another Flamethrower. "Keep pushing them back Piplup, show them just how powerful you are." At that Piplup's Water Gun began pushing back Flamethrower. "Don't give up Rampardos, show them your strength, your determination, we won't lose will we!" Roark encouraged his Rampardos as Flamethrower began pushing Water Gun back thanks to the words of encouragement giving Rampardos renewed strength.

Both Pokemon tried overpowering the other and it seemed like we were in quite the stalemate however, Piplup suddenly gave a loud cry and unleashed a massive deluge of Water Gun which overpowered Flamethrower and scored a massive hit against the stunned Rampardos who didn't even have a chance to dodge the attack. "Good work Piplup!" I congratulated Piplup but was stunned when I saw Piplup had begun glowing signalling he was evolving. "Prinplup has been registered to your Pokedex. Prinplup the Penguin Pokemon a Water Type. It lives alone, away from others. Apparently every one of them thinks their the most important." Prinplup proudly turned towards me his flipper pointed towards me and then to Rampardos wanting me to finish the battle and earn my gym badge.

"Prinplup finish it by using Bubble Beam!" Bubble Beam was much faster than Water Gun and as such the exhausted Rampardos had no time to retaliate and as such was defeated by the super effective move. "Rampardos is unable to battle, Prinplup is the winner, the victor is Leo!" At that Prinplup ambled towards me extending his flipper which I soon realised was him wanting a hand shake, or flipper shake in his case. I accepted and we shook to show our team work. At that Roark returned his Rampardos to his Pokeball before heading on over to us. "Congratulations are in order Leo. Your Pokemon have all been trained extensively well and you even had several evolutions as a reward for all your hard work and patience with raising those Pokemon. You showcased great strength and kindness and your Pokemon in turn worked doubly as hard to bring victory to you. Here if your reward the Coal Badge its proof that you defeated me in battle and you've earned it." I accepted the Coal Badge placing it in my badge case before thanking Roark once again.

I did want to ask about Rampardos though, "your Rampardos was amazing, really strong, how did you manage to find a fossil?" I asked Roark and he was happy to explain. "I found one in the Oreburgh mine, however, if you want one I highly suggest visiting the Underground Man in Eterna City. There he can give you something which can allow you to search for fossils underground the Sinnoh Region. I guarantee it will be worth your while, if your searching for fossils." I thanked Roark for the advice and left the gym before having my Pokemon fully healed up. Once done I released, Monferno, Prinplup and Roselia and thanked them for working exceptionally hard and winning the match. The three happily embraced me, but Prinplup was quick to release me the others not so much. My next destination would Eterna City for my second gym badge.