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Pokemon: Beyond KANTO-- Secret of the Diamond Onix: Secret of the Diamond Onix-- Chapter Five

by diamondonix718

diamondonix718 Can aspiring Pokémon researcher Annie unlock the mystery of Diamond Onix and save her father from Team Rocket's plot before it's too late?

Chapter 5: So You Wanna Be a Master of Pokemon?


I hurried over to the Gym. When I arrived, the seven youngest kids met me outside the door. “Annie!” They jumped up and crowded around me. “You’re back!”

“Yes, I said I would be,” I smiled.

“How long can you stay this time?” said Cindy.

“Has Brock asked you yet?” Yolanda smiled hopefully.

“Asked me what?” I asked.

“To marry him, of course!” Yolanda sighed dreamily.

“What? NO!” I squeaked. “No, no, no! Why would you think a thing like that?”

Salvadore stuck his head out the door. “Is Annie here yet?”

“Yep!” Yolanda answered brightly. “C’mon, Annie!” Yolanda led me inside the side entrance to the gym.

Forrest was already in the midst of a battle. “Rhyperior, use Rock Wrecker!” he commanded.

I shuddered as boulders whizzed through the air, remembering how powerful this move could be. The challenger’s Charmeleon attempted to dodge, but didn’t get out of the way in time. The Flame Pokemon was knocked to the ground instantly.

“Charmeleon!” The young challenger cried. She rushed over to check on her Pokemon. It was all right, but was too tired to continue battling.

Salvadore waved a small green flag. “That’s it. Charmeleon is unable to battle. Victory goes to Gym Leader Forrest.”

The challenger sighed, then she smiled. “You put up a great fight, Charmeleon. Take a good rest.” She recalled her Pokemon back into its Pokeball, then she stood up, brushing long, red bangs out of her eyes. She went to meet Forrest in the middle of the battlefield and shook his hand. “Thanks for a great battle, Forrest. Now I know what Charmeleon and I need to work on for next time.”

“Anytime, Ayeka,” Forrest smiled down at the young girl.

“There will be a next time,” Ayeka continued. “I won’t give up this easily. Once I perfect my battle strategy, the Boulder Badge will be mine, for sure!”

“I’m sure you can do anything you put your mind to.”

“I know I can! I can and will figure out how to do anything and everything!” Ayeka called as she left, waving goodbye. After the door slammed shut, the rocky battlefield platform split in two, and the two sides slid apart and recessed back into the walls.

“That was Ayeka,” Forrest explained. “She comes here every so often to challenge me. She hasn’t won yet, but she tries hard.” Now that Ayeka had gone, the younger kids went to running around the gym like they were yesterday.

“So I saw,” I said. “How many challengers do you have on a typical day?”

“It depends on the day. Some days definitely are busier than others. Some days, I don’t have any; other days, I have to send people home because I’ve had so many my Pokemon are just too tired to battle any more that day.”

“Do you enjoy Gym-Leading?”

“Of course! It’s been my dream ever since I was little. I’m the third Harrison to run Pewter Gym. First was my father, Flint, then Brock, and now me.”

“How long have you been a Gym Leader?”

Forrest thought for a moment. “Well, I’ve been the official leader only for about a year. Before that, Brock was still on the roster and I just filled in for him when he was gone. My father ran the gym again for a while when Brock first left on his travels, but soon he turned the duties over to me.”

I was about to ask another question when the doors flew open with a crash.

“Looks like I have another challenger,” said Forrest. “You’re welcome to watch from the balcony. My siblings and I always sat up there and watched Brock’s battles.”

“You can sit with us, Annie!” Yolanda piped up.

“I wanna battle this time!” Timmy hopped up and down. “PLEASE?”

“Maybe when you’re older,” Forrest chuckled.

“TIME TO BATTLE!” Tommy roared.

The children made their way to the stairs. “Billy, Tilly, get over here!” Salvadore called to the twins.

“But we wanna watch the battle!” one of the twins complained as they obeyed, shuffling their feet as they went.

“So you’ll watch it up from up here like you always do!” Yolanda yelled from her spot up on the balcony. “Hey, Annie, you’re still sitting with us, right?”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming!” I shook my head with amusement as I hurried up the stairs.

“I tore my skirt!” Suzie wailed, fingering a hole in her dress.

“Again?” Cindy sighed. “Guess Brock’ll have to fix it for you when he gets back.”

“GUYS! Forrest has a challenger, so you have to be quiet now!” Salvadore waved his arms to get his younger siblings’ attention.

“Okay, okay.” “Shh!” “I’m AM shushing!” “YOU SHUSH!” The kids tried to hush one another.

“GUYS!” Salvadore half-growled with clenched teeth.

The little ones were quiet, for real this time.

I watched Forrest’s gym battles for the rest of the day, taking notes on all the possible moves rock-type Pokemon can use.

“Alright, Annie,” Forrest began. “Let’s start by going thru the basics about Rock Pokemon. The Rock Type is a Pokemon type that specializes in Attack, Defence, and Endurance. They possess an average Health of 67.13, an Average attack strength of 90.67, a Defence of 103.78 and a Speed of 53.74. As you can see, their speed normally leaves something to be desired, so some are able to use the move ‘Rock Polish’.”

My pen struggled to keep up with Forrest’s barrage of complicated words.He continued, getting jittery as a person does when talking about a subject that he loves.

“Rock type Pokemon have a considerable Defence without using moves, but the move ‘Harden’ is sometimes used. This defence comes in handy when used in conjunction with the move ‘Bide’...”


As Forrest was getting ready to close the gym for the day, his cell phone rang. He answered, “Hello? Oh, hey… Mmhmm...Alright...I understand. Take all the time you need….See you later, then….Bye.” Forrest sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. “That was Brock,” he announced to the kids, who had since come down from the balcony and were back to running around again. At the mention of their older brother’s name, the kids hurried over to hear what Forrest was saying. “He said he has to stay a little later at the clinic this evening, so he won’t be coming home in time to make dinner.”

“Awww!” the kids sighed in unison.

“What’re we gonna EAT tonight?” Timmy wailed.

“Yeah!” agreed Billy.

“Cereal’s always good. I think we still have cornflakes in the pantry,” said Tommy.

“I DON’T want cornflakes for dinner!” Cindy snapped. “Yuck!”

“There are always leftovers, aren’t there?” Salvadore offered sensibly.

“LEFTOVERS? At OUR house?” Suzie laughed. “We never have leftovers!”

“Annie could cook for us!” Yolanda cried, stricken with inspiration. “You know how to cook, don’t you, Annie?”

“I’m hungry.” Tilly looked up and tugged on my arm.

“Well, I…” I began, looking at Forrest.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can manage.” Forrest whispered to me.

“...I suppose I could…” I said, looking down at all the little hopeful faces staring up at me.

“Yay!” Yolanda cheered, and the other little ones cheered with her. “Annie! Annie! Annie! Annie!” they chanted.

We were about to walk out the door when Tilly stopped suddenly. “I lost a shoe!” she cried, pointing out the foot with only a sock.

Forrest sighed. “All right, let's go look for it.”

We spent the next ten minutes scouring the gym for the lost shoe. We searched through every room, every crevice, and every corner. We even got out the battlefield platform again to check under there.

Finally, after an exasperated Forrest suggested we just go buy Tilly a new pair of shoes, Tilly casually put her hand in her overalls pocket. Her face lit up. “Hey, I found it! It was in my pocket the whole time!”

All the other kids groaned in chorus. Forrest shook his head. “Let's go home, for real now.”

When we got back to the house and entered the kitchen, Yolanda put herself in charge of the menu. “Let’s see… We should have soup, sandwiches, fruit punch, vegetables for those who want them, but let’s be real, who wants vegetables? Oh! And also cake, cookies, and ice cream for dessert! Of course, dessert first!” she rattled off her list as the other kids scrambled to gather all the ingredients.

“Slow down!” I giggled, struggling to write as fast as she could speak. I made a tentative list of the menu items in a notebook I found on the counter.

Tommy stood on a chair to reach the soup pot from the high cupboard; Salvadore sliced vegetables, and the twins stirred the ingredients as they were added to the pot. Everything seemed to be coming together nicely. Of course, it wasn’t perfect. The counters were getting stickier and sticker as the cooking session progressed. A slice of tomato meant for a sandwich somehow ended up on the ceiling, and a spoonful of cake batter inadvertently landed on Suzie’s skirt. Still, all the kids seemed to work together well, and before I knew it, tasty aromas filled the house.

We had just gotten the table set when Brock came in the front door. His hair was even more tousled than usual, and his shirt and pants were rumpled beyond how much I thought clothes could be rumpled.

“Hard day?” Forrest chuckled at Brock’s disheveled appearance.

“Very,” Brock sighed. “I don’t think I knew what I was getting myself into when I first got into this whole ‘doctor’ business. Have you ever tried to get a hyperactive Pidgeotto to stop flying around the Pokemon Center long enough for a check-up?”

“Can’t say I have,” Forrest laughed.

“What did you make for dinner?” Brock asked, noticing the delicious aromas wafting through the house.

“I didn’t do anything. It was all Annie’s doing. Well,” Forrest clarified, “Annie, and the kids.”

The kids and I grinned at the look on Brock’s face as he surveyed the scene in the kitchen. The counters were sloppy, the dishes were piled high in the sink, and there were drips and splatters all over the floor, walls, and ceiling. However, a steaming pot of soup, trays of sandwiches and fresh vegetables, a tall pitcher of punch, a fresh-baked chocolate cake, and a platter of cookies all graced the table.

Brock couldn’t believe his eyes. “You did all this, Annie?” he asked, incredulous.

I blushed. “The little ones helped,” I shrugged.

“Let’s eat!” Tommy cheered.

We were all about to take our seats when the front door opened again. “We’re hooooome!” Lola sang as she entered the kitchen.

We? I thought.

Right on Lola’s heels was the same, rough-looking man I had seen yesterday. To my surprise, the man took off his hat and beard, which was fake, and laid them on the coffee table.

“Dad!” the kids cheered.

Dad? I wondered. I looked from the man to Brock, and back again. It made sense for this man to be Brock’s father, after all, this man looked like an older version of his son.

“How go the rock sales, Father?” Forrest smirked.

“Ha! You know I’m not serious about that!” the man laughed gruffly. “It’s just my hobby!”

“You must be Mr. Harrison,” I said, still slightly confused. So this was the man I met yesterday who told me where to find his own son??!? And he wears a disguise? And sells rocks?

“Call me Flint,” he said, shaking my hand. “You must be Brock’s girlfriend Lola was telling me about.”

Brock and I exchanged a look. “Oh, no, I’m not--” I began, no doubt blushing all the way.

“That is, we’re not…” Brock continued for me.

“I’m just…”

Brock cut me off. “She’s Dr. Robert’s daughter. Forrest and I are assisting her with her research of the Diamond Onix.”

“That’s right,” I agreed, regaining my composure.

“I see. Hmmhmm.” Flint chuckled.

“Can we PLEASE eat?” Tommy insisted.

“Of course, darling,” Lola assured him. “Let’s all sit back down.”

I ended up sitting next to Brock again, and after passing the tray of sandwiches to me, he asked, “So, how did it go at the gym today?”

“It was very… informative,” I smiled. “I have a whole clipboard of notes on rock-type Pokemon, if you’d like to see them. Perhaps you could even offer some suggestions on how to improve my report?”

“Of course,” Brock agreed. “After dinner, we can work with Onix, too.”

“Onix. Of course.” The whole point of coming to Pewter City is to study that Onix, I silently reminded myself. What will happen after I collect all my data and give it to Giovanni? I suddenly wondered. Will Papa and I be allowed to go back home? Will I still be friends with the Harrisons? I owe them so much already. What about Onix? Will I have to give it to Team Rocket?
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