Landon, May, Zeru, and Zeal followed Roxanne down the sidewalk through the buildings of Rustborro City. Landon stared at the back of Roxanne’s head with an air of uncertainty. He was still trying to recover from the shock of her being the Rustborro City gym leader. “If she was the gym leader all along, that battle we had…” His mind wandered back to the battle he and Roxanne had at the school. Before now, he thought it was just harmless fun. But now, he couldn’t help but think there was something that wasn’t quite right about it. “She may have been hiding her true battle talents.” To tell the truth, Landon was a bit nervous, but Roxanne acted as if surprising trainers was an everyday thing. They came to a stop in front of a large dome-shaped building that took up one side of the street. It stuck out like a sore thumb for its bright colors were red on white. Without saying a word, Roxanne pushed open the glass doors. The bright lights burst to life and lit up the giant stadium. The floor was actually a rocky circular bridge over a pit of warm sand. “Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever been in a Poke’mon gym like this before.” Landon marveled at the structure of the gym. He had to admit that it was a lot more exotic than Kenshin’s dojo-like gym. Roxanne walked over to the far end of the circular bridge and turned to face them. “Are you ready to earn your Stone Badge, Landon?” She asked him. “Uh…” Landon made an unsure dry sound of nervousness. “Say yes, you fool!” A voice in his head shouted at him. “Uh…yeah…I mean, yes—I’m ready to battle!” Landon clenched his fists and took his side of the rocky bridge field. “Good luck, Landon.” May flashed him a thumbs up. “We’ll be watching you from the stadium bleachers.” Zeru pointed to the right side of the Stadium. Landon nodded and the three walked over to the bleachers. “I sure hope you know what you’re up against, Landon.” Zeal thought to himself. It wasn’t that Landon wasn’t a good trainer, it was just that Roxanne was a great trainer. “Be careful, Lan!” Zeru shouted and Landon glanced back at him, “Gym leaders are not your average Joe-trainers. They’re much smarter and more powerful!” To show that he understood, Landon nodded. “I must warn you, Landon, this is more than that little school match we had. I must defend my title as gym leader with everything I can muster.” Roxanne said, “Now, I’m going to attack you full force! We’ll have a timeless match using two Poke’mon.” “Bring it on!” Landon exclaimed.

       Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone, two mysterious figures sat in the rafters above the stadium. In whispers, they spoke, “A stealth like dark, we’re shadows in the night.” “Blanketing over those who do things right.” “Where treasure glitters, we’re there to claim.” “To higher riches, we’ll surely aim.” “Tsubimi—” “Yoshimari—” “We’re Team Darkhorn, the pirate thieves.” “Don’t mess with us; you’re out of your league!” Team Darkhorn gave a chuckle at their little speech. They had been reciting and reciting it all day long. “That was good; we’re getting better at this.” Tsubimi said. Yoshimari had a palm-sized video recorder in his hands and was looking down at the kids. “Miru wants some proof that Landon is getting stronger and we’re not getting weaker. So, I plan to record this gym battle and send it to him.” He held it up to his eye. “And then we’ll attack, right?” Tsubimi asked eagerly. “Today’s mission isn’t to attack, just watch.” Yoshimari said.

 

       “I choose Pikachu!” Landon said and Pikachu leapt off his shoulder and onto the rocky stadium ring. “Then I choose,” Roxanne grabbed a poke’ball from her pocket and performed a fancy little spin, “Geodude, go!” She let it fly to the ground and it burst open with a bright light. The Poke’mon it had harbored was a small boulder with rocky arms, eyes, and a mouth. “Geodude!” It punched its stone fists together and hovered into the air slightly. “Hmmm…” Landon pulled out and flipped open his Poke’dex. Click-ick! “Geodude, the Rock Poke’mon. Geodude’s age is strictly determined by how smooth or rough its body is. The more chipped and rough, the older it is. This Poke’mon will sometimes be mistaken for an ordinary rock and is stepped on.” “This is going to be tough.” The pressure was starting to get the better of Landon and scrambled his decision making. He knew that electric types had no power over rock types, but that fact didn’t quite register. “Pikachu, Thundershock!” He shouted. Pikachu stood on its hind legs and clenched its fists as its cheeks sparked with electricity. “Piiiikaaachuuuu!” A bolt of lightning coursed from its body and struck Geodude right in the face. However, the rock Poke’mon sat calmly and collectively. The electric attack merely fizzled out with no affect. “Piiii…” Pikachu teetered a little dizzily from its attack recoil. “Oh—I forgot about our type disadvantage.” Landon gave a gasp. “This isn’t good.” Zeru stated to himself. Just by looking at him, Roxanne could tell Landon was nervous. But as a gym leader, she was compelled to fight to her fullest extent. As so, she planned to use his nervousness against him. “Geodud, use your Rock Throw!” “Geodude!” Geodude lifted its body high into the air and came crashing like a comet towards Pikachu. “Quick, jump back!” Landon ordered a bit hastily for Pikachu to jump back just in time to let Geodude crack up the ground. It was still a little dizzy, but managed to stay strong. “Geo-dude-dude-geo-dude!” Roxanne’s rock Poke’mon repeatedly tossed its body around the ring with Landon’s little electric mouse barely saving itself. “This is going to be tough—Geodude is getting way too close to Pikachu.” Zeru was starting to sweat at the intensity of the battle. Even though she was worried as well, May was sketching scenes of the match in her sketchbook. “The way that Geodude carefully displaces its weight so quickly during a Rock Throw attack shows that it’s been trained exceptionally well.” She said, “Lan may have a tough time against it.” “It’s a sad fact.” Zeal growled.

       “Pi! Pipi!” Pikachu started to sweat as it, once again, narrowly missed another Rock Throw. “I’ve got to think of a way to slow Geodude down quick! I don’t know how much more of this Pikachu can take.” Landon started panicking while he ran through Pikachu’s attack list in his head. His mind kept drawing a blank no matter how hard he tried, though. “Piiii!!!” Geodude grazed Pikachu’s shoulder and it let out a sharp scream. “Double Team!” Landon blurted out without thinking. “Pika!” Pikachu got on all fours again and projected several images of itself just in time; Geodude crashed through a copy and onto the ground. “Now, give it a Slam attack!” Landon felt a boost of confidence flow through him now…not to say that was a good thing at the time. The real Pikachu emerged from its army of copies and dove towards Geodude; it did a front flip and slammed its lightning bolt tail on the rock Poke’mon’s head. PSSSHH! “Pi—” Pikachu screwed up its face as a rattling pain jumped from its tail throughout its body. Striking Geodude’s rock body was like running into a brick wall. “Pikachu, Pikachu,” It started to cry and fell to the ground. It massaged its tender red-marked tail to try and sooth the pain. “Geodude, now’s the time to finish this battle with your Tackle attack!” Roxanne made her order forcefully, but calmly. “Geodude—Geodude!” BANG!! Geodude thrust its body into Pikachu and forced it to bullet backwards; Landon caught it instinctively with a loud smack. “…Pikachu…are you okay?” He asked as he cradled it in his arms. “Pi-chu,” Pikachu said breathlessly. “I’m sorry for this. Now you can take a nice rest.” Landon walked over to the edge of the ring (out of battle reach), took off his back pack, and let Pikachu rest on it. “I was hesitant in my actions…my head wasn’t clear and Pikachu took the pain of my mistake—” BUFF!! Suddenly, Landon was forced onto his knees by a strong, yet invisible blow to his stomach. “Argghh!” He growled and Toya leapt off his shoulder, giving him a very concerned look. “Mudkip!” “No, I’m alright.” Landon got back to his feet, more taken aback by the shock rather the pain. His Crystal Bell was ringing lightly—had he just felt Pikachu’s pain? “Hey, are you okay over there?” Roxanne shouted to him. “Yeah; I’m fine. Don’t sweat it at all.” Landon stepped back onto the bridge ring with his fists clenched. “You took me by surprise earlier, but I won’t be so hesitant this time, that I won’t. Toya, I choose you!” “Mudkip!” Toya used her trainer’s shoulder as a spring and jumped onto the ring. “I will bravely fight for my trainer.” “—!” Landon’s voice caught in his throat; Toya was talking to him just like before! “…really?” He whispered. “You understand me again? And I mean that in a literal notion.” She looked back at him in uncertainty. For a while, the two just stared at each other as if delving for answers in each other’s eyes. “…” Landon smiled and, when he clenched his fists, his Crystal Bell blinked a blue color. “Right, we’ll do this together.”

       “Geodude, use your Rock Throw!” Roxanne didn’t wait to start up the battle again as Geodude launched a full out assault on Toya. “Toya, evade and use Water Gun.” Landon managed to think clearly for a second. “Right!” Toya jumped back just in time to dodge Geodude’s heavy stone body. She made a gurgling sound as her stream of water struck the rock Poke’mon so hard that it flew through the air. “Good call, Lan—Rock Poke’mon are extremely vulnerable to water.” Zeru said. “Duuuude!” Geodude made a crash-landing onto the ground. Its eyes swirled dizzily, indicating that it was too tied to continue. “Yeah! That was great, Toya!” Landon whooped and Toya smiled. “Geodude, you did a good job. Return, please,” Roxanne said sympathetically, returning Geodude to its poke’ball. She gazed at it for a second before putting it back and drawing a new one. “See if you can get past this one, Lan,” Roxanne made a fancy spin before throwing the poke’ball. “Nosepass, I choose you!” It popped open to reveal a stone Poke’mon. Its body looked like a blue statue face with flat arms, feet, and a big red nose. For some strange reason, it was facing towards the side of the ring. “What is that?” Landon pulled out his Poke’dex again. Click-ick! “Nosepass, the Compass Poke’mon. Nosepass were always believed to stay perfectly still with their noses pointing in the northern direction. However, scientists have proven that every year, this Poke’mon moves three-eighths of an inch each year.” “Why would she pick a Poke’mon that can’t move?” Landon blinked. “Don’t worry, Landon; I can take this one too.” Toya arched her back slightly. “Okay, let’s do this.” Landon said, “Use your Water Gun!” Toya sprayed a burst of water towards her opponent. “Heh, if it can’t move, this battle will be all too easy.” Landon thought to himself, grinning. “Nosepass, wipe that silly grin off his face by using your Rollout attack!” Roxanne said as if Toya was no threat. “Nosepass!” Suddenly, Nosepass jumped up and turned to face Toya. “What!?” Landon gasped, “It acted as if it were as light as a feather!” Nosepass started to spin very rapidly and rolled across the ring; the Water Gun merely splattered off its body, not slowing down a bit. “Ah!” A drop of sweat rolled off Toya as she took a step back. Nosepass cut through the air even faster with the more distance it gained. “AAhhh!” Toya leapt to the side, narrowly missing the attack. Nosepass whirled around the ring and took the offence again. Over and over, Toya was forced to jump a narrow escape from the steadily growing Rollout attack. “Oh-no!” Landon’s mind started to race again. He could see Toya losing energy and Nosepass rapidly gaining even more. “What do I do now? I’m all out of ideas! If Water Gun won’t work, what can we do?” Landon was starting to lose hope. There was absolutely no way he could win this battle. Any kind of resistance would just be delaying the inevitable.“It’s…it’s over; we—” “Don’t you dare lose faith in me, Landon Himura!” Toya shouted, her shoulder grazed from Nosepass, “Believe in me and lend me your strength like you normally do.” “…like…”

 

       For some strange reason, Landon’s thoughts wandered back to when he was seven. Every time he entered a sword fight with his mom, she’d always beat him so easily. There was something he always lacked whenever he went into a battle or match. CLACK!! The sound of Karou’s wooden shinai hitting Landon’s head echoed in his head. “I can’t win, Mom; you’re just too strong.” “Nonsense, I want you to get right back up and try again.” She told him. “But I can’t even touch you—” Landon pleaded, but his mom stopped him by pulling him into her arms. “Enough said,” She said lovingly, “Koryu, you need to focus instead of just swinging your sword around.”

 

     “I need to focus…that’s it!” Landon put his fist to his palm, “Toya, I understand now. I wasn’t focusing at all in this much! I lost my inner focus, just like when I have a sword duel with my parents.” Instead of letting intimidation fog his thoughts, Landon closed his eyes to clear his mind. The only thing that became his objects of focus were the ring and the Poke’mon in it. He no longer cared about the battle’s outcome; he was just going to give it everything he had. Bump-bump…Bump-bump…”What’s this?” Landon could hear a faint bumping sound, “Is this….a heartbeat? Is it mine?....no, it’s someone else’s…someone close……it’s Toya’s!” “Right!” “Yeah!” Toya jumped back deftly from the fast-rolling Nosepass. “Toya, I have an idea. I want you to dive down into that sand pit.” Landon said and Toya leapt off the ring into the sand below. “There’s nothing you can do, Landon. Nosepass, follow her.” Roxanne ordered. Nosepass rolled off the edge and spun into the sand. “Right into our trap!” Landon grinned, “Toya, use Water Gun to turn the sand into mud!” “Mudkiiip!” Toya blasted all around the sand pit while running away from Nosepass’s Rollout attack. The sand became soft, sloshy mud and unfit to maneuver in. Nosepass made a loud whirling sound as the mud forced it to stay in place—now it couldn’t move even if it wanted to! “Yes!” May shouted as Zeru and Zeal cheered for Landon. “Oh-no, My Nosepass!” Roxanne’s cool demeanor crashed to the ground. The shock of her now motionless Nosepass took her by surprise. “That was smart; Landon finally focused and knew that the only reason Nosepass was moving so fast was because of the effects of the Rollout attack.” Zeru explained, “But even though it gets stronger as it goes, there’s a drawback to this attack—without traction, no sudden stops or turns can be made. Landon used the mud to keep Nosepass’s heavy body from gaining more distance, thus weakening the attack’s power and rendering Nosepass immobile.” “All because he kept his focus…that’s what I have to do too.” Zeal said with a sudden look of enlightenment, “I lost my focus on my school work, so my grades started to slip. Thanks a bunch, Landon Himura.” He smiled. “Okay, Toya, wrap this battle up with Mudslap!” Landon shouted. Toya, who was now covered with mud, swiped the ground with her paw repeatedly. Harsh and powerful spurts of wet mud belted Nosepass’s body repeatedly. “Nose-nosepass!” “Oh-no, Nosepass!” Roxanne shrieked. The powerful mud sent Nosepass flying with a crash landing into the circular wall of the pit. “Nosssssepass…” Its eyes spiraled dizzily.

       For a little bit, no one said a word, allowing silence to reign. Zeru stood up and started to clap, which was soon followed by an uproar of cheers. “We did it, Toya!” Landon exclaimed over the voices. “Pikachu,” Pikachu leapt on Landon’s shoulder. It was feeling a little better, but was still slightly injured. “You were excellent too, Pikachu.” Landon stroked Pikachu’s head, then looked down to Toya. “Mudkip!!” She yelped up to him, happily wagging her tailfin. May, Zeru, and Zeal ran down the bleachers towards the ring. “Good job, Landon!” “Yeah, you really did it!” They cheered for him. But when they got up to him, he shouted, “You were great, Toya!” “Huh?” The three friends and gym leader looked at him in little surprise; Landon unexpectantly leapt from the ring and sloshed into the mud with Pikachu still on his shoulder. “Mudkip!!” Toya gave a gleeful smile as she raced to her trainer. She kicked up mud wildly behind her trail; Toya leapt up to embrace Landon in a muddy hug. “Toya!” “Mud-mudkip!” “Thanks, both of you.” Landon giggled and embraced his Poke’partners. They laughed as they splashed in the mud. They may have been dirty, but the victory made them not even care. “Good job, Nosepass. Return,” Roxanne sighed and returned Nosepass. “Well, I guess you win, Landon.” She called down into the sand pit. “Congratulations, you’ve earned your Stone Badge.” “Great, but I think I should get it after I clean up a bit.” Landon shouted back. “Landon certainly is something.” May said. “Yeah, no matter how hard the battle may seem, he always pulls through.” Zeru added. “And cut!” Yoshimari pressed the stop button on the camera. “So did you get all that?” Tsubimi asked. Yoshimari blinked at her, “It’s art! Wait till Miru sees this.” “Yeah, that Landon kid really is strong. What is it that makes him so strong?” Tsubimi scratched her cheek.

 

       Inside the Poke’mon Center, Landon walked into the lobby with himself squeaky clean. Zeru couldn’t help but notice that the lobby to this center looked exactly like the one in Zakuden Town. He, May, Zeal, and Roxanne stood beside the benches. “Thanks for waiting on me.” Landon smiled to them. “Mudkip!” Toya dittoed. “I’d have to say, Landon, you really turned that battle around. As confirmation to the Hoenn League of your victory, I award you the Stone Badge.” Roxanne reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny badge. It looked like a gray boulder with two gold arrows on either side. “Thank you!” Landon took the badge from her and marveled at it. “This victory belongs to all of us.” He looked to his Poke’mon on his shoulders, “And to make sure I never forget the kindness you’ve given me, I’ll put it in a unique place.” Landon pinned his first badge to his headband. That way, it would always be special. “Hey, Lan, I want to thank you.” Zeal stated. There was a spark of determination lit in his eyes. “Thanks to you, I learned what I was lacking. Now I have the will to focus and I’ll challenge you to a re-match someday.” “I look forward to it, Zeal.” Landon and Zeal shook each other’s hands, grinning.

 

       Landon, May, Zeru, and Toya waved to Roxanne and Zeal as they walked away from the Poke’mon Center. Dark clouds had rolled into the sky and threatened to rain on them again. “Lan, you didn’t forget about the Devon documents we have to deliver, did you?” Zeru asked and Landon sweated anime style. “Dah?” “Don’t tell me you forgot?!” May said. “Erm…no, it just slipped my mind.” He stated. “It won’t take us long to get to Devon Co.; just over that one hill.” May pointed out. “Then let’s go!” Landon broke into a sprint down the street towards the hill with the buildings stacked on it. “Off to Devon Company!” “Hey, wait!” May and Zeru followed, raindrops falling onto their heads. (Wonderful things happed when friends learn to trust one another; a lesson that lead Landon to his first gym badge. What new adventures await the young samurai just beyond the hills? Find out on the next “Poke’mon X”!)

                                     

                                      Next Time on Poke’mon X

       “Hi, this is Landon Himura. Anyway, you don’t want to miss out on the next episode of Poke’mon X as an old bitter rival of mine rejoins the scene. It’s a grudge match between me and Syorin Hibiki with neither of us willing to back down. He’ll be sure to use his superior skill and experience as a warrior to crush me, but I may surprise you with a few tricks of my own. Huh—what’s this? What’s with that Clear Bell glowing around his neck? You mean, he’s one too? This’ll be a match fit for a college football field, so don’t miss it! Next time on Poke’mon X. See ya’ there!”

 

Fast Fact answer: Landon is called an Origin Waker and his job is to Protect Legendary Poke’mon. Stay tuned for more Fast facts.

 

                                      “Shine the Sky” (Ending Theme)

 

Shine the sky!

Crystal power hit the high—

Flying current to my victory

Try and Try!

Never give the fight away

I’ll take every challenge that I can get in my hands

Des—tiny!

Prophecy I can’t ignore

Know what surprises that it has in store

Shine the sky!

A knew adventure I will face

Another chance at victory with Poke’mon!

 

 

THIS IS THE END OF EPISODE 11 PERIOD. SEE YA' NEXT TIME!!