When we're at Rustboro City, we meet up with Brendan, and he says, "So you made it here to Rustboro, too, Ash, Alice, and May."

"Hey, Brendan." We decide to introduce Mark, Minami, and Max to him, and they are surprised to learn that Brendan is the son of Professor Birch. Brendan says, "It's a real city, huh? Nothing like Littleroot. Oh, did you know? There's a Pokémon Gym here, too. As soon as I gather a few more Pokémon, I'll be trying my team against it! See ya!"

After he leaves, we decide to continue exploring. We find a house with a lot of cut trees, and when we meet the man, he says, "That determined expression... That limber way you move... And your well-trained Pokemon... You're obviously skilled Trainers!"

"We are... but..." Before I can say something, the man continues, "No, wait, don't say a word. I can tell just by looking at you. I'm sure that you will be capable of putting this HM to good use! No need to be modest or shy. Go on, take it!"

When he shoves the HM to May's hand, he says, "Any Pokemon that's learned Cut can chop down prickly trees, HMs like this can be used outside of battle, too."

May says, "That's great... but shouldn't you have it instead, Ash?"

I say, "I already have about 8 HMs with me. Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Flash, Rock Smash, Whirlpool, and Waterfall."

"Wow... that sure is a lot, but I think you missed one if you're here in Hoenn." Max says.

"Okay, thanks for telling me, but I don't want any spoilers." I say.

Then we decided to go to the Pokemon Gym until we noticed a Poliwag with a white armband on the end of its tail.

"Poliwag! Oh, good! I've been looking all over for you!" Much to our surprise, the one who approaches us is Roxanne, the Gym Leader of Rustboro City. And there is a group of students behind him that is the same age as Max.

It turns out that the Poliwag belongs to one of the students, but because he's afraid of touching the Pokemon, the Poliwag runs off. Then the students are trying to fight before Roxanne stops them. Then they are heading back to the Pokemon Trainer's School before I decide to greet her, "Ms. Roxanne. It's nice to see you again."

Then Roxanne notices us and says, "Ash, Mark, Minami, and Alice. I never thought I'd see you here." Roxanne says to us.

"Yeah, so you're on a field trip?" Alice asks.

"These students are in the beginner's class. We're here on a field trip until now it is the time for us to head back to the school."

"How cool." Max says. "I want to go to the Pokemon Trainer's School too! So can I, May?"

"I don't know... why don't we think about it?" May asks.

"Don't forget. We have a gym battle coming up." I say.

"Oh? So after Johto, you're finally going to come here for the Gym battles, Ash?" Roxanne says.

"Of course, and I think it is great if we battle you first." I say.

"That's great, the Rustboro Gym happens to be next door to the Pokemon Trainer's School. So why don't you all stop by and visit the school before you head off to the gym battle?" Roxanne says.

"That's great. That also reminds me. Is Luke also there as well?" Mark asks.

"Of course." Roxanne says, "He's helping me with some of the schoolwork."

As we head to the Trainer's School, we meet Luke and we share a greeting. Luke says, "I can't believe you four are traveling together! I'm quite jealous, you know."

"Sorry about that, but how are you doing?" I ask.

"As usual, sometimes helping my parents." Luke says.

Then we introduce May and Max to Luke, he is the son of Roxanne and also our childhood friend. Then the headmaster comes and shows us the whole school, while they're doing that, we also chat with Luke about our past journeys.

"I'm happy that you come to Hoenn for gym battles, but you seriously pick my Mom as the first gym?" Luke asks.

"Well, I wanted Petalberg to be first, but the gym leader Norman wants me to get four badges before entering that." I say.

"I see... And here it is, my Mom's class. Right now she's having Professor Oak to the class." Luke says.

We greet the Professor from the videophone, and Max is a little nervous about meeting Professor Oak.

"So how is the gym battle? Have you gotten your first badge from Roxanne, yet?" Professor Oak asks.

"Actually, we haven't had a battle yet." Roxanne says. "And I have classes to teach until tomorrow night, so Ash, would you be able to wait until then?"

"No problem." I say.

Then there is a kid who tries to ask Max a lot of questions, and Max of course can answer them. Roxanne then takes the opportunity to speak to Tommy, adding that the students are not supposed to compete, instead they should try to learn together. Then the headmaster offers Max to spend a full day at school tomorrow.

As we continue our tour, we manage to see the Pokemon that are kept and rented to the other students, and once we're done, Luke decides to invite us to his house to stay.

"So your Dad is still not coming home?" Alice asks.

"He's busy traveling to collect the Mega Stones." I say. "I really want to be like him, to collect all kinds of rare stones and jewels."

"That sounds awesome." Mark says. Max says, "Hey, Mark, Minami. I just realized that you never told us your dreams."

Mark says, "We didn't? Sorry about that. My dream is to one day become an Elite Four member, and also win all kinds of sports competitions."

Minami says, "As for me, I want to become the greatest detective in the whole world, although I'm also studying law and preparing to be a lawyer as well."

"Wow... those are some wild dreams." May says.

"Of course, a lot of our friends are having wild dreams after all. Some want to be actresses, some want to be Top Coordinators, and some even want to be an International Police member..."

We all frown after saying the last one, May and Max are confused, "Guys? What's wrong?"

Alice says, "It's something that we didn't like to talk about. Don't worry."

I say, "It's fine. They should know the truth. You see... the last dream belongs to my sister Golly, but she deceased because of Team Rocket's attack..."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." May and Max now feel bad, and Mark says, "Just because we are Pokemon doesn't mean we are immortal, but she has to be so far away from us so soon..."

Then we decided to change topics until it was time for bed. The next day, we watch Max interact with students and we are asked to help out. Although there are some problems. I try to have Kenny touch Pikachu, but Tommy accidentally steps on a Poliwag causing the accident to happen.

Another thing that we really don't like is that the headmaster rushes in and says that the Pokemon has been stolen. I groan, "Don't tell me..."

Then the Wurmple machine appears and Team Rocket trio are the ones in it. Roxanne says, "Team Rocket? What are they doing here? They should've stayed at Kanto and Johto after what we did..."

I say, "Obviously those three are idiots who kept following me since the first day of my journey, their only goal was to steal anything rare or my Pikachu."

Luke says, "But really... why don't you just kill them if you don't really want them to stalk you?"

"We can't actually kill them, we promised Mother that we'll do it after they annoy us about 1000 times." I say back.

"Wait, Ash... are you seriously talking about killing?" May asks with a little frightened tone.

"Team Alpha members are trained to kill if possible, especially with evil criminals like Team Rocket." Minami says. "If you don't know, Roxanne is also a member of Team Alpha, along with the Champion of Hoenn Steven Stone, and two more Gym Leaders in the Hoenn Region."

"No way..." Max says. "You mean there is a group who trained to kill and even the Champion is in it?"

"We can talk about this later. Right now we have to save those Pokeballs." Luke says.

Then thanks to the kids' help, they manage to deal some damage to Team Rocket, and Roxanne also uses Geodude's Rollout to send them flying once more.

"That takes care of them." I say.

Then after class, we decided to prepare so that I could have my gym battle the next day. May then reveals, "I've decided, I'm not going to challenge the gyms, instead, I want to just focus on becoming a Pokemon Coordinator. I never wanted to become a Pokemon trainer, all I wanted to do was get out and travel and see other places. Being a trainer is the perfect excuse to do all of that."

"I see..." Minami says. "We respect your choice."

"Yeah, I know that if Reisa hears this, she'll be happy to have another friend who likes contests." Mark says.

"Yeah, you're right about that." I say.

We head inside the gym and we are surprised to see a lot of fossils on display and the Kabutops, Lillip, and the skeleton Dragonite on the walls. The Gym Guide says, "Yo, how's it going? Gym Leaders aren't pushovers! And that's where I come in! I'm here to provide expert advice! Roxanne, the Gym Leader here, is a user of Rock-type Pokémon. The Rock type is very durable, but it can't stand Water-type and Grass-type moves. Come see me afterward if you beat the Gym Leader. Well, go for it!"

"Yeah, we all know about that." I say as we start to walk forward. Max says, "Look at this gym... there are so many things to see... it's like a museum!"

"Of course, they are the things that my Dad worked hard to get to display." Luke says. "There are also some gym trainers here, Ash."

"You bet I'm ready to face them." I say.

My first Gym trainer was a youngster named Josh. "Don't take us Gym Trainers lightly! I'll show you why we're better!"

He uses two Geodudes to battle, but with the help of Wingull, it uses Water Pulse to knock out all of them with ease. "You were too good for me..."

As we continue further, we're now getting close to the battlefield, and there is another youngster named Tommy stopping us. "If you can't beat me, you won't stand a chance against Roxanne!"

He also uses a Geodude, and this time I use Shroomish to battle, with the Effect Spore ability, Geodude falls asleep, and this gives me a chance to use Mega Drain to knock it out. "Wow! You've got some potential!"

And the final trainer is a schoolkid named Georgia. She says, "I'll make you feel the power of the number two Trainer at this school!"

I wonder why all the trainers here use Geodude, and it is easily defeated by Lotad using Mega Drain and Water Gun. "How disappointing... I fell to number three..."

"And that's all the gym trainers." Luke says. "That was quick."

"It is easy if my opponents are all Geodude, I just hope to have something other than it." I sigh.

As we get to the battlefield, Roxanne is waiting for us and she says, "Just as I expected... I knew you and your Pokémon would be able to get this far. Now, would you kindly demonstrate how you battle with your Pokémon?"

"Of course." I say.

Then the rules stated is two-on-two, and Max says, "It is the first real gym battle that I've ever seen!"

"Didn't you have to watch your father battle in the Petalburg Gym?" Luke asks.

"Nope, he didn't want to mess up the challengers' concentration so he never let us watch them." Max says. "I guess your mother is not the same?"

"Well, she won't mind if me and my Dad watch her battle." Luke says.

Roxanne says, "Let's begin! Geodude! I choose you!"

When she leads off with Geodude, I say, "I knew she used her Geodude, that's perfect because I just battled four Geodude. Treecko! I choose you!"

I send out Treecko to battle, and I have it use Quick Attack, to which Geodude replies with a Tackle, sending Treecko flying.

"Now Ash, you're already a Champion, but I have to point out that it was a naive choice of an attack. You should know that Geodude's defensive power is way too high to be defeated by some physical attack like that!"

I say nothing as she continues by using Rock Tomb, much to my surprise as Treecko's speed is lowered. Then Treecko recovers from the hit and uses Leafage, which hits Geodude.

"That's the way, great job!" Geodude is now trapped in the pieces of rocks, but it recovers by using Rollout, but when Treecko tries to jump and dodge, Geodude follows, and it knocks out Treecko with another Rock Tomb.

"Thank you, Treecko. You're really awesome..." I say as I recall Treecko.

"Treecko lost... after all that hard work." Max says.

"But this battle is far from over." Minami says.

I say, "I choose you, Wingull!" When I send it out, everyone gasps as Roxanne asks, "Are you sure you're going to use a Flying Pokemon in a Rock Gym? One might rethink the choice."

"Just wait until you see us battle." I say. Wingull starts by destroying the rock field with Water Pulse. Even though Wingull has destroyed the field, it has yet to damage Geodude.

"No way! Look at that battlefield!" Max says.

"It's totally flattened!" May says.

"Great, Wingull. Now here we come!" I say.

"I'd like to thank you because more room gives Geodude more attacks to use!" Roxanne says, and much to my surprise, he goes for Rock Tomb again and I have Wingull dodge with Quick Attack, then she tries for Rollout, but Geodude gets stuck on the softer battlefield, making an opening for Wingull to get close and get the knockout with Wing Attack.

"What a battle!" Mark says.

"I've never seen a Flying Pokemon ever defeat a Rock Pokemon!" Max says.

Roxanne returns Geodude and she says, "I got to admit, in all of my battling with Geodude, we've never lost to a Flying Type Pokemon. I'm impressed. Let's see how you'll deal with this one! Nosepass! I choose you!"

Of course, the second Pokemon is the Nosepass. Without evolving, it is still a strong Pokemon for Roxanne. Wingull is also a little tired, I say, "You ready, Wingull? Let's finish this off right now! Use Water Pulse!"

The attack hits the mark, but Nosepass responds with a Rock Tomb, hitting Wingull, but Wingull also uses Water Pulse to destroy the rocks. Then it uses Sandstorm, and we can't even see a thing in the weather.

"I can't see anything!" Alice says.

"That means Nosepass can't see Wingull, right?" May asks.

"Wrong! Nosepass can use its nose as a compass, remember?" Luke says.

Nosepass manages to Tackle against Wingull, and I have Wingull dodge it the second time it is using Tackle.

"Rock Tomb!" "Quick Attack!" Then I have Wingull to spin Nosepass around, this also confuses the others.

Wingull continues to disorient Nosepass by running circles around it, and in the end, it goes for a Steel Wing, however, the move fails.

"Wingull is too worn out from flying around, and thus does not have the time to store up energy for a successful Iron Tail." Minami says.

Nosepass tries to finish off Wingull with Zap Cannon, but Wingull dodges in time. Anticipating Water Pulse, Nosepass uses Zap Cannon again, to which I tell Wingull to fly lower, missing the attack, and then the Steel Wing hits Nosepass.

"Finish with Water Pulse!" I yell, and the attack finally knocks the Nosepass out of the battle.

"We did it!" I say as Wingull lands on my shoulder.

Max says, "Wow, Ash did it!"

May says, "Wingull is so strong!"

Roxanne sighs and says, "So... I lost... It seems that I still have much more to learn..." Then she recalls her Nosepass and walks towards me. "I understand. The Pokémon League's rules state that Trainers receive this if they defeat a Gym Leader. Please accept the official Pokémon League Stone Badge."

After I received the badge, she said, "The Stone Badge enables Pokémon to use the HM move Cut outside of battle. All Pokémon up to Level 20, even those you get in trades, will also obey you. Since you are so strong, you should challenge other Gym Leaders, too. By battling many Trainers, you'll likely learn many things."

"Of course." I say as we leave the gym.

Here is a new chapter, and Ash gets his first gym badge in the Hoenn Region and I hope you like it. The next chapter will be the Devon Corp.

Ash + Alice's Pokemon:

Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Treecko, Torchic, Poochyena, Zigzagoon, Wurmple x2, Lotad, Seedot, Taillow, Wingull, Ralts x2 (One Shiny), Surskit, Shroomish, Slakoth

May's Pokemon:

Torchic, Wurmple

Mark's Pokemon:

Blaziken, Ludicolo, Wingull, Surskit, Shroomish, Hariyama

Minami's Pokemon:

Zigzagoon, Taillow, Ralts, Slakoth, Delcatty, Mawile, Lunatone