Author's Note:

Here we are with another chapter of Bonnie's adventure! Just a little heads up for all of you who read Lumiose University along with this, I have decided that for the most part this story will get two updates for every one of LU's. There's just a lot more to get to with this one, and honestly, I'm enjoying it a little more. Not to worry, though, as both are getting worked on, and LU is next.

Other than that, though, we have the next chapter of this to get to, and Bonnie is finally in Rustboro City! Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 12: The Student and the Teacher

Seeing Rustboro City ahead of her made Bonnie feel as though she was in a dream. Her whole body felt light, as though she wasn't even really standing there, and she was floating over top of the ground. And as she held up her hand to touch the sign at the entrance to the city, it shook with her excitement. She could barely feel the wood of the sign under her fingers, but still, she knew that she was finally here. She knew that one of the most important stages of her journey was about to begin.

"Excited?" Clyde finally whispered, after they stood there a moment, taking in the sight of the city ahead. "Pretty big step, huh?"

Bonnie nodded, not sure exactly what to say. Eventually, though, she looked to Dedenne, who looked how she felt, standing on her shoulder and looking towards the city. "This is it, Dedenne," the young trainer whispered. "We're in the city where we're going to win our first gym badge!"

"Ne nene," Dedenne whispered back, eyes shining. Bonnie knew he was imagining battling like his idol, Pikachu, darting around the battlefield and unleashing powerful electrical attacks. She couldn't wait to see him in action, and guide him through it.

Bonnie finally took her hand off of the sign and then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the badge case that Korrina had given her. She remembered imagining putting the first badge in there when she'd gotten it, and promising Korrina she'd one day put the Shalour City gym badge in there. It would be awhile, but she looked forward to that day. But this was the first one, and she couldn't be more excited about finally getting a chance to use Korrina's gift.

"Let's rumble!" she announced, feeling like Ash with her now standard battle call. She led the way into the city, Rotom floating down next to her as they entered.

"Zzt, Bonnie," he said as she paused, looking at a map that was near the front, while people busily walked past, this city clearly the biggest of the ones they'd been in so far. "It would be a good idea to refresh your Pokemon at the Pokemon Centre before going to the Rustboro City Gym," the PokeDex advised. "Berries can only do so much."

Bonnie nodded, appreciating the suggestion as she glanced at Dedenne, who also looked like he agreed. The berries they'd gotten from Natalie and the others would be useful on the road, but they definitely needed to give their Pokemon a chance to get recharged at the Pokemon Centre. Besides, maybe she'd be able to give Clemont and her dad a quick call to let him know she was about to have her first gym battle. She quickly looked for the Pokemon Centre on her map and called for her friends to follow as she led the way, passing by what appeared to be a group of school students heading down the street.

Rustboro City certainly appeared to be an interesting city with lots to do, and Bonnie was excited to get a chance to see some of it later on. It wasn't quite like Lumiose City, as it was definitely smaller, but according to Clyde, it was quite an important business location as Devon Corporation had its headquarters there. Adding a gym to that definitely made it quite an important place in Bonnie's eyes.

When they finally found their way around and reached the Pokemon Centre, Bonnie ran ahead with Dedenne, wanting to get her Pokemon taken care of as soon as possible so that they could check out the gym. However, when she entered the lobby, she nearly ran into someone, barely skidding to a halt in time to prevent a collision. She winced, expecting someone to scold her for not being careful, but then blinked in surprise when the person in front of her said her name.

"Bonnie?"

"Huh...Kenny!" She smiled, recognizing the face of the boy they'd met at the Petalburg Gym. They hadn't spoken much, but he was a familiar face nonetheless, and Bonnie knew exactly why he was here. "Have you had your first gym battle yet?"

The blue-haired boy shook his head, a nervous look in his eyes. "No, my match is today. Max and Tommy have had theirs already. Tommy won a couple of days ago, and Max-"

"Hey look, Max! It's that girl that was at your dad's gym." Bonnie narrowed her eyes, looking up as she noticed the confident smirk of Tommy, walking away from the front desk where Nurse Joy was, clipping his pokeballs to his belt. Max was next to him, doing the same, looking shocked to see Bonnie there, but not commenting.

As the two boys reached Bonnie and Kenny, Clyde came through the door with Rotom and Treecko, smiling in recognition as he noticed the familiar faces. "Hey guys, you're here for your gym battles, too?"

"Well, I already won mine," Tommy said, smirking as he pulled out a badge case and clicked it open. "Ms. Roxanne didn't stand a chance!"

"You barely won," Max muttered, looking irritated. "Your Magby needed all of Nurse Joy's attention when you were done."

Tommy laughed, looking smug as he looked to Bonnie and Clyde. "He's just jealous because I won easier than he did. His Ralts had to spend the whole night here."

"I still won, so you're no better off than I am," Max retorted, shaking his head in exasperation.

Bonnie, despite not being a particularly big fan of either of the two boys, couldn't help but stare at the badge in Tommy's case longingly. She was only snapped out of it when he clicked it closed and pocketed it. "How...how was it?" she finally managed to squeak out, looking to the two of them with interest. "What was it like to be in a gym battle?"

"Pretty easy," Tommy answered, shrugging as he smirked at a couple of girls walking by who had noticed his badge. "I probably should've gotten the badge without a battle, really. It was just a risk for Ms. Roxanne's Pokemon."

Max rolled his eyes at that, but then surprisingly gave Bonnie an honest answer. "It was the toughest battle I've had so far. I remembered Ash battling Roxanne, and I though that would help, but I could barely do it. It was a lot of fun." Of course, Tommy wasn't the only one who liked to get a dig in on his rivals, and Max couldn't help but smirk and add, "I don't know if you'll be ready for it."

"Oh yeah?!" Bonnie clenched her fist, holding it up. "How about I-"

"You don't know if she'll be ready for it?" Tommy asked, laughing. "Kenny's battling today and he looks like he's not even going to be able to walk to the gym!"

"I...I c-can do it," Kenny stammered out, trying to look confident, but failing miserably. Bonnie felt bad for him, knowing that he was clearly feeling overshadowed by his two rivals. She just hoped she wouldn't be overshadowed by all three of them...along with Sadie and Wally. The thought of those two made her look to Max once more.

"Have you seen anyone else challenging Roxanne?" she asked, looking around just in case either were around, although knowing it wasn't likely.

Max shook his head. "We got here a couple days ago and nobody else seemed to have been here. Ms. Roxanne didn't mention anyone." He narrowed his eyes, looking curious. "Who are you looking for? That girl Rotom mentioned you lost to?"

Bonnie glared at him, not bothering to confirm it, assuming that neither Sadie nor Wally was around, given his answer. I guess they got here earlier and probably won, she thought, realizing that she was already behind four of her rivals that were vying for the Hoenn League. It'll be five if Kenny wins.

"Well, whatever," Max muttered, looking over to Kenny. "I'm heading over to Devon Corp. I'll be at the gym in time for your match. Good luck, Kenny."

"Yeah, I'm gonna do some training and maybe I'll check out your battle, too," Tommy said, shrugging as though he didn't care, although Bonnie was sure he did somewhat. "See ya later."

As they left, Bonnie noticed Kenny looking like he wanted to say something, but clearly he couldn't find the words through his nervousness and remained quiet. Bonnie felt bad for him once more, but as she also had some preparation to do, she couldn't stand around there either. "Well, I'd better go get Dedenne and Beautifly checked on before my-"

"Zzt! Pokemon trainer Bonnie!" Rotom cried out before she could finish. She paused, looking to the PokeDex while Kenny looked on in confusion. "If Pokemon trainer Kenny has a gym battle today, does that not mean that you will be unable to compete today?"

"Aww...I guess you're right," Bonnie said, shoulders sagging with the realization. "If only we got here quicker."

It was Kenny's turn to feel bad apparently, and he quickly patted Bonnie on the shoulder. "Uh...it..it's okay, Bonnie. You can battle today. I'll...I'll wait. I probably shouldn't battle with just...um..."

His nervousness was clearly making him want to delay his battle, and as much as Bonnie did want to battle today, she couldn't take his spot because of that. "No, don't be silly Kenny. It's only fair that you go. Besides, I can watch your battle and maybe I can get some ideas for mine."

Kenny didn't seem overly excited, but he still nodded, turning around to look at the desk, where Nurse Joy was handing a pokeball back to a trainer. "Well...why don't you get your Pokemon checked out, and we can head over to the gym together? I was gonna have a look around the school before my battle, so maybe I can give you guys a tour."

Clyde seemed particularly interested in that, speaking before Bonnie could answer. "That would be awesome, Kenny! I bet we could pick up a few good pointers on some training techniques." He then looked to Treecko. "Maybe we can even get some ideas on where we can plant a few berry trees." The grass type definitely liked that idea, nodding in agreement.

Bonnie had no objection, and agreed as well, before finally heading over towards Nurse Joy. As she handed over Beautifly's pokeball and Dedenne hopped over onto the tray with Clyde's Treecko, she glanced over at the phones, remembering that she'd wanted to call back home to tell Clemont and her dad about her battle. She decided that could wait now, though, as she wouldn't be battling till the next day at best, and she and her friends just waited in the lobby until the Pokemon were ready, which wasn't too long.

"You're Pokemon are in perfect health!" Nurse Joy told them happily as Dedenne and Treecko hopped up on their trainers' shoulders. "We hope to see you again!"

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Bonnie and Clyde said, before the group turned around and headed out, Kenny leading the way.

As they headed towards the Pokemon Trainer's School, Bonnie was glad to see Kenny looking a little more at ease, her quiet rival clearly looking forward to seeing the school. He told them a few stories as they walked, including one that Anita had briefly talked about in Petalburg City regarding the time that Ash had visited, and Max had met Kenny, Tommy and Anita.

"Tommy had been a real bully before that, but when Team Rocket came, we all came up with a plan to beat them together. We all became friends after that. At least, Tommy, Anita and I did, and then Max hung out with us after travelling with Ash." Kenny frowned, looking sad as he continued. "But Tommy did kind of go back to his old self. He always won his training battles, and he got really smug about it all. He and Max really got into it a lot when they'd try to show who was training better for their journey. Max probably would've started earlier, but he still gets along well with Anita and me, and wanted to wait for us. We're obviously still friends with Tommy, but he does make it hard sometimes."

Bonnie could definitely understand that, having already wanted to give Tommy a piece of her mind. Regardless, it did seem like these four did have quite the history together, and she was interested to see just what this school was like. Tommy at least seemed quite skilled, and Anita seemed pretty good as well. Obviously Kenny wasn't too confident, but he did seem to know a lot. This Roxanne must've been a pretty good teacher to go along with being a Gym Leader.

When they arrived at the school, the first thing Bonnie noticed was a small class outside at some kind of training field. The students seemed to be a couple of years younger than her, and Kenny quickly explained that they were a beginner class, learning the basics of battling. "Roxanne usually teaches beginners, but she's also teaching some more of the advanced classes, so she's probably with one of them right now. These kids each get to use a Pokemon from the school that will listen to all of their commands, which allows them to get an idea of being in a real battle, without having to work at training a Pokemon."

"That's cool," Clyde said, watching as a young boy ordered a Peck attack from a Taillow, which was countered by a Cyndaquil's Ember. "So these Pokemon listen to whoever uses them?"

"Yep," Kenny answered, leading the group towards the main entrance of the school. "There's a whole collection of them here. It's really helpful for teaching hands on skills without going out and catching our own Pokemon when we're too young. My Poliwag was actually one of them, just like Tommy's Magby and Anita's Pidgey. They just ended up liking us all so much that Ms. Roxanne let us keep them as our starter Pokemon for our journeys."

"You didn't want to get a Pokemon from Professor Birch?" Bonnie asked, interested to know why another trainer had opted to go without a starter Pokemon like she had.

"I'd always imagined it, but Poliwag and I grew pretty close," Kenny said, leading them down a hallway as a teacher greeted them. He quickly let the teacher know he was giving a tour before continuing. "I was actually afraid of touching Pokemon before coming here, and Anita didn't even like Pokemon period. It was only that day that Max came and we fought off Team Rocket that we realized how amazing they were. Poliwag helped me get over my fear as well, and it just made perfect sense."

Bonnie smiled, looking up at Dedenne. "I couldn't see any other way than having Dedenne as my starter Pokemon either," she said, Kenny nodding as they paused in front of a door.

"I learned a lot from this school, so it only made sense for it to be where I got my first Pokemon." Kenny then turned, opening the door they were in front of. "This is where all the Pokemon we use for demonstrations and tests are kept. There are Pokemon of all different types here, so we can learn for any type of situation."

Bonnie's eyes widened as she stepped into the room, seeing the huge room full of shelves that were full of pokeballs. She just wished she could have a small fraction of the Pokemon that were here one day. She looked up as she noticed Rotom snapping some pictures, while Clyde stared in awe.

"Smeargle smear." The group jumped as a Pokemon came around the corner, tilting its head as it looked at them. "Smeargle?" It was a two-legged Pokemon, with brown and white fur, its tail appearing almost like a paintbrush at its end. Bonnie thought it was quite cute as it turned its beret-shaped head, its brown ears moving underneath.

"What's that?" she asked, looking to Rotom as the PokeDex floated down and snapped a picture.

"Smeargle, the Painter Pokemon," Rotom began, turning around and showing Bonnie his screen that had an image of the Pokemon in question on it. "It draws symbols with the fluid that oozes from the tip of its tail. Depending on the symbol, Smeargle fanatics will pay big money for them. They are most well known for their unique move that can copy almost any other Pokemon's move, known as Sketch."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows at that, thinking that it sounded like a particularly useful Pokemon if it could do that. "Should it be out of its pokeball?" she asked Kenny, surprised to see him looking confused by the Smeargle's appearance.

"I...I don't think it's supposed to be here," he said, looking around to see if anyone was there.

Apparently the Smeargle didn't really care either way, flicking its tail a little as it walked past them nonchalantly and through the open door. Kenny had no chance to do anything about it, he and the others too surprised by it. Bonnie thought she heard someone in the hallway call out to it, but by the time she and the others were out of the room, it appeared as though the Smeargle was gone.

"I wonder what it's doing here," Clyde said, looking somewhat amused. "It didn't seem to care much about us."

"Probably just a wild one looking for some free food," Kenny suggested, laughing a little. "All it needed to do was ask."

As it didn't appear to be an issue any longer, Kenny decided to continue the small tour, showing Bonnie and Clyde a few of the other things the school had to offer. Bonnie was particularly impressed with the battle classes, seeing some of the advanced students pulling off some pretty impressive strategies. However, the contest classes were also pretty interesting, reminding Bonnie of Serena's performances back home in Kalos. But what Bonnie was intrigued by most, was the final class that Kenny wanted to show them, as it would be a theory class taught by none other than the Rustboro City Gym Leader, Roxanne.

They entered the room quietly, Bonnie immediately noticing the surprisingly young woman at the front of the class, near a chalkboard noting some things down next to a screen while someone appeared to be talking on a video call. She was definitely younger than any teacher Bonnie had ever seen, and didn't really look too much older than Clemont. She had red eyes and brown hair which was tied in two pigtails with a red bow that went well with her pink scarf. Despite being young, though, she looked quite professional in her blue school uniform dress and pink leggings.

"And so, as you can see, Bulbasaur are quite capable fighters whether or not they evolve. Evolution can make a Pokemon stronger, but nothing beats a trainer and a Pokemon working well together." It was then that Bonnie noticed just who was on the video call, her eyes widening in recognition as the image on screen focused on the old professor with a Bulbasaur in front of him. "Any questions?"

There didn't appear to be any, but at that moment, the teacher, who Bonnie had guessed was Roxanne, looked up, noticing Kenny and his guests. "Oh Kenny!" she called out to him. "Perfect timing. Professor Oak," she said, turning to the screen, "Kenny is going to be putting all he's learned from us over the years to the test today, as he has his very first gym battle!"

Professor Oak looked impressed, eyes finding Kenny as he smiled. "Well, you've certainly come a long way, Kenny. I'm sure Max and the others are excited for you." Kenny nodded, despite that not fully being the case. It was then that Professor Oak noticed Bonnie next to him, though. "Well...if it isn't young Bonnie! I assume you're there for a gym battle as well! Ash told me you had gone to Hoenn."

Roxanne looked a little surprised at that, but simply watched as Bonnie answered. "Um...yeah. I'm gonna watch Kenny today, and hopefully have my match after him at some point."

"Well, I look forward to hearing about both of your battles. I'll be sure to tell Ash I saw you." He then waved to Roxanne and the rest of the class before looking back to Bonnie and Kenny. "Good luck to you both. I'd best be off now."

"Bye Professor!" the class called out, while Bonnie and Kenny awkwardly waved.

They waited patiently as Roxanne wrapped things up, moving over to the side as she asked a few questions about Professor Oak's lecture. The students gave their answers, many of them brief as many looked tired after the lesson and ready to head home. So, when Roxanne ended things off and sent them on their way, there was quite a rush to get out of the room. As the last couple of students left, Roxanne stacked up a couple of books at her desk and then approached Bonnie and her friends.

"Well Kenny, who might your friends be?" the Rustboro Gym Leader asked, smiling in Bonnie's direction.

"This is Clyde," Kenny said first, gesturing to the brown-haired boy. Bonnie noticed he had another one of those goofy looks on his face, but fortunately Roxanne didn't seem to care. "He and his Treecko aren't here for a battle, but they're starting out on a journey with Bonnie here." He then gestured to Bonnie, who smiled in greeting. "She and Dedenne are from the Kalos region, and know Max a bit. She also travelled with Ash when he was in Kalos." He then looked up to Rotom as the PokeDex floated down in front of Roxanne, who looked pretty stunned by him. "And...um...that's Bonnie's PokeDex. It's...got...um..."

"Zzt! I am Rotom!" Rotom announced proudly, floating down and sort of shaking Roxanne's hand before coming back to hover next to Bonnie's head. "My task is to assist Pokemon trainer Bonnie in developing her knowledge and skill as a trainer throughout her journey."

"Fascinating!" Roxanne said excitedly, leaning forward to look at Rotom. "So you're a Rotom inside of a PokeDex? I've heard rumours of such a device being developed, but I never thought I'd see one in person."

Bonnie bit her lip, forcing herself not to mention how annoying Rotom could be sometimes. She knew Roxanne's excitement would give him a big head. Instead, she met Roxanne's eyes as the teacher looked back to her, both of them knowing what she wanted to say. "Ms. Roxanne...I...I'd like to challenge you to a gym battle. I know you're battling Kenny today, but..."

Roxanne smiled, reaching out a hand towards the young trainer. "I'd be honoured to accept your challenge, Bonnie," she said, Bonnie taking her hand and shaking it nervously. "It's a privilege to be the first gym challenge of just one trainer, but it looks like I've had quite the week when it comes to that!" She laughed, looking to Kenny who only chuckled nervously. When she looked to Bonnie, her gaze became a little more serious. "I'll need to ensure my Pokemon are healed up after today's battle, but I should be free to battle you tomorrow if that's all right."

"Yeah, that would great!" Bonnie told her, feeling nervous excitement rush through her. "We're gonna win, right Dedenne?" she asked, looking to her partner Pokemon.

"Nene!" Dedenne answered, raising his fists, ready to fight.

"I must say, I can see Ash's influence on you!" Roxanne said, laughing at the interaction. "He and his Pikachu had that same fire in their eyes when they challenged me. I'll never forget those two."

Bonnie was quite curious about that, never having heard much about Ash's Rustboro gym battle other than Max and May briefly talking about it. "You almost beat him, right?"

"I suppose, but it's tough to beat someone with the spirit those two have!" Roxanne laughed again, the memory of the battle seemingly playing before her eyes. "I guess there's only so much you can learn in a classroom. He clearly learned quite a bit through his travels."

Bonnie couldn't help but agree with that, thinking about how much she learned just by watching Ash make his way through various challenges in his path. She'd learned quite a bit just by doing various chores for their group on the journey as well, and through helping take care of the Pokemon. And all that had happened with Squishy and Team Flare had prepared her for what she'd had to deal with so far on this journey. She could appreciate all that Kenny, Tommy and Anita must've learned here at this school, but she couldn't imagine any other way for herself to learn than through a fun, exciting and challenging journey.

Roxanne must've seen something about that in her eyes, because she smiled somewhat sadly. "I sometimes wish I'd done a little more of it. I'd probably be a much better teacher if I had."

"But you're the best teacher here, Ms. Roxanne!" Kenny told her, a surprising amount of enthusiasm in his voice. "I'd never have had the confidence to go on a journey without you teaching me."

"Well, thank you, Kenny," Roxanne said gratefully, although Bonnie was sure there was still a hint of doubt in her eyes until she narrowed them challengingly, her demeanor quickly changing. "Perhaps it's time you show me what you've learned then. Are you ready for our challenge?"

Bonnie could see Kenny immediately growing nervous again, but he managed to give a small nod, knowing that he needed to go ahead with the battle eventually if he was to continue on his journey. "I...I'm ready."

Roxanne grinned happily at that, before looking to Bonnie and Clyde. "Most of my students will probably be heading home, so you two should have plenty of room in the stands. And Bonnie," she added, another challenging look in her eyes, "make sure to watch carefully. My rock Pokemon are tough to beat so you may want to start preparing a strategy."

"She's already got a-"

"Zzt! Pokemon trainer Clyde should keep Bonnie's strategy a secret!" Rotom interrupted quickly, somewhat slapping Clyde as he floated down in front of him. Bonnie couldn't help but laugh, glad to have Rotom supporting her, despite how often he told her she had low chances of winning.

"Okay! Okay!" Clyde said, holding his hands up in surrender to the PokeDex. "I won't say anything."

Roxanne seemed intrigued by the interaction, but her main focus was clearly on the battle she would be fighting shortly, as she looked to Kenny once more and then began leading the group out of the room. "The gym is just next door to the school, so it's nice and convenient for us," she told Bonnie and Clyde as they made their way down the hall towards the exit. "I usually don't have battles on days I'm teaching, but I know Kenny is eager to catch up to Max and Tommy, so I couldn't leave him waiting."

Bonnie thought that was nice, but from the look on Kenny's face, he probably wished he had another day to wait. It almost looked like he was going to be sick. To his credit, though, he continued on, taking a deep breath as they exited the school and got out into the fresh air. And, by the time they'd walked the short distance from the school to the gym, a few students waiting outside to watch, he had his hand on a pokeball, ready to bring it out.

As Roxanne greeted some of the waiting students, Bonnie noticed Tommy and Max approaching from the group, the former laughing as he looked to Kenny. "Wow Kenny! Surprised you actually showed up! I was planning on leaving soon." Bonnie was tempted to snap at him, but Max spoke up before she could say anything.

"Got a plan for the battle?" the black-haired boy asked, noticing Kenny holding his first pokeball.

"Um...well Poliwag is a water type, so..." He swallowed nervously, seeing Roxanne on the move again, her students following after her. "I don't know," he then muttered, sighing as Tommy snorted and turned around to head into the gym. Max waited a moment, glaring after the boy, before going in as well.

"You'll do great, Kenny," Bonnie encouraged. "Just do your best and believe in your Pokemon."

"Nenene," Dedenne murmured in agreement.

Kenny simply nodded, before looking up towards the gym. Bonnie finally had a good look at it as well, raising her eyebrows in surprise as she noticed that it looked like a building built into the side of a rocky cliff. She supposed that if it was a rock type gym, a rocky exterior would make sense. She was excited to see what it looked like inside, watching as the rest of the people outside made their way in.

"C'mon Kenny, let's go in," Bonnie said, leading the way towards the gym. Even though it wasn't her gym battle, she was feeling quite excited to see just what her first gym battle location would be, and what she saw definitely didn't disappoint. "Wow...look at that battlefield, Dedenne."

Apart from the actual battlefield, it was similar to Grant's gym back in Cyllage City, although obviously there was no need to climb a cliff to get up to it. It was somewhat dark, giving off the sense of being in a rocky area with the grey stands. However, the battlefield was completely covered in rocks, telling Bonnie just how difficult it would be to adjust for a Pokemon that wasn't a rock type. Roxanne clearly had the advantage there.

On the battlefield, there were a few students who seemed to be sweeping off some debris, while others were setting up cameras around the perimeter of the field. She was wondering what that was about when Kenny and Clyde came up behind her, the latter looking as in awe as Bonnie felt.

"Ms. Roxanne has some students help out at the gym as interns," Kenny explained, seeing Bonnie noticing the students. "They get some experience helping out and seeing the battles. Some of them film the battles so that the footage can be used in classes to give the students at the school an idea of what a trainer needs to do to compete in the Pokemon League."

Bonnie nodded, continuing to take it all in before looking to Kenny, seeing him looking more nervous by the second as he looked at the crowd he'd be battling in front of. To his credit, though, he just took a deep breath and then approached his position on the battlefield, where Roxanne was instructing a couple of the students who would be filming. As he went over, Bonnie signaled for Clyde to follow her as they took their places in the stands, a little bit away from where Tommy and Max were sitting. From where they were, they could hear Roxanne and Kenny quite clearly.

"Well Kenny, are you ready for our battle?" Roxanne asked, holding out a hand as he swallowed nervously and nodded. "May the best trainer win!" his teacher said, shaking his hand before turning away while her students quickly got off the field and the "film crew" got ready. A referee approached the side, holding up two flags as Roxanne got to her spot and pulled out her first pokeball.

"No way Kenny wins this," Bonnie heard Tommy mutter to Max. "He's way too nervous."

She wanted to get mad, but Bonnie could see he had a point. Kenny needed a serious confidence boost, and she doubted a gym battle was the place to get started for that. She noticed Max looking to his friend, clenching his fist as he watched Kenny hold up his first pokeball. "At least he's got a water Pokemon. That'll help him." Tommy just laughed at that, but before Max could reply, Roxanne's voice got everyone's attention.

"All right, Kenny," she said, holding up her pokeball and smiling. "You've come a long way since I first had you in my beginner's class. You've gone from a boy who was afraid of Pokemon to a young trainer setting out on a journey to the Hoenn League. As a teacher and gym leader, I couldn't be more proud." Bonnie was glad to see a small smile coming to Kenny's face at that, clearly feeling a little better after that praise. "Now, it's time to show me what you've learned, so show me everything you have. Nosepass! You're up!"

With that, she threw out her first pokeball, and Bonnie leaned forward excitedly to get a good look at it. And, after a brief flash of light, the rock type Pokemon emerged. It was a blue Pokemon, looking somewhat like a cone-shaped head, with two stubby legs and a large red nose. Bonnie quickly looked to Rotom, who was already moving in front of her with an image of Nosepass on his screen to give her the information about it.

"Nosepass, the Compass Pokemon," Rotom began. "Nosepass has a nose that functions as an electromagnet and determines location by moving its nose about."

"She's using Nosepass first?" Bonnie heard Max say in surprise. "But that's her best."

"She probably knows this is a waste of time," Tommy muttered, shaking his head.

"That doesn't sound good for Kenny," Clyde whispered, as Bonnie looked to the nervous trainer. He seemed to know it wasn't too good either, but nonetheless, he threw out his pokeball, his Tadpole Pokemon emerging in a flash of light.

With Poliwag out, the referee stepped forward, raising both of his flags, before announcing the rules of the match. "This will be a two on two battle between Roxanne, the Gym Leader of the Rustboro City Gym, and the challenger, Kenny. When both Pokemon for one trainer are unable to battle, the other will be declared the winner. Only the challenger is permitted to substitute Pokemon." As he prepared to wave his flags, Roxanne tensed up, clearly ready to call her first order, while Kenny just gulped. "Let the battle begin!"

"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!"

"Passss!"

Bonnie, as much as she was hoping Kenny could win, was too interested in seeing how Roxanne battled, and she watched excitedly as Nosepass fired off its first attack. Kenny, whether it was because he was scared, or because the attack came so quick, had no counter. Nosepass' body appeared to glow in a blue aura as soon as Roxanne made her order, and a moment later, rocks appeared to be ripped out of the ground, flying into the air before rocketing down immediately, all aiming for Poliwag, who stared up in shock.

"Poliwag!" the small water type cried out in shock, the rocks battering down on him before he could move, appearing to encase him in a tomb of rocks as the name of the attack suggested.

Roxanne wasn't going to go easy on Kenny, though, and she was ready to make her next move immediately. "Nosepass, use Zap Cannon!"

"Nosepass!" the Compass Pokemon cried out, his body shifting and his nose starting to glow and spark, a yellow orb forming at the tip as he aimed towards the tomb of rocks.

"Isn't that an electric type attack?" Clyde asked nervously. "That's not good for Poliwag."

"Kenny, you have to get Poliwag out of there!" Bonnie shouted, seeing Kenny staring on in panic. "You can't just give up after one attack!"

She was sure she could see Roxanne smiling out of the corner of her eye, but Bonnie was more focused on Kenny quickly glancing to her, before nodding and looking to the rocks covering his Poliwag. "Poliwag, use Rain Dance, and then Double Slap to get out of those rocks!"

A muffled cry from Poliwag was heard, and as Nosepass' attack appeared ready to strike, a cloud appeared to form above the battlefield, rain starting to fall immediately. And then, as the Zap Cannon was unleashed, a massive blast of electricity heading for Poliwag, the stones at the top of the rocks covering him were sent into the air, the Tadpole Pokemon emerging just as an explosion rocked the ground underneath him.

Bonnie coughed as smoke blew out around the battlefield, and she heard Poliwag cry out in surprise as the wind blew him through the air towards Kenny. When the dust finally settled, however, Poliwag seemed to be standing, although breathing heavily. The Zap Cannon may have missed him directly, but its power still seemed to have an impact. Having this rock field makes it pretty tough to avoid attacks even if you dodge them, Bonnie realized, seeing that Poliwag must've been scratched up by some debris.

However, despite Poliwag's rough shape, Kenny looked surprisingly confident in his next order. "Poliwag, use Water Gun!"

Roxanne smirked, clearly happy to have Kenny fighting back now, but it was obvious enough to Bonnie that she had the edge still. But what about the Rain Dance? she asked herself, looking at Poliwag. Why did Kenny use that?

She got her answer a moment later, hearing Max as they watched Poliwag quickly fire off a Water Gun, striking Nosepass head on, making it cry out. "Swift Swim! I almost forgot that was Poliwag's ability. That's just what Kenny needs."

Bonnie thought she remembered something about that ability, but looked to Rotom for confirmation. "What's Swift Swim, Rotom?"

"Zzt, Swift Swim is an ability that some Pokemon have that allows them to move faster during rain," Rotom answered, a picture of a rain cloud on his screen. "With Poliwag, it is what is known as a Hidden Ability, so it is very rare in its kind."

That gave Bonnie some hope for Kenny, but she could still see that Roxanne was in a pretty good spot, with Nosepass using another Rock Tomb. It missed Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokemon darting out of the way just in time. She's still on the offensive, even with a slower Pokemon. Kenny's in trouble if he can't get more attacks in.

"Rock Tomb, one more time!" Roxanne ordered, Kenny following that up with a command for Poliwag to dodge, the Tadpole Pokemon using a rock to hop over the next attack. It seemed as though the already rock covered battlefield was even more crowded, and Bonnie could see that Poliwag was limited in where to move, despite his speed.

"Poliwag, use Water Gun!" Kenny ordered, Roxanne smiling as he did so.

"Ms. Roxanne has a move that can wipe Kenny out right now," Bonnie heard Tommy say. "Poliwag can't win this."

Bonnie had no idea what that could be, but then Roxanne called her next order as Poliwag struck Nosepass with Water Gun, the Tadpole Pokemon jumping down from on top of a tall rock, aiming straight in a narrow path between the collection of stones. "Nosepass, use Sandstorm!"

"Pass!"

Bonnie gasped as sand was suddenly fired up into the air around Nosepass, quickly spreading around the rainy field, swirling up into the rain cloud created by Rain Dance and dispersing it. She could see just what Roxanne had done. Poliwag was now trapped among the rocks, and he had lost his speed advantage. He probably couldn't even see.

"At least this should make it hard for Nosepass to spot Poliwag, too," Clyde suggested hopefully.

Rotom corrected him, though, the PokeDex flashing another image of Nosepass on his screen. "Nosepass is able to use its nose to sense where its opponent is, even in a sandstorm."

"That's not good," Clyde muttered, looking to Kenny, who appeared pretty nervous once more.

"Nosepass, finish this with Zap Cannon!" Roxanne then called out, pointing ahead towards Poliwag's location.

There was no missing this time, with Poliwag unable to identify where Nosepass was, and with his movement restricted. All Bonnie could see was the glow of yellow in the middle of the swirling sand, before an explosion was heard, and smoke rose up at the centre of the battlefield. Nosepass' Sandstorm started to subside as the referee stood forward to make the call.

"Poliwag is unable to battle! Nosepass is the winner!" the referee shouted, waving a flag towards Roxanne while her students cheered.

"No surprise there," Tommy muttered, shaking his head as he looked to a dejected Kenny. "Poliwag wouldn't even beat her Geodude, let alone Nosepass. Kenny can't battle his way out of a paper bag."

"Maybe Kenny's got something really good for his next Pokemon! How would you know?!" Bonnie yelled down at Tommy, narrowing her eyes as he glanced back to her, smirking. "I bet he could beat you in a battle."

"Bonnie..." Clyde whispered nervously, while Dedenne pawed her cheek gently.

"We'll see," Tommy said, laughing. "Kenny got his Poliwag for being a loser, so who knows what kind of weak Pokemon he's managed to catch."

Bonnie wanted to say something back, but she noticed that Kenny was recalling Poliwag and was about to throw out his next pokeball. She hoped it was something good, because he really needed to make a comeback, and she wanted to see Roxanne battle some more. If it was another water type, he was sure to have a good chance. He did look nervous, but he'd still managed to show some good moves with Poliwag while nervous. He had to have a good backup plan.

"M-Magikarp, come on out!"

"Huh?"

Bonnie was pretty sure everyone in the entire gym had the same reaction, everyone staring at Kenny's final Pokemon out in front of him. Even Tommy was too dumbfounded to make fun of it. There was no way this was Kenny's next choice. He had to be joking. His face said otherwise, though, and it did not appear as though this was some kind of unlikely hero he had chosen. Magikarp appeared to really be all he had.

"Um...Kenny..." Roxanne seemed completely unsure of what to do. Bonnie was sure she thought it would be unreasonable to battle a Pokemon that looked so...helpless.

"Karp karp karp," the Fish Pokemon gasped out, flopping on the rocky battlefield. "Magi karp karp karp."

"Magikarp...e-evolve into Gyrados!" Kenny weakly called out, as though he could just order the evolution.

"Karp karp karp," the weak little water type responded, continuing to flop.

"Zzt, that is Magikarp's Splash attack! It's signature move!" Rotom cried out, snapping a picture as Bonnie covered her face with her hands. Poor Kenny, she thought, peeking out through her fingers to see Nosepass glance back towards Roxanne, clearly unsure what to do.

However, before anything else could be done, a familiar sound was heard near the entrance to the gym, and Bonnie noticed the brown and white fur of the Smeargle they'd seen earlier, the Painter Pokemon coming out of what appeared to be a hiding spot by the door. "Smeargle smear," the Smeargle murmured, looking curiously at the Magikarp flopping around on the battlefield. "Smear."

Everyone watched on in stunned silence as the Painter Pokemon shuffled past Kenny and then made his way over to Magikarp. He seemed to study it a moment, before picking his tail up off the ground, a white paint-like substance on its tip. After watching Magikarp a moment longer, the Smeargle ran the tip of its tail along its side before moving his tail through the air, a glow in the shape of the Fish Pokemon appearing before him.

"Smeargle!" Smeargle cried in joy as the glow faded and his body briefly glowed. "Smeargle smear!"

Bonnie's jaw dropped as she watched what happened next. It would've been funny if it hadn't been so embarrassing for Kenny, the Smeargle suddenly dropping to the ground and flopping around like Magikarp. Rotom spoke up with the details of what had just happened, making Bonnie sigh in exasperation.

"It appears as though Smeargle has used the move Sketch, and has learned Magikarp's Splash move," the PokeDex informed her, along with everyone else in the gym, some of them beginning to laugh.

None laughed louder than Tommy, however, the mean-spirited boy almost doubled over from laughing so hard. "Hahaha!" He pointed to the two flopping Pokemon, tears in his eyes. "Look Kenny! It's as useless as your Magikarp! You should catch it, too!"

"Enough, Tommy," Roxanne called out, raising her pokeball and returning her Nosepass to it. "This battle will be fought again at a later time, Kenny," she said kindly to the other boy. "Thank you for coming, everyone," she told the gathered students. "Please make sure to stay up to date on your homework. For those in my morning class tomorrow, I will be having another gym battle after that, so if you would like to come, feel free."

With that, many of the students started to leave, some of them chuckling as they watched Magikarp and Smeargle flopping on the ground before getting bored of it and walking out. Eventually, Kenny recalled his weak water type and turned around, leaving himself despite Bonnie and Clyde calling out to him. After a moment with his "Splash" companion gone, Smeargle apparently decided to stop and leave as well, not looking troubled in the slightest by the people watching him go.

As Bonnie and Clyde prepared to leave, Roxanne nodding to Bonnie as she started to help her students clean up, the young trainer sighed. She had really hoped she would get to see a proper battle with Roxanne, but unfortunately Kenny had been quite unprepared. However, Bonnie had definitely learned something. Roxanne was smart, quick and she wouldn't let up on her no matter what.

Her first battle was sure to be quite the experience.

Author's Note:

And...Kenny has lost his gym battle. I apologize if that seemed like a cheap way to end it, but the Smeargle bit was...somewhat important, and Kenny's issues overall are very important in the next couple of chapters in particular. We're in the next stage of the story now, and things are about to get a lot more fun.

Next up is Bonnie's first gym battle! I'll see you all then.