The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch 6 is up)

[Jabberjaw]

The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

Do you believe in Roark?
This story chronicles the rise of one of the eight gym leaders of Sinnoh: Roark, the son of Byron.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Like Father, Like Son
Chapter 2: A Night to Remember
Chapter 3: When the Sun Rises
Chapter 4: Welcome to Jubilife
Chapter 5: Conflict!
Chapter 6: Canalave and the Island of Iron

Summary

This story chronicles the events of Roark leading up to the Diamond and Pearl games. The Rise of Roark will shed some light into the life and travels of Roark, as he goes out into the Pokemon World to discover the true meaning of strength.

Please comment and let me know what you think.
If you read it and like it, then tell atleast ONE friend to read it. If I see more people reading this, it will motivate me to write more. I'll really appreciate it.
Your Friend. ~Jabberjaw

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

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The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

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Chapter 1: Like Father, Like Son

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2 am


His eyes opened wide.

If it were any other night, Roark would have just rolled over and drifted back to sleep. This was NOT any other night. He jumped out of bed and was soon rummaging through his dresser drawers for clothes.

It may have been the feeling of excitement shooting down his spine, or perhaps even the swarm of butterflies flapping around in his stomach, but for some reason Roark couldn’t remove the grin from his face. He looked at the clock, “It’s almost time”. He glanced into the mirror and slapped his favorite red mining helmet onto his head.

“This is it, there is NO turning back.”

He slung his backpack around his shoulder and started to make his way out of the house. He tip-toed down the dark staircase, if he had turned on the light his mother would have surely awoken. “Sorry Mom” he thought to himself, “You’ve never wanted me to be a Pokemon trainer. You never want me to be like Dad…”

Then he took the letter that he had spent all week writing and taped it to the front door. “I hope you understand…” He turned around for one last look at his home… one last memory. With a smirk on his face, he bolted through the door and began to make his way toward the mine.

Despite this feeling of excitement, he knew his mom had gotten him birthday presents... and a cake… “Oh mom” he muttered to himself with guilt. “I’ll call you once I’m on my way, I don’t want you to worry too much… but this is something that I have to do”.

Unfortunately for Roark, there wasn’t a Pokemon researcher in his town to give him a starter Pokemon on his 10th birthday. And since his mother was anything but encouraging when it came to him becoming a Pokemon trainer, a trip to Sandgem Town was out of the question.

But he had a plan of his own. Within Roark’s heart was one burning desire. But before he could make this dream come true, he knew he would have to travel throughout the country of Sinnoh and prove his skills as a pokemon trainer.

Roark made his way through the town, striding intently. The city of Oreburhg was a mining town, its people were very industrial and relied on the mine as a way of life. They also had a mining museum built as a place to house ancient Pokemon fossils the miners would come across.

The first building that he passed was one he had known all too well, the Oreburgh City Pokemon Gym. Despite how much his mom wanted to keep him away from the gym, he always found a way to sneak in and watch his father battle against challengers.

That’s right, Roark’s father was Byron. The Orebugh City Gym Leader and a master of steel-type Pokemon. He was known all across the country of Sinnoh as one of the most powerful of all gym leaders. “My Dad… The Steel Curtain…” He thought to himself.

His father was also in charge of looking over and maintaining the city’s mine. As a kid Roark had spent many hours helping his father dig up all kinds of Pokemon fossils. This is one of the reasons his mother didn’t want Roark hanging around at the Gym or even at the mine anymore.

His father had become passionately obsessed with fossil Pokemon and digging up their rocky remains. He would spend hours in the mine, days even, in search of new and larger Pokemon fossils to add to his collection. This caused a bit of friction between Byron and his wife.

In fact, it was the reason Roark didn’t have to sneak past his father in the morning, as if his father would care. He most likely spent his entire night working and excavating in the mine again. His passion for fossils was limitless. Whenever Byron would find a fossil he deemed worthy enough, he would have the scientists at the mining museum bring the fossil Pokemon back to life. This is how he had acquired his prized Bastiodon… His father’s most powerful Pokemon.

Roark wanted to do the same. He was out of all other options. If he couldn’t get a starter Pokemon from the Pokemon Professor like all the other 10 year olds his age, he would just dig up his own Pokemon… the same way his father did.

After about fifteen minutes, Roark passed a few more houses and approached the entrance to the mine. He was nervous. He had never gone into the mine without his father and a Pokemon’s protection before. His father was down there… But the tunnels in the mine shot off for miles in so many different directions… With a look of determination on his face… he stepped into the darkness of the mine.

Roark turned on the light on his mining helmet and made his way through the first of many dark tunnels. He knew all the places near the front had already been excavated, so his best shot at finding a fossil would be deep in the rear of the mine.

Roark traveled for twenty minutes or so, twisting and turning throughout the maze. He was very cautious with every step he took, the last thing he wanted was to step on a sleeping Geodude. He heard stories about people that were caught in the wilderness without a pokemon…

”It would be even worse in the darkness of the mine”, he thought. “But this is the only way I can get a pokemon, the same way my father…” He paused. Roark felt a drop of sweat beam down his forehead. The ground was shaking, which meant only one thing. “Onix!”

He shut off his helmet light and squeezed his body into a tiny space along the mine’s wall. Peaking his head out, he could just barely make out the shape of the approaching giant winding its way through the tunnel.

“It’s massive” he thought, pushing his body even deeper into the small crevice. The banging of the rocks grew louder as the earth began shaking violently. He could now feel the giant rock snake swooshing by and the rocks around him began to loosen.

In a split second, the rocks beneath him gave way. “Oh my Arc…!” he exclaimed, reaching for whatever he could grab onto. Try as he might, there was nothing he could grab that would stop his sudden descent. He clinged to a large rock, about the size of a bowling ball, as Roark continued his fall.

Just a few moments later, his tumbling body came to a sudden halt. The breath escaped his lungs and Roark began coughing heavily. He managed his way back to his feet then mumbled a few words in disbelief. “I’m alive, thank Arceus.. I'm alive”. The rock he had held onto actually helped break his fall.

Dusting off his clothes, he turned his helmet light back on and began inspecting the cavern around him. There was a chill in the air and not a single exit to be found.

Looking up into the darkness, he was able to just barely make out the area he had fallen from. “I guess that’s my exit”.

Roark opened up his backpack and pulled out a rope. “I guess I’m climbing out of here”. He spun the rope around in circles and was about to throw it upward.

“Wait a minute, What am I doing?” He paused for a moment and looked around the cavern. “This is perfect. If I search here, I am bound to find a fossil in no time.”

He took the excavation tools from his bag and unrolled them onto the large rock which he had clinged to during his fall. He removed two small tools, he then grabbed his large mining pick and made his way to the wall of the cavern


4 am


He’d been digging for over an hour and had nothing to show for it. He stopped working and sat for a moment, tired. A few thoughts began to race through his head.

“If I don’t find a fossil Pokemon soon, my plan is gonna fall apart.”

“If it really comes down to it… I’ll have to return home”.

A look of frustration gripped his face. “Dad made finding fossils look so much easier, he would have found ten fossils by now! Yet I still don’t have a single one to call my own and...”

“FOSSIL HUNTING I SEE!!!”

A loud familiar voice rang through the cavern causing Roark to jump to his feet. He looked up and saw a shadowy figure quickly descend down a rope and to the ground where he himself stood. This LOUD and rough voice was unmistakable.

“DAD!” Roark exclamed. “What are you doing here!”

“WHAT ELSE WOULD I BE DOING!? I'm searching for fossils my boy!”

His father always spoke with a loud, distinct tone that had enough power to shake the walls. He stood a couple feet taller than Roark, with Mahogany hair and raggedy old clothes from days of mining.

“Yeah Dad, but… how did you find me over here..?”

“Probopass! He detected a disturbance in the ground, that led me here.. only to find my own son down here diggin for fissils himself! and I could not be more proud!! “

“However… “ Byron continued….

“WHAT ON THE EARTH ARE YOU DOING EXCAVATING DOWN IN THE MINE WITHOUT A SINGLE POKEMON TO PROTECT YOU!!!”

“Well…” Roark mumbled. “I… well… that’s why I’m here. DAD. I want to find a fossil Pokemon... so... so I can begin my journey as a Pokemon trainer.”

Bryon laughed “Hahaha!! My boy! You must be atleast 10 years of age to start that journey! You'll be 8 years old soon, But you still have a long way to go!!”

“Dad… “ Roark muttered…
“…I’m… I’m 10 years old…”
“Today… well… it’s kind of... my birthday…”

Byron’s face went cold… His eyes shot to his fingers and he appeared to be counting from one finger to the next. “Two… Three… One... Four…”

A few moments later Byron looked back up at Roark and…

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

...

...

...

Roark stared blankly into his father's eyes. “Thanks Dad”.

Byron smiled and threw his hands into the air. “What's your mother gonna think about all of this?! You know, heading out on your journey in the middle of the night.”

“Well… I guess you’ll find out when she finds out... in the morning.”.

Byron smirked, “Well, I guess she'll take it all out on me… I don't blame her though!!! Like father, like son!!”

Roark grinned. It wasn’t too often he heard praise from his father. Not because his father never praised him, but because his father was never around to do so.

“So how's the digging going? Have you found any good fossils to take to the museum yet?!”

“Not yet dad…” Roark explained. “I haven’t really had any luck at all to be honest.”

“No worries my boy! I'm sure you'll find one eventually. But we gotta make it out of this cavern! The cieling is bound to be unstable!”

Roark shook his head in agreement and rolled back up his excavation kit. Byron looked down and a glimmer of light came across his eyes.

“Holding out on me I see!!!”

“What do you mean?” said Roark.

“You found a fossil down here and you seriously weren't even going to show it to ME...!?”

Roark looked down. “Does he mean…” thinking to himself. “The bowling ball sized rock I latched onto during my fall… the same rock I sat my excavation kit on. Could it be…”

“A SKULL FOSSIL!” His dad shouted.

“A skull fossil?”

“Yes, a skull fossil! What a rare find! You normally don't find those on this side of Mount Coronet... I’ve never actually seen one in Oreburgh.”

Roark picked up the fossil and held it in his arms once more. “A skull fossil…” He examined it from top to bottom. It was a very smooth sphere with several dull spikes surrounding the outsides. Holding it in his hands gave him a feeling of disbelief. “ You’ll be my pokemon, and I'll be your trainer”. He smirked.

“Sorry dad, It’s just a very rare find and I didn’t want to rub it in at all.”

His father shot back, “Rub it into me! Don't be silly! I'm far too busy searching for my Golden Anorith to worry at all about skull fossils! But thanks anyway for the modesty! HAHA!”

They began glaring at each other with intensity. Roark was proud of his fossil, and the LAST thing he wanted to hear was somebody belittle it. Calming down, he exhaled a deep breath and said, “I’m headed to the Mining Museum”.

 

[Thundagere]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

I really like it! You've already given Roark quite a bit of personality, and it's well-written. You have a few grammar errors, but you should be allright. Keep up the great work!

 

[Yumega]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

I like it, so I'll be reading
I have one problem though- why is Bryon constantly talking in caps?

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

I got the caps thing from the anime. He is a very loud person. But after thinking it through it should't be solely caps. Thanx for pointing that out. I appreciate ya'll reading it.

 

[Legacy]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

You are supposed to have your first post be the first chapter as per the rules, but otherwise a great start! I'll be reading!

 

[Darth Adficio]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

Really good story i like the fact about his suprise and his sneaking out and his dad having bad memory:crush:Im inwith this story:thumbup:

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

Thanx for the support. I'm starting on chapter 2 soon. Keep reading and keep commenting, I appreciate it.

 

[Marik]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

I like it. This has potential through the roof. I hope you can capitalize on that.

 

[Kantomasta]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

nice story

 

[Yumega]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

I got the caps thing from the anime. He is a very loud person. But after thinking it through it should't be solely caps. Thanx for pointing that out. I appreciate ya'll reading it.

No probs, maybe you could use verbs like Bellowed and such for Bryon.

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

Chapter 2: A Night to Remember

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Byron’s Probopass easily navigated the father and son through the darkness and to the entrance of the mine. Roark’s arms were growing weak from the weight of the skull fossil. Despite this, Roark didn’t show any signs of struggle. If he did, he thought his father would see it as a sign of weakness.


5 AM


Exiting the mine, the two were greeted by fresh air and a cool night-time breeze.Taking a deep breath, Roark placed the fossil at his feet and turned to his father.

“Thanks for helping me,” Roark explained. “It would have taken me forever to find the entrance by myself.”

“No Problem. I don’t want my son going through a Zubat infested mine without a Pokemon by his side. What kind of father do you think I am?!”

Roark smiled and looked away.

“Dad… I’ve been trying to avoid telling you this… But your clothes are filthy… and the stench… I’ve never smelled something…. so… so… “

“HEY!” Byron Proclaimed. “This is neither the time nor the place for you to be worrying about my personal! You have a journey to begin and I have a Shiny Golden Anorith just begging to be discovered!"

“That’s my dad.” Roark thought to himself. “…Covered in dirt from head to toe, ready to jump right back into the mine...”

“Well Dad, I better get a move on. I have a long road ahead of me.”

“WAIT.” Byron replied. “I have something for you.” Byron reached into his miner’s bag and began searching furiously. A few moments later his hand re-immerged holding a small round sphere. He tossed the object to his son and said…

“Happy Birthday.”

The orb his father pulled out was a pokeball. But it looked different from most pokeballs that Roark had seen. Instead of the traditional red and white, this pokeball was blue and silver. “A pokeball?” Roark stated, “I already have a few of these.”

“But that’s not just any pokeball. It’s a special one-of-a-kind pokeball. Read the Inscription.”

Roark turned the pokeball to its bottom and read aloud. “Roark Gibston: The Son of Steel”

“I had that pokeball made soon after you were born. I knew this day would come eventually... ”

Roark was speechless. Despite his father having no idea what his age was down in the mine… he still managed to come through. “Thanks Dad.”

After a few moments of silence, Byron picked up his shovel and said, “Well, fossils don't dig themselves up! I better be on my way. I hope you come back and visit the Oreburgh City Gym soon. And by the way... just ‘cause I’m your father, it doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you! If you enter my gym, I won't hold back.”

A smirk appeared on Roark’s face. “I’ll be back Dad. I’ll be back and you won’t know what hit ya.”

He and his father said their goodbyes as Byron descended back into the darkness of the mine. Roark knelt down and patted his fossil. He then placed it into his arms and began making his way towards the mining museum.


5:45 AM


The Oreburgh Mining Museum was a large, 2-story white building that stood in the corner of the town. This is where Roark had been spending most of his childhood. Roark sat the fossil down and began banging on the door.

“Mr. Fossus! Mr. Fossus! It’s Roark! Open up! Please!”

After about a minute of banging and yelling, a light turned on in the museum and a shadowy figure made its way to the door. The door squeeked open.

A sleepy voice mumbled, “Roark, what in the world are you doing up at this time in the morning?”

Mr. Fossus was a kindly old scientist who spent his time looking over and researching the contents of the museum, which mainly consisted of coal. However, he also spent a great deal of time studying the pokemon fossils the miners would discover. Devoting his life to his research, he lived on the second floor in the museum.

“Well sir… I need a huge favor… and I need it done right now.” Roark pleaded. “Please Mr. Fossus, this is important.” Roark drew the scientists attention to the fossil that lay at his feet.

“A skull fossil.” The old man muttered. “I haven’t seen one of those in ages. “Those are usually only found west of Mount Coronet.”

“So I’ve heard.” Replied Roark. “Listen, I need… I need this fossil pokemon brought back to life.”

Any sleepiness the scientist had been experiencing was out the window. “You need it brought back to life? Do you know what you are asking of me Roark? If this pokemon is brought back to life, it’s going to need a trainer to take care of it.”

“Mr. Fossus. Today is my 10th birthday and we both know what that means. I’ve already talked to my father about this… I’m ready to take the responsibility. I’m ready for the journey…”

“Oh Roark.” He replied. “What would your mother think…”

Roark opened his mouth to speak.

“HOWEVER.” The scientist interrupted. “I DO have your father’s permission. I remember when he was your age… He brought me an armor fossil. He begged and pleaded for me to extract Shieldon from it. Now here you are all these years later. Like father, like son.”

Roark smiled with excitement and carried the skull fossil into the museum. “Thanks Mr. Fossus.”

He placed it onto a small table next to a very large, cylindrical machine. The contraption had a door with a window and a that light lit up the inside. Above the door were several switches and knobs accompanied by what appeared to be a computer screen.

“Roark, I need you to open up the door and place the fossil in the machine.”

Roark did just that. He carefully placed the skull fossil into the machine and closed the door. The second he closed the door the computer screen located above the door flashed on. Numbers and letters began scrolling down the screen but soon came to a sudden halt. A silhouette of a Pokemon appeared on the screen. Roark gazed into the light of the machine.

Spoiler

“Cranidos…” he read. “The Head Butt Pokemon…”

“Roark...” stated the scientist. “I need you to wait outside for me. Just for 15 minutes. If you don’t, you will only be in the way…”

“But…”

“NO BUTS. The process of extracting a Pokemon from a fossil is very challenging. I would really appreciate it if you’d wait outside. OK Roark?”

Roark shook his head in agreement. “I’ll wait outside, but please call me the moment Cranidos is brought back to life.” The scientist nodded his head.

Roark shuffled his feet through the door of the mining museum and took a seat on the bench outside.

His eyes were tired and his mind began to wonder... He’d been through a lot this night. Leaving his home. Entering a dark mine without the protection of a Pokemon. An Onix causing the mine wall to cave in… And then his father...

“I knew it wasn’t gonna be an easy journey, and this is just the start.” He thought to himself. “I really hope I’m not getting in too far over my head… Most kids my age just stop by the Professor’s lab and pick up a starter Pokemon… But I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”

He opened up his backpack and pulled out his father’s birthday present. “Roark Gibston: The Son of Steel” he read to himself. “I’m not just any other kid. I’m the son of Byron. The most powerful Gym Leader in all of Sinnoh. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I’m a strong trainer. I must. Even if I have to collect all of the badges of Sinnoh… I will do whatever it takes to make my dream come true…”

Stars were cast across the night sky, they shined and flickered back and forth. Roark laid his head down onto the bench and his eyes slowly drifted shut…

“BOOOOM!!!!” A flash of light and a loud noise jolted Roark back to consciousness. His eyes were open and his mind was slowly processing the situation.

“BAAAAANG!!!” Another loud noise rang out from within the museum. “Roark! Help Roark! I need your help!” Mr. Fossus’ voice called out in distress. Roark grabbed his backpack and dashed back into the mining museum.

Entering the museum, a smile latched onto his face. Standing in the middle of the museum was Cranidos.

Cranidos whipped its foot back twice, then charged towards Mr. Fossus. Mr. Fossus dodged the Pokemon, jumping onto a table at the last second. “Roark! I need your help! This pokemon you brought me… It’s out of control!”

“Huh?” Roark said to himself, looking dumbfounded. “What’s going on?”

“You didn’t hear me!” Cried the scientist. “Cranidos is out of control! The moment I brought it back to life it started rampaging around the museum! NOW HELP ME!”

The very instant Mr. Fossus finished his sentence, Cranidos rammed into the table he was standing on, breaking the table’s legs and sending the scientist falling to the ground. He tumbled to his feet and bolted towards Roark.

Taking cover behind a giant block of coal, Mr. Fossus shouted, “Do something about your Pokemon!”

Roark took a deep breath.

Staring at his new Pokemon, he and Cranidos caught eyes. Cranidos whipped its foot back twice and began to charge towards Roark. Roark bent his knees and stayed perfectly still. Right before Cranidos could made contact with him, he leaped into the air dodging the Pokemon’s attack. Cranidos rammed against another table, breaking it apart.

Cranidos turned around and focused its attention back on Roark. Roark noticed something. Cranidos was trembling with an uneasy look on its face…. It was covered with fear.

“Cranidos is scared”, he thought to himself.

Once more the pokemon began to charge toward Roark. But instead of attempting to dodge the attack, Roark took off his backpack and lowered himself down onto one knee. He stared into Cranidos’ eyes and opened his arms with submission.

The look in Cranidos’ eyes changed. It went from an angry fear to a look of kindness. Cranidos attempted to slow down its charge but it was already too late. The pokemon rammed harshly against Roark’s body sending both of them tumbling together across the room.

Roark opened up his eyes. Cranidos lay on top of Roark with a look of guilt covering its face. Cranidos opened up its mouth and slowly licked Roark on the cheek.

Roark smiled.

 

[Yumega]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

wow. I liked that chapter, I can see a bond already. I have a question- will Roark be using the Pokémon he has in the gym or will he be catching others?

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

wow. I liked that chapter, I can see a bond already. I have a question- will Roark be using the Pokémon he has in the gym or will he be catching others?

He'll be using others. The story is based off the characters in the games, and since Roark isn't a player character, I have ALOT of room for improvisation. I didn't want to keep the same old... Onix... Geodude... rotation. Not to say that he might not catch one or both of those pokemon. I'm going to try to keep any members he has on his team Rock, Ground, or Steel however. hew:

 

[Kavidun]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story

This fic is really good. I still think Byron doesn't need THAT many caps, and I dislike your use of images replacing vivid discription, but other than that, one word - Epic.

 

[Thundagere]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch. 2 is up)

Only one bad point--IT WAS AWESOME!!!
I like the bond the Roark and Cranidos have, and I like how Roark is following in his dad's footsteps. GREAT JOB!!!

 

[Darth Adficio]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch. 2 is up)

In my opinoin that was better than the last haveing his pokemon scared in an unkown invirnment and not angry. And the way he seems to have become freinds so fast and how brave he was.

 

[Marik]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch. 2 is up)

I like the use of the picture in the story. Also, for his team, maybe try to use his rematch team in Platinum?

 

[Jabberjaw]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch. 2 is up)

I like the use of the picture in the story. Also, for his team, maybe try to use his rematch team in Platinum?

Thanx. And yeah, that is KIND OF my plan with some suprises added in for good measure.

Thanx go out to everybody that have read it so far. Please keep commenting and critiquing, I'll keep writing.

 

[Kantomasta]

Re: The Rise of Roark: A Sinnoh Story (Ch. 2 is up)

good chap good chap