Heat Badge! Mirage Tower. Balance Badge!

Gym Battles are fun! Har. So I head straight into Lavaridge Gym to deal with Gym Leader Flannery. Easier said than done. It's steamy and portals zap me everywhere. I finally reach the Gym Leader. She toses out Slugma, Numel, Camerupt, and Torkoal. :D Maya the Swampert took them all down. I won the Heat Badge! This means that pokemon up to level 50 will obey and that I can use the HM move Strength outside of battles.

As soon as I step out of the Lavaridge Gym, May shows up! She hands me Go-Goggles which will allow me to enter the Desert in Route 111. Exploring Lavaridge, I receive a free egg from a woman who thought warm sands would help it hatch faster but she decides that it'll hatch faster with a trainer. With nothing else to do, I head east onto Route 112 and then onto Route 111 to get to the desert.

Suddenly I spot a Mirage Tower and amble right on in. I hurry up the floors, sometimes having to use my Mach bike to make it over the cracks or using Rock Smash to clear the path. At the top were two mysterious fossils! I decided that the Root Fossil looked neat.. As soon as I wiggle it out of place, the whole tower comes crumbling down and the darn Claw Fossil disappeared into the sands.

After I got the sand out of my pants, the only clue I have left of where my pokemon journey is to go next, It's time for me to challenge my father of Petalburg Gym! I hop onto my speedy bike and I whoosh all the way down south to Mr. Briney waiting for me at Route 109. He dashes us off to Dewford and then the second leg to Petalburg. With a confident lift of my chin, I go marching into my father's gym. I deal with a challenger in each room until the last room where my father stands.

"Four Badges... Marcus," He says, "I will do my best and I expect you to do your best!" He tosses out Spinda! Defeated! Then Vigoroth! Defeated too! And then Linoone! I defeat that one too! And then he whips out the evil one... Slaking! It took some work but I took that big ol' nose-picking pokemon down! I won the Balance Badge! He says this will increase my pokemon's defense and will allow me to use the HM move Surf to travel over water. This was a real father/son moment... No tears!

... Then um.. Wally's father burst right in and drags me over to his house to give me HM move Surf. ... I guess that's forgivable. Sure. Why not...

Maya Female Naive Level 42 MOVES Tackle Take Down Mud-Slap Water Gun	Isadora Female Quiet Level 26 MOVES Calm Mind Psychic Flash Confusion	Penelope Female Timid Level 32 MOVES Tackle Cut Tail Whip Headbutt
Freida Female Naive Level 4 MOVES Tackle Growl	Heidi Female Lax Level 2 MOVES Tackle Growl Rock Smash	EGG