A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my latest story :) Before I get the ball rolling, here are just a few things that should make the story more clear.

1) I do not own Pokemon.

2) The story takes place in its own world. Characters from the anime, manga, and games may occasionally make cameos for things like battles, though that's mostly for fun. The only exception is Gary Oak, who is a main character in this story (though now older).

3) After a Pokemon learns a move, they remember it forever. This allows for more interesting battles and strategies since all Pokemon are more powerful.

4) The story only contains Pokemon up till Sinnoh.

That's about it. Hope you enjoy Horizon!

Chapter 1: The Final Battle

The crowd's deafening roar would have brought most people to tears. But not me. I had gotten used to the sound from all my battles as a Trainer - of course, I had to if I ever wanted a shot at winning.

Yep, the finals of the Kanto Region Pokemon League were here, bringing sweat, blood, and tears with them. A full 6 on 6 battle between me and my longtime friend and rival, Gary Oak, would bring the tournament to a close. Both of us had one Pokemon left, one last hope to pull ourselves to the glory of victory.

"You may now send out your final Pokemon," the referee's words shook me out of my thoughts.

This is it… the final battle!

"Go, Blastoise!" Gary tossed a red and white Pokeball into the air as hard as a black belt martial artist.

A short flash of white light later, a 5-foot tall blue creature stood in front of me. Claws came out of its short, stubby hands as it showed off the enormous shell and water cannons on its back.

I bit my lower lip, scouring my brain for some sort of strategy to trump the Water-type Pokemon. The referee blew his whistle loudly, a warning to send out my Pokemon or throw in the towel.

I grabbed the Pokeball belonging to my starter from my belt, pressed the silver button to maximize it, and then threw it into the air. "You're up Houndoom!"

The canine came out, swiping his tail back and forth while flexing his muscles underneath his sleek black coat. Houndoom growled fiercely, trying to scare the Blastoise with his tusks. Still, Fire against Water was not a good matchup. Apparently, Gary thought so too.

"I was wondering where your star player was, Crystal. Ready to get washed away?"

"Good luck with that. Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" I cried.

Houndoom faced the Blastoise boldly despite the type disadvantage, and raised his head slightly to help generate the fire faster. Then, he opened his jaws wide and out poured the flames. Vicious, hot, and completely deadly. They went straight towards the Blastoise, who stood fearlessly, waiting for his trainer's command.

"Fight it back with your Hydro Pump," Gary called to his Pokemon.

Blastoise pointed one of his shoulder cannons at the fire, and freezing cold water shot out of it. As the two elements clashed mid-field steam began to blanket the stadium until I could no longer see the two Pokemon in front of me.

Knowing I had a moment to think, I closed my eyes, imagining each one of my Pokemon: Houndoom, Salamence, Charizard, Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Dewgong. We had come so far together, and we were in what I was sure was the final lap of our journey. We couldn't lose now!

As the steam began to clear I heard Gary say another command. "Flood the stadium with your Surf attack!"

Uh-oh. Surf meant trouble for Houndoom, who could swim about as well as an elephant. But with the water coming closer and closer, there was no opportunity for an escape on foot.

"Concentrate your Flamethrower on one spot on the ground to boost yourself into the air," I shouted.

Houndoom quickly launch the attack and soared into the sky. As the Surf crashed on the ground below I commanded him to use Smog to block Blastoise's vision. A cloud of purple, poisonous gas emerged out of Houndoom's mouth and moved towards the Water type. The attack hit its mark, and soon Houndoom was barreling towards Blastoise from the air in a Crunch attack.

"Blastoise, use Withdraw!" Gary yelled. The Pokemon ducked into its shell quickly, hoping to avoid or at least reduce the damage it took.

Houndoom landed on Blastoise's shell, letting out an annoyed growl as it's jaws came down where the Pokemon's head was a moment ago.

"Rapid Spin, Blastoise!" I had a nagging feeling that this was going to happen sometime in the battle, and now entered the situation prepared.

Blastoise began spinning without wasting a moment, getting rid of the Smog attack and eliminating any chances of Houndoom being able to jump off. "Try a Substitute!" I hollered.

A strange green rag doll took Houndoom's place, and it pushed him off the Blastoise's spinning shell. With a quick shake of his head, my Pokemon was back on his feet, ready to battle. Meanwhile, Blastoise stood up and turned towards the rag doll.

Now's my chance, I thought. "Now, Dark Pulse!"

Shadowy aura surrounded Blastoise before slamming into him all at once. The Pokemon shuddered before collapsing onto it's hands and knees. "C'mon Blastoise, get up. Destroy the Substitute with your Water Pulse!" Gary exclaimed.

Blastoise generated a basketball sized sphere of water in between it's hands and threw it at the rag doll, destroying the Substitue attack. It then turned towards Houndoom, a determined look in it's eyes.

"Sorry, Gary, but you're too late. This match is over. Finish it, Houndoom: Giga Impact!"

Yellow and orange energy surged up around Houndoom, before it charged towards Blastoise at full speed. "Use Ice Beam!" Gary bellowed. "Stop it!"

Blastoise, sensing the urgency in his trainer's voice, immediately pointed a cannon at Houndoom and shot the freezing cold beam of energy at him. The attack slammed into Houndoom, but he had generated so much energy and speed that it had no effect on the Fire type.

As Houndoom came dangerously close to Blastoise, Gary screamed a last command, "Strength! Strength! Strength!"

Blastoise barely had time to raise his hands as Houndoom crashed into him at full force, the Strength attack barely doing anything to slow down the Giga Impact. There was a loud booming sound as the two Pokemon collided and a large amount of smoke rose into the air.

My heart thumped so loudly I was sure every single person in the stands could hear it. If this attack didn't work, if Blastoise didn't faint, Houndoom would be at the mercy of any water attack while he re-charged.

The smoke thinned out and I knew I was a goner. Both Pokemon were standing.

Gary didn't bother trying to hide his relief. "You're awesome, Blastoise," he grinned. "What do you say we wrap this up? Hydro Cannon!"

As Blastoise tried getting into position he suddenly glowed dark purple for a second before collapsing. Poisoning? I thought. That means the Smog attack actually worked; but that Blastoise is really good at hiding his pain.

"Blastoise!" Gary screamed his Pokemon's name. "Blastoise, what's wrong? You were fine a second ago; please get up!"

The referee approached Blastoise, and inspected him closely before pointing a flag towards me. "Blastoise is unable to battle. Houndoom is the winner, meaning Crystal Mapliskee wins the match!"