Pokemon Go
Tides of Change
-Chapter 1-
Hyper Beam
Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning
Lest these titans bring devastation to the water and the sand.
Though the island's chosen champion returns to stop the fighting
Alone his efforts will fail, thus Chaos claims the land.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Rain Dance Gym! Please take your seats, today's match will begin in fifteen minutes!"
The Fire Islands League was the premier Pokemon league. Set on an island chain, each island housed a unique city that specialized in a variety of Pokemon types. From the volcanic shores of Lavatic Island to the bustling Industrial Island, each location of the League would prove a challenge to trainers of all skill levels.
Of the many islands in the Fire Islands League, the destination for water-type Pokemon was none other than Rain Dance Island. At the perfect latitude for tropical waters, the island was surrounded by a reef that was home to a vast variety of water-type Pokemon. The island was famous for being a sanctuary for Lapras, and thus the rare Pokemon was frequently seen in pods just off the shoreline. Due to their protected status, it was strictly forbidden to capture a Lapras on Rain Dance Island without first obtaining a Rain Dance Badge from the gym leader.
Each island had their own quirks and charm, and on Rain Dance Island, watching gym battles was a tourist attraction. Mariner City's gym sat on the edge of town, near the shoreline, and was a large arena with plenty of seating. The city's residents piled into the stands and eagerly awaited to see who would challenge the Rain Dance Gym Leader. In the center of the arena was a large pool, though both the Gym Leader and the Challenger could control their side of the field, leaving the pool partially open or closed to accommodate their Pokemon. A platform could be extended to cover part of the pool.
"My name is Ed, and I am your announcer for this evening's battle! Everyone ready?", Ed stood on a platform above the arena, speaking into a microphone. A cheer sounded in the crowd. "Today's challenger hails from Celadon City! Seeking her third Fire Islands League badge, please welcome...Rose!"
There was applause from the crowd as the female trainer stepped forward, wearing a straw hat with appropriate roses attached, she was dressed in a stylized shirt for the Celadon City Gym with shorts and walking shoes. She sat her bag down next to her, swayed her flowing blonde hair, and gave a wave to the audience. She had already pressed the control for her side to remain a platform for the match.
The arena fell silent, as Ed continued, "And now, Mariner City! Your Gym Leader, a native of Rain Dance Island! His name is Marleon Takenawa, but you know him as...Gyarados!"
A large door opened, that was partially submerged in the pool. At first glance, no one was behind the door, though a dark shadow was seen underneath the water. Suddenly, a large splash erupted from the pool, as a Lapras emerged, tossing his head upward. A slender man with long, shiny black hair was catapulted into the air. He did a flip before plummeting and positioning his legs just right to land on the tip of the Lapras' snout. His bare feet connected, and he checked his footing, before standing upright and giving a salute. The crowd erupted in cheers, the Gym Leader smiled and waved before his Lapras lowered his head to let him down. He hopped off and gave Lapras a rub on the head before returning him to his ball. He wore an aquatic tanktop and swimshorts, and slipped some sandals on that were next to the pool. He had a distinct scar along his right shoulder. Marleon always chose a different Pokemon from his team to appear with him, who would not be featured in the battle. And the performance before the battle did not always go so perfectly. He looked over to Rose and gave her a nod. She nodded back, and they took their places.
"Rain Dance Rules are as follows – this will be a three versus three match, best two out of three wins. Three different Pokemon must be used by both trainers, Gyarados will choose the first Pokemon for Rounds One and Three if necessary, and Rose will choose first Pokemon for Round Two. Challenger ready?", Ed pointed to Rose. She gave a thumbs up. "Ready, Gyarados?", Ed pointed to Marleon, and he raised his hand with his first Pokeball. "Here we go folks!"
"Alright Drago, let's go!", Marleon called out as he threw his Pokeball, which sank into the pool on his side, and in a flash of light, a powerful Gyarados emerged and roared loudly. He smiled and patiently waited for Rose's choice. He normally didn't nickname his Pokemon, but since his own nickname was Gyarados, he picked one for his Pokemon as not to cause confusion. Rose chuckled, "Here we go, Jolteon!", she announced and tossed her Pokeball. It bounced on the metal pool covering and out came a Jolteon, who sparked in anticipation. Marleon grimaced, this round was going to be tough considering his Gyarados' double weakness to electric types. "Sorry girl, this is going to hurt.", he mouthed toward Drago, but then called, "Drago, Aqua Tail!" The Gyarados reared and brought down a powerful smash into the metal plate, but the Jolteon moved out of the way just in time.
"Thunder wave!", Rose called, and the Jolteon sparked and sent out a surge of static that connected with Drago. The female Gyarados groaned, and sizzled with the electrical current which caused her to be paralyzed. "Damn...Drago, use Dragon Rage!", Marleon commanded. The Gyarados attempted to charge up her Dragon Rage, but the paralysis was too much for her to handle, and she sank a bit under the water. Rose grinned, and pointed at Drago, "Jolteon, hit it with Thunder!" The Eevee evolution began to glow a bright yellow, and unleashed a powerful blast of electricity that hit Gyarados right on the crown of her head. The water-type roared out in pain, and then fell back, splashing in the water and fainting. Rose smiled. "Too easy", she boasted.
"And Drago is down! Round one goes to Rose!", Ed announced. The crowd cheered and applauded, as Marleon recalled Drago and Rose recalled her Jolteon. There was a digital scoreboard that made an audible chime, with Marleon and Rose's pictures as well as the Pokemon used. A red "X" covered Drago the Gyarados on the board.
"Rose, you pick first this round!", Ed announced. Rose took her next Pokeball and hurled it into the air. "Come on out, Magneton!", she called, and the Pokeball popped open mid-air, the metallic Pokemon appearing. Marleon held up his own Pokeball, "Alright then, if you insist...Quagsire!", he tossed the Pokeball and a sleek water-and-ground type emerged. Rose blinked, "Wait, what? You're battling with that?", she asked. The Gym Leader crossed his arms, "Well? Are you going to attack or not?", he responded. Rose blinked once again, and then commanded, "Magneton, use Spark!" The Pokemon clanged and spun, and sent out a spark of electricity that hit Quagsire. However, the Gym Leader's Pokemon stood there and yawned wide, the attack almost seemed to bounce right off of him. "Huh?", Rose pondered. Marleon smiled, "Don't underestimate Quagsire. He's one of my best. Now, attack him again."
Rose huffed, "Thunder!", and Magneton charged and glowed, before unleashing a similar blast of powerful lightning much like Jolteon had done. However, seemed to do nothing to affect Quagsire. "What is going on?", Rose questioned. Marleon pointed to Magneton, "Mud slap, Quagsire!" The Pokemon finally moved and dipped under the water, gathering some mud before emerging and tossing the glob of mud at Magneton. He was quite accurate, and hit the steel-and-electric type perfectly. Rose clenched her fist, "Come on, Magneton! Try a Thunder Wave!", she commanded. The electric Pokemon shuddered, disoriented from getting mud in its eyes. Marleon laughed, "Don't tell me you only taught Magneton electric attacks..." Rose grimaced, "Of course I did! To take you down!", she shouted back. Marleon shook his head, "You're not going to win this round then. Quagsire isn't just a water type, he's also a ground type. Your electric attacks don't do a thing to him."
She realized mentally her error. "Fine, then I'll use someone else!", she held her Pokeball out, "Return, Magneton!" But as the red beam came out of the Pokeball and Magneton began to return, she remembered the gym rules. It was too late, Magneton glowed a red and vanished, and Ed immediately called out, "Rose forfeits Round Two!". The scoreboard chimed again, now tied 1-1. The crowd exploded in cheers and excitement. Rose sighed, that wasn't what she meant to do. "Gym Leader Marleon, you choose for the final battle!", Ed called out.
He returned Quagsire, and as he hit the switch to close up the pool on his side of the field, he picked his last ball, a special looking one. "We'll finish this off with...Dragonite!", he announced, and throwing the ball into the air, it popped open and a strong golden Dragon-Type emerged and hit the ground with a thud. The Dragonite was much more intimidating than his previous two Pokemon, with a glare in his eyes that connected with Rose's own. His body was covered in deep scars as well. "And for Rose's Pokemon...", Ed began and the crowd waited to see what she had in store. She adjusted her hat, and closed her eyes. "Well, I wasn't planning on using her, but you've left me no choice. Tyranitar! I choose you!", she announced, and before she can get the Pokeball out of her hand, it opened and an equally impressive female Tyranitar emerged. The Tyranitar was eager, and Marleon noticed immediately that she was a high leveled one. Mentally, he recalled that Rose only had two gym badges. This wasn't good, he recognized it at once that Tyranitar may be too strong for her to train. "Dragonite, let's start with a Fire Punch!", he called. The Dragonite nodded and clenched his fist, engulfing it in flames before he charged at Tyranitar. "Tyranitar, crunch!", Rose called, and the fight commenced, Dragonite landing his Fire Punch while Tyranitar sunk her teeth into Dragonite's shoulder. "Dragon Tail, Dragonite!", Marleon shouted. Dragonite squirmed from the bite, and Tyranitar wasn't letting go. "Tyranitar, Dark Pulse!", Rose called, but Tyranitar carried on with the Crunch, ignoring her order. Dragonite finally got into position where he could twist, and his tail slammed into Tyranitar's head, knocking the Dark-type down. He backed away, exhaling while Tyranitar began to recover.
Marleon seized the opportunity, "Hyper Beam, Dragonite!". Dragonite knew his trainer well, which was why he backed up. He opened his mouth, a surge of powerful energy accumulated in his maw, and just as Tyranitar stood up, he unleashed the Hyper Beam. It connected with Tyranitar, who was pushed back and roared in pain. The blast caused the Dark-type to be enveloped in dust, and once the beam fizzled out, Dragonite collapsed to one knee. He exhaled, and began to recover. Marleon also sighed, there was no way Tyranitar could have sustained that hit. The crowd, both trainers, and Dragonite waited for the dust to settle.
And to everyone's shock, Tyranitar was still standing. Marleon's heart sank at the sight. Rose called, "Tyranitar, you okay?", The Dark-type shook off, and without warning, began to charge at Dragonite. "Wait, Tyranitar!", Rose called, but Tyranitar was too focused, ignoring her. "Dragonite, move!", Marleon called, and Dragonite tried to stand but he was winded. He was on his feet about the time Tyranitar slammed into him. She forced Dragonite on his back, and bit into his throat with an Ice Fang. Dragonite gasped and squirmed, but couldn't break the bite, and began to choke. "Rose, call her back!", Marleon shouted at the challenger. Rose only watched, stunned. She lost focus, just watching as Tyranitar continued to choke Dragonite with her jaws. "Rose!", Marleon yelled. She didn't budge. "Damn it!", the Gym Leader held his Pokeball out, and in a moment, Dragonite was returned. Tyranitar flinched as her prey vanished before her, and she at once glared at Marleon, standing up and started to walk toward him. Marleon put a hand on Lapras' Pokeball, but before he could call Lapras out, Tyranitar began to glow red and vanished right as she went to lunge. Rose had recalled her right at the last moment.
Marleon exhaled. That was too close. And then he closed his eyes and sighed. Another loss. "And that's the battle! Challenger Rose has won!", Ed announced. The scoreboard chimed with a red "X" over Dragonite, and then Rose's picture expanded with the words "Winner" blinking. It took Rose a few moments to realize she had even won the battle, both she and Marleon were shaken from the last round. But then she finally raised Tyranitar's Pokeball to the sky and began to celebrate. Marleon smiled a bit. He was disappointed in the loss, but he knew that another badge would help Rose with her situation with Tyranitar. The badges weren't just symbols of achievement, they were tied directly to Pokeball technology, and each one strengthened the bond between a trainer and their Pokemon.
