Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of the characters in this story.
Chapter 1
What makes a Champion?
May's jaw tightened when her Milotic slumped to the floor in defeat. She had one Pokemon left: the captain of her team, her partner from the very start – her Blaziken. Across the field stood Vito, a battling prodigy descended from the Winstrate dynasty of Champions. He licked his lips, as if tasting his imminent victory. May's hand clenched around the faded-red pokeball that held her starter.
Her opponent chuckled. "I'm not the same trainer I was five-years ago, May." Vito began. "I contemplated returning home to route 111 after my defeat at your hands, until I remembered that this, here in Ever Grande, is my ancestral home!" He spoke eloquently, fiercely. "My predecessors built this league from nothing! Wallace, Steven, you – all of you are mere usurpers to the position that belongs to me!" He laughed. "And it makes me sick that you would underestimate my newfound strength to find yourself this close to defeat!" He spat. "So do me justice and come at me with your full power! I will bring you to your knees!"
Not that day on Victory Road, not today, Vito. She thought. "You've come a long way, but it's not over yet!" She cried. "Go! Blaziken!"
The red-feathered, bipedal avian erupted from its pokeball and screeched its battle cry. May smiled at her starter's determination. After all, her Pokemon were the true champions – and Blaziken was not about to give up his reign without a fight.
Vito's Mega-Alakazam levitated in its meditative pose, unflinching at Blaziken's entrance to the battlefield. May furrowed her brows in annoyance at the challenging Pokemon's gall. She would fight 'til the end, but Alakazam would not prove an easy foe to conquer. She would need to up the ante.
Reacting to its mega-stone, Blaziken evolved into its Mega-form. Even if she was blind to the fire-Pokemon's change in appearance, May could have felt his increase in power. She paid no heed to the obvious type-advantage that Alakazam possessed and focused her mind on the battle.
"Don't bother setting up with Bulk-up, his defences are weak – Shadow Claw!" She commanded. Blaziken sprang into the air towards the psychic-type and slashed with an unearthly energy shrouding his talons. The white-bearded feline dissipated before Blaziken's eyes and reappeared at his back.
May didn't even have to shout the command, she and Blaziken were used to teleporting psychic-types by now and he reflexively countered with a spinning Blaze-Kick.
Vito chuckled darkly. "That's more like it. But it won't be good enough – use Psychic!"
"Hold on!" May ordered, as her starter was hit with a powerful, super-effective attack. Blaziken threw his hands to his ears, wincing in pain, as if he were trying to block out a high-pitched screech. "Listen to my voice, Blaziken!" She spoke evenly, soothingly. "That noise you're hearing, it isn't real. Just concentrate on the sound of my voice." May repeated this phrase as if it were a mantra. She and Blaziken had practiced this technique many times to deal with the countless challengers hoping to overcome her most powerful team member with a type-advantage.
Vito frowned upon realising that the obvious super-effective moves were not going to cut it in this match. "You're going to have to get a little more creative, Alakazam – use Focus Blast!"
"Dodge!" Cried May, and Blaziken jumped, narrowly avoiding the blast of energy. "Use Fire-Punch!"
Alakazam, still regaining its focus from the attack, was hit with a flaming fist. It recoiled, arms rushing to cover the spot on its chest where the flesh was burnt raw.
Vito growled in frustration. "We've got this, Alakazam! – Dazzling Gleam!"
May covered her eyes as a bright, mystical light filled the League arena. She felt the wave of force as the enchanting energy erupted at Blaziken. Another super-effective hit left her Pokemon looking worse for wear.
A dark smirk reappeared on Vito's face. "This is it! Use Psychic!"
May narrowed her eyes in determination. "Brave bird."
Blaziken used his powerful legs to spring high into the air, before kicking off into a face-first plummet towards Alakazam. Due to his Speed-Boost ability, Blaziken was faster, and May wasn't sure if Vito was aware of this. Still, she bit her lip in worry, as the move was rather kamikaze in nature, considering Blaziken's current level of health.
The air was clouded with dust when Blaziken launched violently into his opponent. May and Vito both coughed while the dust cleared. Both Pokemon lay on the floor, battered and scathed.
"No…" May whispered. She knew Blaziken's chances of surviving the recoil damage were better than not. But there he lay, crumpled on the floor.
Vito smirked. "Well, it seems a rematch is in order – you cannot deny me one after a draw!" He puffed his chest triumphantly. "I told you not to-"
A wheezy cough came from the battlefield, and the seemingly unconscious Blaziken began to lift his broken body, trembling from exhaustion, to his feet.
"Oh my Arceus…" May breathed. "Blaziken! You're amazing!"
Her praise seemed to urge the fighting bird on, and he stood straight and proud, despite the obvious pain he was feeling. A few seconds passed, and when it was evident that the bird was not going to collapse, the referee called his final decision.
"Alakazam is unable to battle. The winner and, still, the Champion of the Hoenn Pokemon League… is May Maple!"
May and Vito returned to the Ever Grande Pokemon Centre in silence, not a single word was uttered. After handing their weary Pokemon over to the Joy behind the counter, Vito turned to May and pointed an accusatory finger at her chest.
"You got lucky there, and don't deny it!" He growled. "I will be back, May Maple, and I will come with a vengeance!" He threatened, spinning on his heels and retiring to his accommodations for the evening.
May felt the bile rising in her throat. As much as she did not want to admit it, he was right. She got lucky. Champions, true Champions, were not supposed to get lucky. Am I a true Champion… She lamented. Do I belong here?
"Excuse me, Champion May…" The Joy behind the counter called for her attention. "Your other Pokemon are restored, however, I'm afraid Blaziken will need to stay the night."
"What?" May cried. "No!"
The Joy narrowed her eyes. "Your Blaziken has been pushed beyond its limits in battle and requires extra attention. I am certain you will not argue against the health and well-being of your Pokemon."
May's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Can I at least stay with him the night?" She pleaded. "I…" Her voice softened. "I owe him everything right now."
The Nurse's eyes lost some of their harshness and filled, instead, with regret. "There are many injuries for the Joys to attend to, and I am afraid they will be working through the night." The Joy spoke soothingly. "You seem tired, dear, maybe you should get some rest yourself."
With a reluctant nod, May gathered the Pokeballs containing the other five members of her prized team: Milotic, Salamence, Metagross, Venusaur and Gardevoir. In her travels, May had met many people – and many Pokemon. She owed the meeting of Metagross to ex-champion and old flame, Steven Stone. Venusaur, she met through the world-revered Professor Oak during his research collaboration with Professor Birch. Through her old friend, and surprising rival, Wally she received a Ralts egg. In her time at fishing holes, and exploring through caves – she met a Bagon and a Feebas with great dreams of beauty and strength that they all came to realise together. Her Blaziken, though, had experienced every step of this grand journey with her from the very start. Before she stepped through the doors to Ever Grande, she glanced over her shoulder and caught the eye of the Nurse.
The Nurse met her gaze with an assuring nod that said "Worry not, we will take care of him."
Satisfied, May slipped through the sliding doors.
In her current troubled state-of-mind, May decided to walk through the lush gardens of Ever Grande to clear her mind. In the darkness, she felt she could ignore all of her troubles and in the fresh air, she could find clarity. I will walk until I reach Victory Road. She reasoned. And then I will fly. Maybe if she walked slowly, maybe if she lingered, a Nurse Joy would come running from the league building and shout to her of Blaziken's sudden recovery. May sighed. I pushed him too hard, and now I must fly home without him…
She was not twenty paces from the entrance of Victory Road when a figure dropped in front of her. Taken by surprise at the suddenness of the apparent obstacle in her way, it did not occur quickly enough to the Hoenn Champion that she might be in danger. Before she knew it, the belt her Pokeballs were clipped to was stripped from her waist and placed in a strange sling hanging from the thief's shoulders.
It was not the capture of her Pokemon that frightened May, so much as the fluidity and agility of the poacher's movement. They were unsettlingly proficient in athleticism – a trait which May could not admit she shared. The thief was unidentifiable in the shadow of the night. Their face was concealed by a mask covering all but their eyes – which were fiery and exotic.
Before May could wonder why her Pokemon were not bursting from their Pokeballs in an attempt to escape, an angry fist had connected with her left cheek. She stepped back, startled, and her assailant spoke before she could retaliate.
"Give me the sixth."
May's eyes widened at the higher pitch of her attacker's voice, as well as the unnatural way the rough delivery sounded. The thief was a woman.
"I don't have a sixth Pokemon with me." May squeaked, cursing herself for admitting it.
The woman's almond-eyes narrowed. "Don't fool with me, Champion." She snarled. "Give it to me, or I will take it by force!"
May's voice rose in frustration. "I told you, I don't have another!" She cried, growing bolder. I am the Champion. She reminded herself. A Champion does not bend to criminals. "And if you want the others, you will have to get through me!" She threw herself at the thief.
May regretted it instantly when the agile woman stepped aside, using her momentum to sling her into the ground. She cried out as pain shot through her shoulder. May looked up to see the woman standing over her.
"Our Champion is a fool." The woman said. "She thinks she can fight as well as her Pokemon do." The corners of her eyes creased from a smile at the offended grunt this roused from May. "Get up then, prove me wrong!"
Frustrated, May dragged herself to her feet. She tried swinging her arm at the woman, only to have it parried. She was then pushed back with a kick to the stomach and heard a sickening crunch in her nose when she was rained upon with a barrage of punches.
The woman laughed. "Come on, Champion, aren't you going to fight me back?"
Blood was pouring from May's nose and other wounds, it trickled into her eye and over her lips. She flung herself at the woman again, this time wrapping her arms around her.
This didn't startle the thief at all, who maintained perfect balance. Instead, the woman rearranged her arms so her wrists were crossed behind May's head, and elbows dug into May's collarbones. She drove a well placed knee into May's ribs and used the leverage of her arms to drag the Champion's face into a violent second.
May slumped to her knees, pulling on the thief's loosely-draped clothing to bring her down. The woman used this momentum to push May onto her back, where she straddled the young Champion and pinned the girl's arms with her knees.
Here, May struggled to push her attacker off. She tried lifting her hips, twisting beneath the woman, freeing her arms – it was no use, the woman outmatched her strength. She knew she had been defeated, that she had failed to rescue her Pokemon.
The woman laughed. "The almighty Champion May – who took down Team Aqua and Magma, who tamed the legendary beast Kyogre, who overthrew the powerful Champion, Steven Stone!" She glared at May. "She is nothing without her Pokemon. Nothing." She whispered.
Then, she brought a heavy elbow down on May's temple. May felt her brain rattle in her skull, her last vision being of the masked woman before it faded into black.
I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this story. The start is a little slower than I'd have liked, but everything will begin to unfold next chapter :)
I was interested in the character development an attack like this would induce in May. She is always depicted as undefeated and untouchable, so I thought it would make for a good story to have her genuinely challenged and humbled.
For anyone interested in the combat elements of this chapter, our antagonist was using a clinching technique found in Muay Thai to throw May around. This story is going to be very combat heavy, and if anyone is interested I am happy to leave links to videos detailing some of the techniques the characters will use.