Before this chapter i just want to point out that some of the concepts i used in here are based of of 'Traveler' by The Straight Elf. it is honestly one of the best, if not then the best fanfic on this site. go ahead and check it out.
Chapter 3
It was a couple days later that saw Derek and Monarch standing in the sand on the beach facing each other. Ash and Gary had left to begin their journeys the day after the meal everyone had at the Ketchum residence. Blue had to go back to Viridian to take over the gym again as the new Indigo season was under way. Green and Daisy were the only two that stayed in Pallet Town since they were both taking a break from co-ordinating competitions.
This was the first time in two days that Derek and Monarch were alone together due to Monarch wanting to spend time with Daisy after not seeing her for so long. Derek wasn't going to stop them, knowing how much they meant to each other.
"Okay here we go." Derek says as he leans down in front of Monarch and carefully takes of the harness holding the everstone around his neck. "Now remember, once you are evolved you are going to have to adjust to your new body before we can do any kind of really training again. This mean we are going to have to go back to the basics."
Monarch nods his head and looks at his trainer with confidence shining in his eyes.
"…it is time…"
Both trainer and pokemon take a moment to stare at each other, affirming the unbreakable bond between them. On an unspoken single they both make their way over to the Professor's Lab. Once there they head out onto the ranch and then begin the long trek into the mountains behind the Lab. The closer the get to the base of the mountain the more the bloodlust within them builds.
Derek finally signals them to stop before he begins to take off his top and secures it in his back pocket. He bends down to tighten the laces on his shoes before both him and Monarch begin going through stretches to make sure their bodies are ready for what's about to happen.
"Remember what we spoke about before. He was on the Professor's Championship Team. Not even Red's starter has ever been able to beat him. He is the current alpha of your line." They look at each other, the thrill for battle and the bloodlust within them reach boiling point. "Lets show him who will challenge him for the throne."
Monarch lets loose a challenging roar before he blasts a blue flamed flamethrower into the air. All types of bird pokemon flee from top of the trees after witnessing such a display of power. Once done, Monarch steps in front of Derek and falls forward so that he is on all four limbs, senses working in over drive to wait for the inevitable fight to begin. The silence around them is tense as they both wait for their opponent to appear.
The sound of a far away whistle slow reaches their ears causing both of them to turn their gazes upwards. Both widen their eyes before jumping back as far as they can in order to dodge out of the way of the landing behemoth before them.
Professor Oak's Charizard is said to be the strongest Charizard alive today. After the Professor retired from being a trainer, his Charizard secluded itself to the mountains behind Pallet Town. He only accepted challenges from opponents of the Charmander line. With him towering over Monarch and Derek, they could clearly see why he was considered to be the alpha Charizard through out the regions. He stood as tall as the Professor's Dragonite. He's entire body was built with pure muscle. Everywhere your eyes roamed over his body you would see a canopy of scars from past battles.
Derek took note of the trees and ground in close proximity to the Charizard. The ground was beginning to smoulder and the trees were beginning to dry themselves out. The heat radiating off of this of a specimen was enough to cause a haze to shimmer in the air around it. Derek was almost certain that it was holding back on releasing its true flame. Not even at his most powerful could Monarch hope to replicate this feat while he was in this stage of his evolutionary cycle.
Both trainer and pokemon took a step back in fear for the beast in front of them before the grins returned top their faces at the upcoming battle.
"Monarch! Hit and run!" Derek shouted as he sprinted to the tree line to get out of the area of battle.
Monarch sprints in the opposite direction in a red and white streak, signalling a quick attack. Before he can do much else, the much larger Charizard is in front of him with speed that shouldn't be possible for a pokemon so large. With a swing of one of its might paws, the Charizard swats Monarch back in the direction he came.
Derek growls at seeing their plan being thwarted so easily. He quickly makes his way over to Monarch and helps him up.
"I'm going to sprint ahead. Keep using quick attack to move around while using swift to attack." Derek doesn't waste time and sprints further into the forest.
From that opening attack sequence alone he could tell how outclassed they truly were. Instead of filling him with dread, it just made him want to fight even harder.
"Jump and use Dragon-breath!" He shouts as he sees Monarch sprint past him and up a tree. Derek doesn't slow down his strides nor does he look back. He allows his body to run through the forest on aout0pilot as his mind runs through all the different ways he could try to bring down the Charizard.
Before he can react, a giant tail comes into view and makes contact with his torso, sending him flying through the air before tumbling to a stop. Ignoring the pain that overcomes his body he quickly umps back up and continues his run.
It was late afternoon and everyone in Pallet Town was making their way home. Red and Blue came rushed back to town after an urgent call by the Professor who was very cryptic.
Everyone freezes at the sound of a terrifying roar coming for the forest behind the Lab. All trainers sprinted to the Lab to find out what the commotion was while releasing their pokemon.
Red, Blue, Green, and Daisy arrive at relatively the same time to see the Professor staring grimly at quaking forest with his Arcanine and Dragonite standing guard by his side.
"Granpa! What's going on?" shouts a frantic Daisy.
"That idiot boy decided to challenge my Charizard." The Professor answer back grimly. "Red, Blue release your full team. I want him to be contained to the forest and allowed nowhere near the town."
Both young men follow the order without hesitation and soon, Kanto's arguably two strongest pokemon teams stand amongst each other as the wait for the battle to reach them.
Suddenly, two figures are rocketed out of the tree line and tumble along the ground before coming to a stop halfway between the forest and the audience waiting to intervene.
Everyone gasps at the sight before them in horror. Derek and Monarch are covered in blood, dirt and grime. The hours spent fight the alpha Charizard was definitely not kind to them. Blood was flowing freely from the wounds littering Monarch's body. His left arm harm useless next to his body, very clearly dislocated. Derek wasn't faring much better. He was bleeding just as much as his brother. His shirt was long lost to the forest and his pants had tears and burnt marks all over it. Light burnt makes could be seen all over his body.
What truly terrified their audience the most were the looks upon the duo's faces. They were both smiling as blood flowed down their faces from the scratched they received. The fire in their eyes burnt brighter than ever. Neither young man nor pokemon planned on giving up anytime soon, if ever. This was what they trained for. This was what they put their bodies through hell for week in week out.
Everyone's gaze snaps to the edge of the forest as the largest Charizard some of them have ever seen pushes two massive trees aside with ease as it stepped into the clearing separating the ranch from the forest. Small fires break out around the giant pokemon as he makes his way further into the clearing. The fire on his massive tail burns a dark blue, indicating the immense heat that he's radiating. Everyone can feel the sweat begin to pour off of their bodies due to heat. Some of the pokemon they released took a step back in fear due to the terrifying monster standing before them. It was only the Professor who noticed the new scratches that were on his Charizard's hide.
"To think they actually manage to put a scratch on him…" he says in amazement.
The massive Charizard hones in on his two foes before leaping towards with, crashing the ground from where he leapt. Monarch and Derek both jump out of the way but are unable to escape the aftershock of the landing that once again throws them through the air.
This time, both of them are much slower to their feet. The toll from the long battle finally catching up to them, adrenalin only capable of keeping them going for so long.
Derek glances at Monarch next to him and lets out a humourless chuckle at the determined look in his brother's eyes. He places his hand on Monarch's shoulder in support.
"To the very end, dear Brother." He states with a deathly calm voice, yet the exhaustion in his voice can be heard clear as day.
"…the very end…" replies Monarch, just as tired.
They both glare at the alpha Charizard before them, neither backing down from the beast even though they know they stand no chance. Derek reaches behind him and takes out a pair of gloves. These gloves shimmer in the setting sun as he places them on his hands.
"Let's show him what true power looks like." Derek states in a quiet voice that carries over the now silenced clearing as everyone watches him. "Evolve Monarch."
With a might roar, white light surrounds the pair. Everyone turns their gaze away from the source of the light. As the light continues to emit, the sound of the roar becomes much deeper and more powerful as the second tick by. As the light fades they all allow their eyes to adjust before looking back at Monarch and Derek. The sight that greets them astounds everyone watching.
Derek stands next to an easily 6ft tall Charmeleon. The scales on the newly evolve pokemon shine blood red in the sunlight, much dark then they would be on a normal specimen. The flame on its tail burns bright and stronger than ever before.
"It worked." The Professor announces in complete disbelief. "He actually managed to revert his Charmander back to prehistoric times."
Before anyone can question the Professor about what was just said, their attention is pulled back by a command shouted by Derek.
"Flash Blaze!" He shouts. "Lets settle this in one move."
They all watch with astonishment as a red aura surrounds Monarch, indicating the activation of his Blaze ability. What surprises them further is when Monarch swings his tail around and in front of his face before letting loose a powerful blue flamethrower. Right before their very eyes, the flamethrower changes heat and intensity, going form blue to white.
"That's flash fire." Blue stammers out. "He just activated both of his abilities like it was nothing!"
They look on in confusion as the newly evolved Monarch goes down on one knee and place his uninjured right arm on the ground, clenched fist resting in the soil. Derek walks behind him and places both hands on his back and braces himself.
"Those gloves are made from the hide of a fire pokemon." Red states outloud. "That's the only way he can even bear to touch Charmeleon while he radiates so much heat."
The Professor's Charizard steps forward and roars his challenge at the duo before him. They stare back at him unflinchingly, neither of them ready to give an inch.
"Build it up." Derek commands softly. Everyone watches as Monarch opens his jaws and creates a bright orange ball in front of him. As they continuing waiting, the ball increase in size while changing colours. When the ball reaches white it starts to compress in on itself.
The Professor, finally catching on to what's about to happen, shouts out to all the pokemon surrounding him and everyone else.
"Throw up your strongest shields!"
The pokemon, taking note of the urgency in his voice, throw up all sorts of shields without a moment's hesitation. The shields meld together to form a gigantic blue and green shell that separates the ranch from the clearing.
The Charizard finally opens his mouth after getting tired of waiting. Blue flames lick the side of his mouth as he takes a huge breath before throwing his head forward and releasing a powerful blue flamethrower at the kneeling Monarch and supporting Derek.
"Bow before our power." Derek whispers. "Blast Burn!"
The white, compacted ball, disappears for just an instance before an explosive roar is heard as Monarch rockets the massive attack forward to meet Charizard's flamethrower head-on.
The two attacks collided and the aftershock of the impact craters the ground beneath the epicentre. The aftershock rockets its way in every direction, slamming against the shield surrounding the ranch. Cracks start to appear along the shell, causing the pokemon to throw even more energy into maintaining the shield.
Charizard, momentarily surprised by the power of Monarch's attck, quickly adds more power into his flamethrower. The epicentre of the colliding attacks slow but steadily makes it way to where Monarch is being supported by Derek.
"Push Back! Monarch, don't give him a fucking inch!" Derek shouts.
Monarch slightly closes his mouth, forcing the blast of his attack to become more focused. This makes to blast burn decrease in size but strengthen in terms of power.
The epicentre once again moves back to the middle. Both pokemon now giving it their all. Charizard sets his feet firmer into the ground so as not to be pushed back by the force of his flamethrower. Derek digs his feet into the ground below him and pushes with all of his might against Monarch's back, ignoring his screaming wounds as he keeps Monarch from moving.
The on watching audience gazes on in fear at the amazing sight before them. Never before have any of them seen a battle of wills quite this intense. Derek and Monarch were giving it everything they had, ignoring the freely flowing blood that left their bodies as they focused entirely on taking down the alpha Charizard before them.
They both notice the glint that flashes in the eyes of Charizard before he leans forward and releases an even more intense burst of flame than before. It pushes back Monarch's attack and rushes towards the duo.
"Let it go Monarch." Derek says gently but with strain being heard in his voice due to keeping Monarch in place. "That primal power being locked up inside you, let it out." Derek feels himself slide back slightly as Monarch powers up his attack even more.
"Look him in the eye!" Derek shouts as the both focus their gazes past the colliding attacks, right at the glare being directed their way. "Don't let him win! Make him acknowledge the fact that we are coming for him!"
All the pokemon and trainers watching the battle looked on in awe as Monarch and Derek forced the epicentre of the attacks back towards Charizard using sheer will power alone.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Anyone listening in that moment wouldn't be able to tell you which shout belonged to who as both pokemon and trainer roared to the heavens.
Monarch's blast burn breaks through Charizard's flamethrower and hurtles it way towards the giant pokemon before slamming into it and sending it crashing through the forest. A smouldering groove of molten rock shows the pathway of the powerful attack.
Monarch and Derek collapse forward in surprise from suddenly having nothing pushing them back. Both are struggling for breath and they lay next to each other. The shield surrounding the ranch collapses and everyone rushes towards the duo.
Everything and everyone comes to a complete standstill as an almighty roar shakes the very ground they all stand upon. Turning their heads towards the forest they all stare in shock as the Charizard flaps his massive wings and climbs above the trees for the first time since the battle began. They all clearly see the burn mark upon his chest as he makes his way over to the duo on the ground.
Everyone shouts at their pokemon to go at stop the massive Charizard only to have Red's very own Charizard land in front of them and shake his head.
"Charizard what are you doing? We need to stop him!" His Charizard's only reply is another shake of the head.
The turn their attention back to the imposing figure as he lets loose a menacing growl before stepping back in shock as Monarch and Derek begin struggling to their feet. Everyone watches in shock at the display of pure will power being shown by the two.
The two finally make it to their feet with the support of each other. The wound upon their body's worse than they have even been before. Their eyes suddenly widen a hidden power.
They both let go of each other and step forward. In a display of pure and utter defiance, Monarch roars one final challenge while Derek thrust both his arms forwards and shows the might Charizard before him both of his middle fingers.
Both brothers never lose the shit eating grin on their faces as their eyes roll into the back of their heads as they once again collapse before the looming figure of the opponent that completely outclassed them.
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