Disclaimer: Pokemon is copyrighted to Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak (characters, concept, and creatures). The only features I claim ownership to are my original characters.
Checkmate
"Prinplup, Aerial Ace!"
Imitating the act of flight, Prinplup shot itself forward as its flippers outstretched and white streaks streamed across its body. It was heading right toward a combination involving the systematic use of Frenzy Plant and Sweet Scent, something that only a Meganium could do. The roots were lined with pink flowers and air, making the deadly attack look heavenly in everyone's eyes.
When close enough, Prinplup sliced through the giant roots one-by-one, causing them to fall down and wither away. Aaron briefly glanced at the scoreboard and saw that his opponent lost a meager amount of points. Now, to deal with the Sweet Scent. The move was like ambrosia, filling the air with a pleasant smell that forced all attention to Meganium. He had to use Sweet Scent against them. "Now Water Pulse!"
Prinplup generated a blue sphere between its flippers and slammed it down onto the ground, producing waves as it travelled to its target. The water swept up the remnants of the Sweet Scent, causing the blue water to turn into a beautiful, healthy shade of pink. It looked like watercolor art in motion. The preservation of the aromatic scent only helped increase its appeal.
Then came the telltale ding of the clock.
"Time's up!"
That last move of Aaron and Prinplup's gave them the edge they needed. Their points were high enough to merit advancement to the final round. "Good. One more to go." Aaron said to himself as Prinplup returned to his side. Dawn and her opponent were up next, and this would determine his final-round opponent. Honestly, he wanted Dawn to win so that he could face her. If he was going to win it all, it might as well be against someone of noteworthy mention. Someone he knew he would gain something from beating.
"LOSER?! How can I be a loser when I've come so far?! You know what, I think I just realized something about you.. You're presumptuous and condescending. You see rivals, including a friend like me, as enemies. In reality, we're just stepping stones to you; obstacles to move on from once you've gotten around them. At least I respect the people I aim for! I mean, you didn't shake my hand when you beat me at the Hoenn Grand Festival!"
"(Hey! Aaron!)" Prinplup barked, noticing that his trainer had spaced out all of a sudden.
Aaron jumped slightly, coming back to his senses, and looked around frantically. The two were still on stage while their opponent had long left. Slightly embarrassed, Aaron quickly walked off the stage as Prinplup followed him."Come on, Aaron, FOCUS! You've got bigger fish to fry. Forget Ian!"
However, even if Aaron didn't know it, he tended to look down on his opponents. His mind was geared toward winning, and he unconsciously had no desire to forge an emotional attachment toward foes. Ian was right about that, and Aaron wasn't even aware of it.
"Sorry about that, Prinplup." He apologized as he took out a Poke Ball and recalled the Water type into it, "Rest up now. I think you're done for the contest."
"Great job, Aaron! Now watch me win, too!"
Aaron looked forward and saw Dawn once again. She was rushing toward the stage, holding her dress up slightly so that she wouldn't trip on the hem. Although he didn't show it, he was faced with a personal dilemma. He wanted to raise his hand and requisition a high-five like last time, but his internal self wanted to move on with the fewest number of words and actions possible. The Aaron that wanted to give this nice girl respect and the Aaron who saw her as an obstacle in the way of his Contest Ribbon were at arms.
He was thankful all she did was keep going. "Right…" He whispered tersely, continuing his saunter back to the dressing room.
A Poke Ball twitched back and forth on the ground, the button in the middle of it flashing red repeatedly. This went on for a few, tense seconds until a satisfying, electronic ping was heard as the Poke Ball stopped moving. The capture was complete.
"Well, it's about time!" Ian exclaimed in relief as he walked over to the Poke Ball and picked it up, "That was my last one." The Spiritomb proved to be a great adversary, defeating his Gengar, Murkrow, and Drifloon in that order. Luckily, his Shedinja was capable of handling it without much worry, giving him the opportunity to catch it in a Poke Ball. "Props to you, Shedinja."
The wordless Bug/Ghost type only floated there behind Ian, its even breathing the only sounds it made.
"I'll… take that as a thanks." Ian said uncertainly. His Shedinja tended to be extraordinarily reticent, almost to the point of emotionlessness. Honestly, if it were not for its past life as a Nincada and the few times it spoke, Ian would have assumed that Shedinja was voiceless. Nevertheless, it personified the term "strong and silent"; after all, it just bested this Spiritomb. Ian looked down to the Poke Ball with a satisfied grin. A powerhouse that embodied intimidation. Spiritomb was practically Ian's ideal Pokemon. "Quite a catch." He said proudly, chuckling to himself.
"Says the guy throwing around all these wild accusations! Are you trying to make yourself look and sound good!? I don't know what's gotten into you, but it's pathetic! I can't deal with this. I don't need some wannabe taking away from my hard work!"
"Heh. I bet a wannabe couldn't get his hands on this baby." Ian laughed pridefully. He was getting stronger and stronger by the day and by himself. He pocketed Poke Ball with the others and looked at Shedinja. "Come on, Shedinja. We gotta get to Solaceon Town pronto."
"(Roger that.)" replied the Shed Pokemon in a mystical baritone.
"YOU TALKED! It's a miracle!" Ian shouted with exaggerated shock, complete with widened eyes and a agape mouth. He even backed away slightly as if something had possessed his Shedinja to make it act so uncharacteristically.
Shedinja gave its trainer the faintest ghost of a glare.
"Uh-oh! Pachirisu is on the ropes!"
True enough, in the last match of the semifinal rounds, Dawn and her Pachirisu had been backed into a corner. Her opponent and his Phanpy were controlling the tempo of the battle. His points were marginally higher than Dawn's with less than thirty seconds left. The problem stemmed from the fact that Pachirisu's main attacks, Spark and Discharge, did absolutely nothing against the Ground-type Phanpy.
"C'mon! You gotta think of something quick!" Ash shouted supportively, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice, "Time's running out!"
Dawn gritted her teeth, getting more nervous with each passing second. In this type of situation, all she could do was reprisal, use Pachirisu's available moves against whatever Phanpy dished out. It was then she heard Phanpy's trainer call out Ice Shard as the Ground type launched over a shard of sharp ice. At that moment, Dawn hatched an idea. Remembering the practice session she and the others had earlier, Dawn subsequently ordered, "Pachirisu, jump and land on that Ice Shard with your tail!"
Pachirisu put all of its weight on its large tail and catapulted itself into the air. Then, the Electric type timed its descent perfectly, falling on top of the Ice Shard and pinning it to the ground. "Now Discharge!" The EleSquirrel Pokemon unleashed blue static electricity from its small body. The bright blue lightning danced in the air. Meanwhile, the Discharge surged into the Ice Shard it had pinned, causing it to illuminate a bright shade of blue. The still light below and the flashing ones up high gave everyone a veritable light show of two different kinds.
"Oh my! Pachirisu dazzles us all with a stunning Discharge! Using Phanpy's Ice Shard against it no less!"
"She nailed it!" Ash exclaimed, pumping his fist excitedly as Pikachu cheered on.
"Impressive." Brock remarked. It seemed his worries from before were inconsequential as he watched the timer reach zero. That display reduced Dawn's opponent's point just enough to give her the lead, meaning she had won the right go into the finals. If Dawn adhered to her game plan, that meant Pachirisu and Buneary could finally rest and that Piplup was going into battle. "It looks like she has a good chance of winning."
"Sure does!" Ash concurred as he leaned back into his seat, "I just can't wait to see that secret thing she and Piplup said they have!"
...
"The time has finally come! The final round, pitting Dawn against Aaron!"
The final round of the Mesa Verde Town Pokémon Contest was just seconds away. The audience had only briefly went on a break, either to get a snack or go to the bathroom, and returned to their seats. No time was being wasted. The scoreboard displayed both Aaron's and Dawn's image for all to see. Said coordinators were already positioned on opposite sides of the battlefield. Aaron's arms were crossed with his eyes closed while Dawn stood with poise.
"LET'S GO DAWN!" Ash shouted encouragingly. However, his voice was muffled by the food he had stuffed into his mouth. Apparently, he had forgotten not to talk with his mouth full. Brock resisted the urge to drop his head.
"With 5 minutes on the clock, we begin!"
"Piplup, spotlight!"
"Magneton, game on."
Two Poke Balls were flung onto the battlefield, releasing the two named Pokemon onto the stage. Piplup stared distastefully at the Magnet Pokemon, "(Aw man. I was hoping to fight Prinplup.)" He complained.
Not at all insulted, Magneton simply replied, "(Don't worry. I'll definitely keep you on your toes.)"
"Start it off, Dawn," Aaron requested, uncrossing his arms and pushing up the brim of hat slightly, "Ladies first after all."
"Alright! Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Dawn commanded with a motion of her hand. The Water type opened its beak as the inside of it glowed blue, promptly firing a stream of blue bubbles. As it advanced to Magneton, the translucent bubbles reflected the lights above. This was enough to warrant a reduction of Aaron's points, from 100% to 95%.
"Mirror Shot." All three of Magneton's eyes widened as they glowed silver. They projected a sheet of glowing silver in front of the Electric/Steel type's body. Then, this wall of energy fired a fusillade of silver shrapnel. These projectiles passed through Piplup's Bubble Beam, popping every single one of them and landed direct hits on Piplup itself.
"Oh, no!" Dawn exclaimed as Piplup fell on his back. Her points were reduced from 100% percent to 93%. Obstinately, the Penguin Pokemon shot back to his feet, ready for more. "Okay, Piplup! Use Whirlpool!" Piplup's body glowed a bluish-white color as it raised its arms and beak to the air, prompting a huge glowing whirlpool to form above it.
"Thunderbolt straight into it." Aaron enjoined in response. Magneton's voice droned robotically as it charged electricity in its magnets and then unleashed a great surge of yellow lightning right toward Piplup's Whirlpool. Water conducted electricity as everyone knew. Magneton's Thunderbolt circled around the swirling whirlpool several times before striking Piplup at the base of it.
"What an electrifying experience!" Marian commentated as the Thunderbolt caused the Whirlpool to explode, sending water and residual electricity outward as Piplup skidded across the floor, "And look at the power of Magneton's attack!"
"This isn't good. That Magneton is strong." Brock said worriedly. Electric-type move were and always will be strong against Water-type Pokemon. On top of that, it seemed Aaron saved his strongest for the finals just like Dawn had. Dawn's points decreased from 93 percent to 80 percent.
"Let's go on the offensive," Aaron declared, pointing at the wet floor of the stage, "Magneton, Zap Cannon!" Magneton generated a green ball composed entirely of electricity in the center of its body and launched it toward the sodden floor. Upon contact, great amount of static electricity surged, rapidly spreading across the stage.
"Quickly, Piplup! Bide!" Dawn hurriedly ordered, thinking fast. Piplup's body became outlined in white as it endured the powerful rush of conducted electricity. Then, its whole body glowed completely white before firing a white beam at Magneton. This one landed a direct hit, yielding a heavy amount of damage due to the mechanics of the move.
"Piplup returns all that power tenfold!" Marian shouted as Aaron's points went from 95 percent to 80 percent, tying up the battle.
"Dang." Aaron frowned, exhaling sharply through his nose. Bide was going to be a troublesome move to deal with since his Magneton had plenty of power to spare. Magneton briefly looked behind itself, seeing Aaron do a 'lay low' gesture with his hand. They were going to be defensive now.
"Piplup, use Peck!" Dawn commanded as the timer reached the three-minute and 45-seconds mark. Piplup's beak glowed white, storing energy in it until it lengthened three times its original size. The Penguin Pokemon then sprinted to the Magnet Pokemon as fast as its little feet could allow.
"Hyper Beam!" Aaron ordered. Magneton produced a white orb of energy with a pale pink center in front of its body. It then fired a pale pink beam of energy with bright white energy around it at the charging Piplup.
"No Lock-On?" Ash questioned, remembering the moves Magneton used on Scizor.
"It must've forgotten Lock-On in favor of either Mirror Shot or Hyper Beam." Brock surmised.
"Piplup! Spin and hit it!" Dawn commanded with a smile. This was the ideal scenario. Piplup jumped straight toward the Hyper Beam and span to the side to avoid it. Magneton was helpless to do anything as Piplup repeatedly jabbed its sharp, glowing beak into its three faces.
"Even in the face of a deadly Hyper Beam, Dawn and Piplup turn it around to gain the lead for the first time!" Marian commentated as the crowd cheered. Aaron's points fell from 80% to 70%.
"Bide and a dodging maneuver." Aaron thought as Piplup finally ended its assault as Magneton backed up, "Not gonna make this easy for me, huh? In that case… let's see if I can goad her into doing what I want." Aaron snapped his fingers, catching Magneton's attention, "Fire Zap Cannon into the air! Then use Thunderbolt!"
Magneton again used Zap Cannon, launching the sphere into the air above the contest stage. Promptly, Magneton unleashed electricity right at the Zap Cannon. When the two attacks met, it resulted a giant burst of electricity alongside a resounding boom. Lightning fell from up top, striking the ground all over the battlefield. Piplup scurried out frenziedly, trying not to get struck. Dawn wanted to call out Bide, but there was one too many bolts of lightning to make that option safe.
"And again Magneton demonstrates its power! That lightning's as bright as it is strong!" Marian remarked as he shielded her eyes with her free arm. Dawn's points dropped from 80 percent to 70 percent, tying up the battle once again with two minutes remaining.
Then, Dawn got an idea. "Piplup! Run toward Magneton but don't get hit!" The scurrying Piplup redirected his course toward the Electric/Steel type as instructed. By the time the lightning storm ceased, Piplup was in close proximity to Magneton. "Scoop it up with Whirlpool!"
Piplup formed another whirlpool above his head. Of course, Magneton had no room to dodge as it was ensnared by the wild waves. It tried to regain equilibrium but that amounted to useless flailing. At least it was inorganic, meaning there was no threat of drowning.
"And Piplup survives the lightning storm and makes something happen!" Marian commentated as Aaron's points decreased from 70 percent to 64 percent, "That Magneton's going nowhere!"
However, Aaron smirked, "Gotcha!" Then, he commanded aloud, "Magneton, if you can, use Mirror Shot!"
"(Watch me.)" Magneton replied as its eyes widened and glowed silver. Right when Piplup prepared to throw the Whirpool with Magneton still in it, dozens upon dozens of silver, glowing shrapnel were shot of the whirlpool. Due to the sheer number of them, the Whirlpool began to distort in shape, making it hard for Piplup to control it. Eventually, the Whirpool burst as Mirror Shot overpowered it.
"No way!" Dawn exclaimed in frustration as she shielded her eyes from the light drizzle that followed. Her points went from 70 percent to 65 percent.
"Yes way!" Aaron quipped as he pointed at the flustered Piplup. "Magneton, Hyper Beam!"
"(Wish on these fireworks.)" Magneton charged up another Hyper Beam and quickly fired it. It struck the ground right in front of Piplup, causing a bright explosion that engulfed the Penguin Pokemon. Piplup cried out in pain as the blast sent it skyward.
"What a hit!" Marian exclaimed as Piplup fell back to earth with a cringe-making thud. The attack earned Dawn another drop in her total points, going from 65 percent to 55 percent.
"You had to use Whirlpool eventually," Aaron spoke up, "I simply ushered you into the direction I wanted you to go. Such is how a strategist like me wins his battles."
Dawn gritted her teeth as she looked at the scoreboard. Aaron's 64% point lead was small compared to her 55%, but with the time approaching the one-minute mark, it was nonetheless significant. She took a calming ,deep breath. It was now or never. "Piplup, you are okay?" She asked. Her response was an affirmative nod. "Ok. It's time! Piplup, fire Bubble Beam into the air! Then, Whirlpool!"
Piplup span around in place, firing a stream of bubbles into the air directly above him. Once a sufficient number of them were produced, Piplup raised its flippers and generated another Whirlpool, gently cradling every single bubble in it. Exerting more energy, it increased the speed of the whirlpool. "Look at that! It's a reproduction of her appeal performance!" Marian shouted out in awe as the whirlpool produced the desired effect, "The laminar flow!"
Aaron's points went from 64% to 58%. It was a nice move on her part, but it had been seen before, diminishing its overall impact. In Pokémon Contests, Pokémon Coordinators had to be spontaneous but unique. "That again?" Aaron questioned with a raised eyebrow, "I know how to end it in one fell swoop. Zap Cannon!"
"Piplup, jump into the Whirlpool and use Peck on the bubbles!" Dawn commanded, undeterred.
Piplup headed into its creation without delay right as Magneton fired the Zap Cannon toward it. Using its swimming prowess as a Water type, Piplup headed over to the first bubble in sight and used Peck on it. Miraculously, it did not pop. Instead, the bubble was shot out of the Whirlpool thanks to the different flows. With the increased speed and momentum, that one bubble took on Magneton's oncoming Zap Cannon, cancelling it out in an electrical explosion.
"What the-?" Aaron couldn't believe his eyes. That one little bubble matched a Zap Cannon. "Do it again!"
"Keep sending them, Piplup!"
Narrowing its eyes, Magneton experimentally fired another Zap Cannon. It was aware that coordinators lost points for wasted shots, so this was going to be last one. Like before, Piplup swam to another bubble carried by the laminar flow-induced Whirlpool, eliciting the same exact effect as previously. Not resting, Piplup shot out more and more bubbles until the Whirlpool was releasing a veritable submachine of speedy bubbles.
"You mean to tell me there was a follow-up that?!" Aaron questioned in shock. That seemingly innocent appeal actually had a secondary purpose, and he was seeing it firsthand. That was something nobody could have ever predicted. Magneton cautiously floated around, dodging the volleys of bubbles as they popped calamitously on the floor below it.
"That's right! Piplup and I have been saving this bad boy for when we really needed it!" Dawn declared, pleased and satisfied with how things turned out. Aaron's points went from 58 percent to 49 percent with twenty seconds left and counting.
"Oh MAN! To think her secret was in plain sight!" Ash yelled, very impressed. He was practically at the edge of his seat. Dawn's plan was working like a charm.
"That may have just sealed her victory!" Brock proclaimed confidently.
At that moment, as Magneton continued to dodge in order to keep their hopes for victory alive, Aaron stared at the contest combination with a rather mystified expression on his face. At that moment, Aaron saw Dawn's potential. Even though this was supposedly her second contest, she pulled off something that surprised an experienced strategist and coordinator like himself. Deep down, he didn't see Dawn as an obstacle to be surmounted anymore but, rather, a respectable opponent. "Not bad, Dawn. Not bad at all," He thought, a slightly excited smile appearing his face – something he immediately took note of, "Man… when was the last time I felt excitement?"
"Hyper Beam!" Aaron finally commanded with a little more fervor than before.
"(About time….)" Magneton groused dully as it dodged yet another bubble and generated a white ball of energy with a pale pink center. It then discharged the Hyper Beam. It had enough power to cleave through the remaining bubbles Piplup fired from the laminar flow-induced Whirlpool. Finally, the energy beam hit the Whirlpool, resulting in its explosive destruction.
"Oh, no!" Dawn cried out in distress as Piplup was ejected from its destroyed whirlpool.
DING!
"Time's up!"
All eyes went to the scoreboard as Marian continued, "And the winner of the Mesa Verde Town Pokémon Contest is…" According to the scoreboard, Dawn had a final score of 48 percent compared to Aaron's 49. Evidently, that Hyper Beam destroying Whirlpool was enough for Aaron and Magneton to just worm their way to victory, "Aaron! Aaron is your winner!"
"Aw man…" Ash groaned in disappointment as he sunk into his seat, "Even after all that, too…"
"I know. That's crushing," Brock sighed dolefully, "Just goes to show you, battle until the very last second."
Aaron stared at the screen, frozen. The loud cheers of the crowd were what snapped him out of it. This gave him time to ponder. The sense of excitement he experienced when Dawn unveiled her secret weapon was replaced with satisfaction at himself and at Dawn. Nobody could detract from Dawn's effort. In the end, it was a close call, meaning that the both of them had performed at a high level. What did all this mean? Even though he won, that didn't mean the person he beat wasn't as good.
Dawn kneeled down to Piplup and picked him up into her arms. "Don't worry. You did fine." She said consolingly. Sure, her hopes for triumph and her second ribbon were torn asunder, but she and Piplup did their best. She had enough humility to understand that. Just then, she saw a hand extended to her, looking up to see Aaron and Magneton. With a smile, Dawn took it and was helped to her feet. "Thank you, Aaron."
"No, Dawn. Thank you." Aaron stressed in reply. She had no clue how much he helped her today. He continued holding her hand, turning it into a handshake, "Great battle by the way. You got skill."
"Well, it wasn't enough to beat you." Dawn responded humbly as they broke the handshake, "You should go ahead and claim your prize though."
"Fair enough."
Aaron and Magneton had taken center stage with Mr. Contesta before him, holding a cushioned tray carrying a brown and green ribbon with a gold center. "Ladies and gentlemen, our Mesa Verde Town Contest winner, Aaron Shadow! Let's give him a hand!" Marian proclaimed as the crowd roared with applause. Aaron accepted the Contest Ribbon, his first one of Sinnoh, and held it up victoriously.
At sunset, people were filing out of the Contest Hall, preparing to continue their travels and go home for the day. Dawn, Ash, Brock, and Aaron were present outside, standing on the same pathway where they first met.
"Thanks for putting up with us, you guys," Aaron said appreciatively as Magneton floated stilly behind him, "I learned quite a bit today."
"It's no problem, Aaron," Ash replied casually, "You stay safe in your travels now, okay?"
"Same with you guys," Aaron responded as he looked at the raven-haired trainer, "Good luck in your Gym Battle with Gardenia, Ash. Make sure to get ready for her."
"Oh, you bet I will!"
"Aaron?" Dawn piped in as the brunette locked eyes with her. She smirked competitively at him, "This won't be our last battle. I'll make sure to get you back!"
Aaron grinned back and shook his head. It seemed yet another rivalry had been forged."Looking forward to it." He declared as he tipped his hat, turned around, and began walking off with Magneton following, "Catch you later."
Another Pokémon Contest came and went, but Dawn and Aaron both learned valuable lessons thanks to each other. Regardless of the winner, they were able to cherish what they learned, hoping it would make them better trainers, coordinators, and people as a whole.
"I can't believe Ian was right…" Aaron thought despairingly. His face morphed into a grimace of terror as Magneton laughed in amusement at it. Ian could be rather brutal with his 'I-told-you-so's.
Author Notes
With this chapter, the rewrite of the original Pokemon Story has come to a close and Pokemon Story: Sinnoh Journey has taken its place.
However, this is not the end of Pokemon Story: Sinnoh Journey. If I had to compare it to a movie, this chapter marks the theatrical "ending". So please read on. There is bonus content and a "true ending".