Hey everybody, I am back with an update for the story here that's been long awaited. I decided to do a different spin on battles so there would not be two, long drawn out battles for the characters. I have all the positions almost filled, I just need three more gym leaders.
Last Time: Colin spent time strategizing a plan to combat Jason on the ice for their battle and with a little help from Pikachu was able to come up with a plan that could help him seal his win. Meanwhile, Scott had a run in with another trainer named Takatora who is quite arrogant. Scott and Takatora ended up battling which came to a draw, only for Takatora to mock Scott's skill by saying he could have crushed him with ease if he wanted. Scott, with a newfound rival and a strong dislike to accompany it vowed to get stronger to prove Takatora he was wrong.
Key:
Bold- PA system/Message Bulletins/Text messages to
Bold Italic- Radio/TV/Pokedex descriptions/Text responses
Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks
Colin and Emily had woken up early that morning to get breakfast and prepare for their battle against Jason. The two of them were standing inside the ice rink as they waited for him, shivering just a bit from the cold. Footsteps met their ears and they turned to see Jason walking up to them with a smirk on his face. He clapped his hands as he looked between them and folded his arms, his smirk still on his face.
"So, are you ready?" Jason asked.
"I'm ready to roll," Colin said with a nod. "Let's do this!"
"Since you are so fired up, I think I'll battle you first. Hop in trainer box behind you and I'll go to mine."
Colin nodded and hurried over to the trainer box that rested behind the barrier to the ice rink. As he stepped into the box, there was a light jerk as it rose above the barrier to overlook the rink. Looking across the arena, Colin could see Jason standing in his trainer box as it rose above the rink.
"All right, let me explain how this will work," Jason said. "Since there is two of you, I am allowed to alter the rules a bit to get you both in without having to wait for my Pokémon to recover."
"How will that work?" Emily replied.
"I will have each of you battle one of my Pokémon and you just have to beat it. It will be a one on one battle between us with no time limit and whichever Pokémon is standing in the end is the winner." Jason answered.
"Sounds good to me!" Colin said as he pulled out Charmander's ball.
"Good, then let's get started!"
Jason unclipped the ball from his belt and tossed it into the ice rink. The ball opened with a snap and allowed a large shape to take form in the white light. When the light vanished, a tall, bear-like Pokémon was standing tall and confident. Colin mimicked Jason and tossed Charmander's ball into the center of the ice rink. The ball opened and the small, lizard Pokémon appeared before the large bear.
"Now what the heck is this thing?" Colin thought as he pulled out his Pokédex.
Colin opened the Pokédex and it flickered to life as the image of the tall Pokémon appeared on the screen.
"Beartic, the Freezing Pokémon. Beartic's frozen breath can create fangs and claws made of ice. It lives in frigid northern areas," Dexter informed.
Colin pocketed the Pokédex and gave Beartic a calculating look. Beartic was a lot taller than Charmander, but it was obvious he was a lot stronger and that would make this fight a lot harder. However, he hoped that the strategy he created with Pikachu and Charmander the night before would make it easier for them. He then looked down at Charmander who looked ready to fight and noticed the little attachments he gave him to combat the ice. He put a couple of pairs of his socks on Charmander's feet to allow him to skate and although it would not be as effective as an ice skate, it would allow him to move and prevent rubbing his feet raw.
"You can have the first move, Campo," Jason said from his end.
"Fine," Colin replied. "Charmander, use Smokescreen!"
"Beartic, use Slash!"
Charmander took a deep breath and opened his mouth to release a massive cloud of thick, black smoke that soon flooded the rink. Beartic jumped forward just as Charmander dropped the smokescreen and gave a vicious slash with his claws, but hit nothing but air. Charmander moved just in time to avoid the sharp claws and was using the smokescreen to his advantage to hide and score a hit on Beartic. He then lined himself up as he continued to slide away and opened his mouth wide just as Colin gave the order.
"Use Ember!" Colin yelled.
A stream of small fireballs shot into the smoke at Beartic's location with a loud cry following shortly after. The attack had hit Beartic straight in the face and his large paws were holding his eyes as he tried to block out the pain. He stood upright and slid a little on the ice as he tried to keep his balance. Seeing his chance, Colin made another call.
"Get in there and use Scratch!"
Charmander flailed a little as he came to a stop. So far the socks that Colin put on his feet were holding well, but they would eventually soak through and the sooner he could finish the fight, the better off he would be. Crouching down, Charmander started to dash forward at Beartic. Just as he got within range, Beartic uncovered his eyes and glared down at him, ready to counterattack.
"Beartic, use Ice Punch!" Jason yelled.
Beartic wound his arm back just as Charmander jumped up with his claws ready to slash. His arm was covered in a light blue aura before he drove it forward as hard as he could. The punch connected hard with Charmander's cheek and sent him soaring back. He hit the icy floor with a hard thud and continued to slide until he hit the barrier at the opposite end. The hit made Colin's stomach drop and he was worried that Charmander would not be able to get back up at continue.
He let out a sigh as Charmander managed to gingerly stand up, but he noticed that part of his face was now covered in a thick block of ice. It looked as though he was in a good amount of pain.
"Charmander, are you okay?" Colin asked.
"Char!" Charmander replied as he shook his head and got back into his crouched stance.
He began to skate back towards Beartic who was watching his movements closely.
"Use Brine!" Jason shouted.
Beartic looked up towards the ceiling and released a jet of water. The water soared straight for Charmander who was still skating for it. Charmander then surprised everyone as he leaned back in an attempt to stop, but instead slipped and continued to slide right under the attack, narrowly avoiding it. The water splashed on the ice behind Charmander as he continued to slide at Beartic.
"Use Scratch when you get the chance!" Colin barked.
"Use Icicle Crash!" Jason yelled.
Beartic slid back to put room between himself and Charmander so he could attack. His mouth opened wide and he released a cool, blast of air. Light blue sparkles filled the wing and started to form together to form large icicles that bolted for Charmander. Sensing the danger, Charmander began to improvise. He and Colin were in sync to the point he did not need to give the order for he needed to do. As he continued to slide for Beartic, he opened his mouth and fired one fireball after the next at the icicles. Each fireball hit an icicle and reduced it to nothing but water.
Charmander was now upon Beartic and he rolled to his other side to avoid a wild swipe of his claws. He then brought his claws back as he went between Beartic's legs and gave two swipes. His claws raked against the back of Beartic's ankles and earned a grunt of pain from him. Beartic fell to his knees as his ankles stung from Charmander's attack. Charmander quickly got to his feet and shot back at Beartic for one more attack. He jumped just as Beartic turned around and swiped. This time his claws slashed across Beartic's face and above his left eye. Beartic gave a loud cry of pain and gave another wild slash.
This time his claws sliced Charmander across his back, earning a cry of pain from the smaller Pokémon. Charmander landed on the ground before Beartic and clutched at his back to block out the pain he was feeling.
"Use Ice Punch!" Jason shouted.
Beartic's brought back his arm once again and gave a hard punch after it was covered with the light blue aura. The punch hit Charmander in the stomach and sent him flying back to the opposite side of the arena. He came to a stop just before the barrier and groaned in pain as he managed to push himself to his feet again.
"Don't let up! Use Brine!" Jason ordered.
Beartic opened his mouth again and fired another jet of water. This time, Charmander was unable to dodge it as it smashed into his chest and carried him to the barrier. Charmander was blasted into the barrier and pinned as the jet of water slammed into him.
When the attack ended, Charmander was soaked and looked as though he was on his last legs. He pushed himself off the wall and fell to a knee. He looked back up at Beartic as his vision began to fade away. Charmander was using whatever willpower he had to stay in the fight to try and win for Colin. He swayed and fell face first to the icy floor.
"Charmander, no!" Colin cried out.
Charmander didn't stir as he continued to lie on the ice. Colin's fists clenched in desperation as he looked at his downed partner. All that work he put into making a strategy to fight against Jason the night before had all been for nothing. He knew gym leaders were supposed to be strong, but he felt Jason had a bit of an advantage with a very strong Pokémon. How was he supposed to go up against that? He said nothing as he kept his eyes on Charmander, but as he looked at him, he remembered the first battle he had with Scott days ago. He and Charmander fought back and almost beat Scott by using sheer willpower. Was it possible they could turn it around here if he encouraged Charmander to continue fighting?
"Charmander, I know you can hear me!" Colin called out. "This is our first gym battle, but we can still do this!"
A small smile came to his face as he saw Charmander stir as he regained consciousness. It was working! All he had to do was believe in Charmander and push him a little to make him get up and fight.
"Don't you dare quit, you're tougher than that!" Colin shouted. "Get up and show that furball what you can do!"
Charmander's arms trembled a bit as he placed his palms on the ice and pushed himself up to glare back at Beartic. All he wanted to do was wipe the smug look off the taller Pokémon and he was not going to stop until he did so. He finally got to his feet after a grueling mental battle and clenched his hands. He could feel some sort of hidden energy building up inside of him that was reinvigorating his desire to fight. The burning feeling began to flood his being and he did the only thing that came to mind. He looked up at the ceiling and gave the loudest roar he possibly could. When he roared, the flame on his tail grew until it was just as tall as him and a large stream of fire shot from his mouth.
The sudden surge of energy and power that was displayed caught everyone's attention. Emily had been watching Charmander getting beaten down in the arena and was almost certain that he and Colin would lose after he lost consciousness moments ago, but was thrown for a loop when he got up and showed off a sudden boost of power. After studying Pokémon for the past year, she noticed that Charmander had activated his blaze ability and it appeared that he now had a new move.
"Huh, I guess Campo's still in the fight," came Molly's voice.
Emily turned around to see Molly standing in row behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Emily asked.
"I came to get my badge. I plan on going to the Big Ten League, too," Molly replied.
"If I didn't know better, I would say you were following us."
"Please, I have better things to do."
Emily was about to retort, but her eyes caught sight of two more people making their way down the stairs and to the stands. One was a boy and the other a girl, both of them around her age.
"So this is where Jason was hiding," the girl said as she sat down by Emily.
"Who are you?" Emily asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself! I'm Brianna Davis, and this guy behind me is Scott Fowler. We're both from UW Madison."
Emily smiled at Brianna and shook her hand before turning back to greet Scott. Brianna gave Emily a warning look to which she returned with a puzzled expression of her own. It was as if Brianna was telling her that talking to Scott wasn't the best idea.
"So, has Campo lost yet?" Scott asked.
"I hate to break it to you, but I think he and Charmander just got their second wind," Molly replied.
True to Molly's word, they all turned back to the fight to see Charmander release another stream of fire into the air. The true battle was about to begin.
A smirk came to Colin's face as he saw Charmander's tenacious attitude come out and he knew that Charmander was going to give everything he had.
"All right, let's rock!" Colin shouted. "Charmander, use scratch!"
"Beartic, use Icicle Crash!" Jason yelled.
Beartic's mouth opened wide as he released another blast of frigid air. The icicles formed and shot at Charmander who was getting closer and closer with each stride. The last couple of icicles began to fall to the floor towards Charmander, but that was when Colin changed up his tactics.
"Grab the icicles and throw them back!" Colin yelled.
Charmander sprung high into the air and outstretched his arms, each one grabbing a thick icicle. As he began to fall, he started to spin until he had Beartic lined up and threw the first icicle back.
"Beartic, cut those icicles using Slash!" Jason shouted.
Beartic's claws began to glow white as they extended forward and he gave two quick slashes as he destroyed the icicles coming for him. Charmander landed on the ground and slid back from Beartic to avoid a quick swipe. He looked around and saw that he was between a lot of icicles that were embedded in the ground after missing him.
"Grab more icicles, Charmander!" Colin hollered.
"That's not going to work, Campo!" Jason shot back. "Beartic, end it with Brine!"
Charmander grabbed two icicles and broke them in half as he was not able to pull them from the ground. Charmander held the two sharp pieces of ice in his hands and saw Beartic's mouth open wide to fire the jet of water at him again. Not wanting to take another hit like that, Charmander turned around and began to skate away. The jet of water shot from Beartic's mouth and continued for Charmander who was almost halfway across the arena.
"Use Flamethrower!" Colin shouted.
Colin recognized the attack earlier when Charmander released it when he got back up after being knocked out. He was praying that his plan would work so he could seal the win for the fight. He watched as Charmander spun around perfectly and opened his mouth wide, releasing a scorching stream of fire at the jet of water. A loud hiss filled the air as the fire and water hit each other and created a thick veil of steam. When the attacks ended, the curtain of steam filled the arena and reduced the visibility inside it dramatically.
"Charmander, throw those icicles!" Colin yelled.
"Be on your guard, Beartic!" Jason called out.
Charmander, not being able to see Beartic from his position began to slowly trek forward. He continued moving closer and closer until he was able to make out a tall figure in front of him. He jumped up high in the air and threw the first icicle in his hand. Wham! Beartic let out a loud cry as the icicle smashed into his chest and hunched forward in pain. Charmander threw the last icicle and watched as it smashed into his head, making him stumble back.
"End it with Flamethrower!" Colin shouted.
Charmander landed on the ground and sucked in as much air as he could and felt his lungs swell up. The fire in his mouth began to build and finally shot out in a massive stream at Beartic. The large stream of fire engulfed Beartic and a loud cry filled the room as he began to flail around in pain from the blistering flames. When Charmander ran out of air, the flame on his tail went back its normal size and he bent over in exhaustion. His eyes looked up at Beartic who was glaring down at him.
Seconds ticked by before Beartic fell to his knees and then face first to the floor with a thundering crash. Charmander panted in exhaustion as he looked at the giant Pokémon that was knocked out at his feet and fell to his rear.
"Beartic is unable to battle, Charmander is the winner!" The referee said. "The victory goes to Colin Campo of UW Madison!"
Colin blinked as his mind processed the referee's words. He won. He and Charmander managed to rally and come back to win against Jason and Beartic. With his victory, he had earned his first badge and took the next step into the Big Ten League.
"All right!" Colin cheered as he punched the air. "You rock, Charmander!"
"Char!" Charmander replied as he gave a small wave.
The platforms gave a shudder and lowered back down to ground level to allow Colin and Jason to step off. Colin entered the ice rink and, with some difficulty, skated over to Charmander and grabbed him under his arm pits and lifted him up in the air.
"You were awesome out there, buddy!" Colin said as he rubbed Charmander's head. "That's what you have to do. Don't ever give up until then end!"
"Char!" Charmander replied with a nod.
Colin skated back to the doors and stepped off the ice to see Jason standing by the door with a smirk on his face. His arms were crossed as he looked at him and Charmander.
"I have to say that was an impressive comeback on your end their, Campo," Jason said as he held out his hand.
"Thanks," Colin replied as he shook it. "You put up a hell of a fight."
When Jason let go of Colin's hand, Colin looked at it after feeling something placed there. In his hand was a small, light blue colored badge that was designed as an icicle. He set down Charmander and pulled out his badge case and fit the badge inside the slot that matched it.
"That's the Icicle Badge and that's the proof you need to prove you beat me when you finally get to the Big Ten League," Jason explained. "Each gym leader has a badge for you to collect. Your next gym will be down in Iowa."
Colin nodded as he tucked his badge case back in his bag and returned Charmander to his ball. He thanked Jason for the battle once again and was greeted by Emily and was even more surprised to see Molly, Brianna and Scott there as well. When his eyes met Scott's, they sent each other a brief glare. He broke the stare down with his rival when Brianna got his attention.
"So, how about that? The noob gets the first badge." Brianna smirked.
"Real cute, toots," Colin replied with an eye roll.
"Oh, it's Toots now?"
Colin's felt his face redden a little as he realized what he said. He naturally flirted with girls, but what happened there with Brianna was a slip of the tongue.
"Maybe I should call you Rosy?" Brianna teased and laughed as Colin's face got redder.
"S-Shut up," Colin retorted as he pulled the bill of his hat over his eyes.
Brianna only laughed again at Colin's expense as he tried to hide his red face. The group turned around when they heard Jason clap his hands together. His eyes looked over them as he did a quick headcount.
"So, which of you is up next?" Jason asked.
"That's me," Emily replied as she took a step forward.
"All right. Head to the trainer box over there and we can get started."
Emily nodded and walked over to the trainer box where Colin was earlier. When she stepped in the box, the platform gave a groan as it rose above the glass of the ice rink. She watched the other side of the arena and saw Jason rise above the glass on his end. She already pulled the ball from her belt containing the Pokémon she planned on using. Once Jason had selected his next Pokémon, he nodded at her. Emily threw her ball into the arena and it opened to allow a small shape to take form on the ice. When the glow vanished, it revealed a Pichu.
Jason sent his ball into the ice rink as well and it opened to allow his Pokémon to come on the field. The shape that formed was taller than Pichu and when the glow left, a Sneasel was standing in its place.
"Challenger gets the first move," Jason said from his end.
"Fine with me!" Emily nodded. "Pichu, use Quick Attack!"
"Dodge and use Ice Punch!" Jason countered.
Pichu crouched down and started dashing for Sneasel with insane speed. The small Pokémon was all but a blur that was nearly impossible to track, but Sneasel stood unflinching. At the last second, Sneasel crouched and pushed to the side, dodging the attack and watched as Pichu came to a sliding stop. Sneasel clenched her claws and a light blue light covered it as the chilling power coursed in it. Sneasel shot at Pichu who turned around just in time to catch Sneasel upon him.
With nimble reflexes and speed, Pichu was able to lean back as Sneasel's punch went over him and he rolled away to avoid another quick hit. The two of them had a brief stare down before Jason gave his next order.
"Use Ice Punch again!"
"Pichu, dodge and use Tackle!" Emily yelled.
Sneasel shot at Pichu again with ease as she used the ice to glide across. Pichu slipped a little as he tried to stand upright to dodge, but his balance was off. Sneasel buried her freezing fist into Pichu and sent him bouncing across the cold, hard ice. She gave Pichu no time to recover as she sped over to him again with her other fist covered with the frigid power. As she brought it back to punch again, Pichu made his move. He rolled away and let Sneasel's fist smash into the ice.
"Now use Quick Attack!" Emily shouted.
Pichu bent his head down and pounced at Sneasel, smashing into her stomach like a bullet. The force of the hit sent Sneasel sliding back against the ice. When Sneasel came to a stop, she sent a glare at Pichu who merely smirked back at his clever counter.
"Sneasel, use Payback!" Jason shouted.
"Pichu, use Thunderwave!" Emily cried.
Pichu raised his arms to release the rays of electricity, but it was not to be. Sneasel rocketed forward with both fists emitting a menacing purple aura. She was immediately towering over Pichu and gave one hard punch. The punch hit Pichu across the cheek and stunned him. She punched again and hit him across the other cheek. Bringing her fist back, she gave one last punch that connected with his chest and knocked him off his feet. Pichu slid away and curled in a ball as he tried to block out the pain he was feeling.
"Damn-it," Emily thought. "I need to find a way to stop Sneasel from moving so fast!"
"Sneasel, use Hone Claws!" Jason bellowed.
Sneasel's claws extended and she began to drag them across each other. As she continued to sharpen her claws, sparks began to fly off of them.
"Pichu, use Thunder Shock!" Emily shouted.
Pichu took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet as sparks began to fly from his cheeks. He glared at Sneasel and clenched his tiny paws together and gave a loud cry as a small bolt of lightning shot from him and went for Sneasel.
"Block it!" Jason yelled.
Sneasel raised her claws up to the incoming bolt and trembled in pain as it connected with them. The strain became too much for Sneasel to handle as she dropped her claws and the bolt hit her. Sneasel went rigid as the electricity flowed through her body. When the pain stopped, Sneasel hunched over to try and recuperate which gave Pichu and Emily the opening they needed.
"Now use Thunderwave!" Emily cried.
Pichu raised his arms and they started to tremble as light, rings of light began to emerge from them. The rays of light hit Sneasel head on and she started to tremble once again.
"Now use Tackle!" Emily yelled.
Pichu dove at Sneasel who managed to recover from the two attacks she took. She was ready to move and quickly dashed to the right and watched as Pichu hit nothing but air.
"Sneasel, use Beat Up!" Jason shouted.
Sneasel shot back at Pichu after he landed and began to deal one hit after the next. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Sneasel continued her brutal onslaught on Pichu. With each hit, Pichu appeared to be doing everything he could to fight through the pain and stay conscious. The last hit struck Pichu across the cheek and made him stumble away and struggle to stay balanced.
"Finish it off with Ice Punch!" Jason yelled.
"Pichu, watch out!" Emily hollered.
Pichu looked over his shoulder only to get a fist full of ice. The Ice Punch hit him so hard he was launched off his feet and slid all the way to the opposite wall. When he came to a stop, he cracked his eyes open and looked up to see Sneasel slowly trekking towards him.
"This isn't good! That Sneasel is just too strong!" Emily thought as she clenched her fists. "I have to find another way for Pichu to win!"
Emily's mind was racing as she watched Sneasel continue her march towards her downed partner. As she tried to come up with a plan, something caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a puddle off to the side that was left from Jason's battle with Colin when he had Beartic use Brine. Her mind clicked as she finally found the extra oomph she needed. Looking back at the field, Emily saw Sneasel stop in her tracks and start trembling again as the paralysis halted her.
"Pichu, use Quick Attack!" Emily shouted.
Pichu gingerly got to his feet, glared at Sneasel and got on all fours before shooting at her like a bullet. Even though he was very weak after getting beaten to a pulp by Sneasel, he still had enough strength to push Sneasel back enough until she was standing in the small puddle of water.
"Use Thunder Shock!" Emily yelled.
Pichu clenched his paws again as he channeled the rest of the electricity in his body. He began to glow a light yellow as the electricity flowed through him and he gave a loud cry as he fired the bolt of lightning at Sneasel. The bolt hit Sneasel head on and connected with the water she was standing in. Sneasel let out a loud shriek of pain as the electricity kept her rooted to the spot. When the attack ended, Sneasel swayed for a moment before falling back with a light splash echoing around the rink.
"Sneasel is unable to battle, Pichu is the winner!" The referee said. "The victory goes to Emily Garcia of UW Madison!"
"You did it, Pichu!" Emily cheered.
The platforms lowered back to ground level and Emily stepped off and hurried over to the door of barrier and opened it to catch Pichu as he leapt into her arms. Emily hugged her small partner tightly and thanked him for doing an outstanding job in the battle and giving it everything he had. She looked back up after she saw Jason standing beside her with a grin on his face.
"I have to give you and Campo credit. You Madison trainers are tough," Jason said as he dug in his pocket.
He pulled his hand out and held out another Icicle Badge. Emily reached up and took the badge from Jason before pulling out her badge case and setting it inside. As she looked at the badge, she looked at the seven empty slots beside it. She was one step closer to making her goal become a reality of entering the Big Ten League. She could not wait to tell her parents about winning the badge.
"Congrats," Molly and Brianna said as they each gave Colin and Emily a pat on the shoulder.
"So which one of you is up next?" Jason asked.
"Me," Scott said as he stood up.
"All right, you know the drill."
Colin, Emily, Molly and Brianna all watched as Scott made his way over to the platform to battle Jason. Colin was ready to leave so he could get Charmander treated and so he could get some breakfast.
"You all hungry? We can still catch breakfast at the Pokémon Center if we hurry," Colin said as he turned to the girls.
"I'm down for that," Brianna said with nod.
"Maybe some other time," Molly replied with a shrug. "I want to get that badge now. I can't let you get ahead of me now."
Colin shrugged as he looked between Brianna and Emily who nodded and followed him outside. Unknown to them, there had been one other person watching the battles from afar. He watched them leave in silence before following them shortly after they had departed.
And that's the chapter! Colin and Emily both succeeded in defeating Jason for the Icicle Badge. Charmander learned a new move. And who was that watching them from the distance? Find out later.
Colin's Party: Badges: 1
Charmander: Male: Moves: Scratch, Flamethrower, Smokescreen, Leer
Pikachu: Male: Moves: Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, Growl
Emily's Party: Badges: 1
Pichu: Male: Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, Thunderwave
Bulbasaur: Male: Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder
