Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon... yada, yada... you've heard it all before, right?

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 10: A DRAWN OUT BATTLE! VESPIQUEN'S ONSLAUGHT

It had been the cause of so much torment over the last day or more. The projectionist of violence that it had caused to many Beedrill and other Pokemon in the forest. After it had assaulted Casey, the mere subject of its actions almost tore my friendship with Misty into pieces. And now, there it was. Awaiting the deserved punishment that was about to befall it. My eyes were filled with anger, after everything that Pokemon had done and now it was in the command of my opponent, Casey. What a wildcard she had turned out to be. She was obviously the trainer who was with Vespiquen when we first met it. I tried to think back to that time… I remembered when Misty and I had seeked refuge within the vegetation, the trainer walked past. She had a Beedrill herself, as well as a Magmar. I began to put the pieces of the puzzle together and it was beginning to make sense.

"I don't know whether or not to use Magmar tomorrow," she thought to herself out loud. "My other Fire Pokemon has had a bit more experience. Beedrill would be perfect, but I've also got another option now as well. I know who I will be using though…" Just as she uttered the name of her selected Pokemon, another Beedrill buzzed past us. It was so close, that the buzz from its wings completely drowned out what she had said. Yet I could hear the continuation of her planning, but in the end I lost interest. I became more concerned with the issue of escaping this forest without serious injury.

The other Fire Pokemon… her Rapidash no doubt. The other option as well as her Beedrill… well, that was staring me right in the face. Then it occurred to me… she had indeed caught the Vespiquen there and then, before using the Beedrill that she already owned to convince the other beings of its kind that all was well. But then, after she left the forest, she must have called out her Vespiquen to get acquainted with it, but its temperamental nature caused it to attack her and fly back to the forest with the rest of the Combee that it lived with. Then Casey went back off to find it, with Misty in tow. That's when we confronted it again at the lake… before that blue Pokemon appeared… Azelf… what sort of Pokemon was that? Vespiquen had us all stumped, yet the Azelf appeared from nowhere and calmed it in an instant. From there, I could only remember the events of this match… Already, her Rapidash and Meganium had been taken out, but this would perhaps be the real threat. I have already seen first hand what this Vespiquen is capable of. I took a good look at my Houndoom, who still seemed to be hanging in there despite taking an early battering by Rapidash and taking a Solarbeam dead on. I knew that I would have to put some serious hurt on it early, before it had a chance to do any real damage.

"So, Jonathyn," Casey grinned, proud of her choice of Pokemon. "You couldn't beat it yesterday and today will be the same. My Vespiquen and I may have got off to a bad start but now we are a team. Right, Vespiquen?" Casey seemed to be not the least bit scared of the portentous queen bee Pokemon.

"Ves--pi," it buzzed, twitching its mandibles as it bobbed its head.

"Hang in there, Houndoom," I encouraged it in a low tone. "We're going to put one hundred per cent into this battle, are you with me?"

"Houndoom, doom!" it barked, before snarling at Casey's newest Pokemon, which still loomed ever closer.

"At least that Sunny Day from Meganium will give us that extra boost of power," I noticed that the sun, although not as bright as when the effect first took place, was still active. "Give it a Fire Blast," I shouted. Just like before, another star shaped burst of flame blasted towards Vespiquen.

"Dodge it." Casey called. In one fluid motion, Vespiquen raised upwards. The Fire Blast missed easily, as the Vespiquen suddenly hurled itself forwards towards Houndoom. "Power Gem, go!" Casey shouted. Upon stretching its arms forward, a ball of yellow energy began forming in the parting between its two sets of razor sharp claws. The ball grew larger and larger as it continued flying directly at Houndoom. It stopped just millimetres from Houndoom, before firing the attack at point blank range. An explosion rocked the entire arena. I looked on in dread, hoping to see that Houndoom was still alive, let alone still be able to battle. As the smoke cleared, it became obvious that Houndoom did not survive the attack enough to continue this battle. It looked completely drained. The match official raised my coloured flag for the first time this match.

"Houndoom has fainted. Vespiquen wins!" The crowd roared with excitement yet again. This time, it was my turn to look frustrated. I called back Houndoom into its Poke Ball.

"Thank you, my friend," I smiled gratefully. "You deserve a good rest." I looked back over at Casey, who was now waving a couple of Electabuzz paper fans in the air, obviously cheering her Vespiquen. Although I had a lot of respect for her as a trainer, I found myself wishing that our paths had never crossed. The shock of seeing that giant Vespiquen now battling for Casey seemed to be affecting my concentration. "I can't believe it knocked out Houndoom with only one hit," I cursed in annoyance. I know how strong that thing is, but to do that in just one go? It made me wonder what I had to do in order to defeat it. I only had two options left now. After a sudden brainstorm, I knew which one I was going to go with first. "You might think that this match is turning around, but not yet… it might not have worked the last time, but this time there is no way you can get around it. So Bayleef, come on out!" As soon as my Poke Ball touched the ground, my young sauropod like Pokemon remerged. It smiled cheerfully, although I knew this was no laughing matter at the moment. "Bayleef, hit them with Toxic!" I shouted with my fingers crossed, hoping my plan would work this time. I held back a shout of joy when I saw Casey let out a gasp. Just like it had done against her Meganium, Bayleef's head-leaf began to glow a dark purple. As it slashed the lower abdomen of the levitating Vespiquen, the poison was transferred across. I saw it shudder as the toxins began to flow through its body. "Not much you can do about that this time, Casey!" I whooped in delight.

"Trust me, there is," Casey smirked. "You forget, Poison may hurt my Vespiquen, but that's nothing compared to what its Bug Type attacks will do to your Bayleef. And there's one particular attack that I have in mind. Attack Order!" Vespiquen shot up into the air once again and thrust its lower abdomen forward. From the honeycomb like holes that were dotted around its abdomen, six Combee grubs emerged. Bayleef looked completely shocked. It was outnumbered! The angry young Combee began firing beams of multicoloured light straight at Bayleef. It flinched and winced as the attacks kept on barraging it. As soon as one Combee stopped, another would resume the onslaught. Bayleef cried out, as Vespiquen's troops continued the attack. I had to think fast. There was no way that it could withstand much of this. I could see Casey looking quite content with herself. I scowled to myself, the nerves now completely taking over. I had no idea how to get Bayleef out of this predicament.

"Magical Leaf," I called uncertainly. I almost felt myself turn away, not wanting to look at what was happening. But I could not resist. As I watched the attack commence, the leaves began to strike the Combee grubs with great force. They were quick to retreat to the honeycomb-like holes in Vespiquen's lower abdomen. I smiled, glad that Bayleef was now safe. But I knew it wouldn't be for long. I had to follow up with something good. But before I could even think…

"Slash it!" Casey yelled remorselessly. Vespiquen's arm winded back, poising its sharp claws ready to strike.

"Dodge it and use Magical Leaf again!" I called. Bayleef reacted like lightning to miss the Slash attack. I could see Vespiquen stare at it as its claw narrowly missed its mark. Bayleef then swiftly launched the Magical Leaf attack, which at close range did a lot of damage. It bumped across the Rock Field, before skidding to a halt just in front of its trainer. Even with the type disadvantage, Vespiquen still appeared to have taken more damage than it would usually. Perhaps it was the effects of the Toxic attack taking effect. I fidgeted with glee. "This is one heck of a battle, Casey. But you know I'll be leaving as the winner," I taunted respectfully.

"I doubt that," Casey smirked. "Vespiquen, use Heal Order!" I suddenly stopped dead. The Combee grubs reappeared on the battlefield, beginning to circle around Vespiquen in the same way it had done when we saw it battling Misty's Gyarados. I rubbed my eyes, still not believing that all the damage that Bayleef had caused had now been negated by Heal Order. What more could I do? Even though Toxic was whittling down its health, Vespiquen would just regain its strength with Heal Order. "So tell me," she grinned, folding her arms as if she was not amused by my strategy or being cocky as regards to her own. "What are you going to do in order to win? I can answer that question for you. You can't win. Vespiquen may not have been the most co-operative Pokemon when I first caught it. But I suppose I have Azelf to thank for its change of heart."

"Azelf?" I questioned. "Why thank Azelf?"

"Don't you know anything?" Casey sighed. "Azelf has the ability the change a human's or a Pokemon's emotions. It can even become one with another form of life. If not for Azelf, Vespiquen would still be refusing my commands and attacking everyone." She clasped her hands behind her head. "But it's worked out well for me…"

"Obviously," I sneered. "Vespiquen may be powerful, but it isn't undefeatable. I'll prove it to you. Use Magical Leaf again!" Bayleef fired its attack yet again, connecting with Vespiquen who had now taken to the air once more. Despite the earlier attack being much more damaging, this particular Magical Leaf seemed to have little effect. Vespiquen still looked incredibly healthy, despite the effects of Toxic's poison now taking full hold.

"Attack Order," Casey screeched. The Combee grubs re-appeared and flew straight at Bayleef. They began firing their beams of energy. I had to protect Bayleef somehow…

"Light Screen," I called quickly. Instantly, a barrier encased Bayleef. The attacks of the Combee could not get through the strong defence. Now I knew how to counter the devastating move. But I knew it couldn't last. Bayleef could not keep it's Light Screen up for long. I knew we had to attack back. "Magical Leaf!" I called. I knew that as long as the move hit its mark every time, I would be able to slowly wear down the giant bee Pokemon. Bayleef's defenses lowered as the Combee seemingly gave up on their attack and returned to their honeycomb. Bayleef swung the leaf on its head, but only one leaf appeared and dispersed into the air. Bayleef gasped in shock. "What's going on?" I shouted. "Try again, Bayleef." With a determined look in its eyes it attempted to launch the attack again, but the same thing happened again. I shook with frustration, confusion and distress all rolled into one ball of emotion. "Why won't it work?" I boomed. Casey simply laughed at what was happening. Something that made me frown even more.

"Vespiquen has an ability called Pressure," Casey gurned. "It limits the amount of times your Pokemon can use a move. You know how some moves can only be used a certain number of times? Vespiquen's Pressure halfs that number. You've used Magical Leaf so many times that your Pokemon can't use it again for the rest of the match." My world suddenly seemed to stop. I hung my head, almost with a look of defeat. How was I going to be able to stop this monster? "Finish it now!" Casey screamed. "Attack Order, one more time!" Once more, the baby Combee returned from the honeycomb where they had resided to attack.

"Light Screen quickly!" I yelled frantically. Once again, Bayleef erect its shiny screen of light, blocking the attacks of the Combee. I wondered to myself how I could possibly keep Bayleef in this match, but it seemed a little hopeless now.

"Attack the Light Screen all in one spot," Casey grinned. The Combee combined their attacks to one pinpoint of Bayleef's Light Screen. Vespiquen looked on as a small crack appeared in the barrier. It soon shattered into the air. The powerful attack had broken through and struck Bayleef with fatal force. The attack did not stop for a good thirty seconds or more, before the grubs finally retreated. Bayleef was out cold. I shook my head in confusion and somewhat fear.

"Bayleef has been defeated. Vespiquen is victorious," the refereeing official declared, raising my coloured flag yet again. The crowd exploded, cheering for Casey and her Pokemon. I held out Bayleef's Poke Ball, as it withdrew back into the comfort of its home. I smiled as it returned, despite the despair that was running through my veins.

"Thank you so much, Bayleef," I appreciatively beamed. "Your efforts will not be in vain, I promise." There was only one thing left for me to do now. Gabite was the only Pokemon that I could use. I felt foolish for not using Pelipper in the match, it would have been perfect to knock out Vespiquen using its Flying attacks. Gabite is a Ground Type and its most potent attack Earthquake could not hit it whilst it was airborne. And even Dragon Claw would prove difficult. I was kicking myself for not teaching Gabite any long range attacks. I was clueless. I considered myself to be a great trainer, but the pressure and nerves had completely made me lose control of this match.

"Don't give up, Jonathyn!" I heard a voice cry. I looked around, but could not locate the person who's voice called out to me in the thick crowd. "You can do it!" the voice came again. It was female, for sure… Misty… I saw her waving, before cupping her hands over her mouth and shouting at me again. "You can win! Go on, Jonathyn!" she encouraged. I looked on nervously. Brock was sat beside her. He was also cheering me on. Notwithstanding the dilemma I now faced, my two friends' words of encouragement seemed to trigger something inside of me. That same intensity that I used to feel when in the midst of such an important battle… the victories of my more recent Gym Battles sprung to mind. I remembered how hard my Pokemon and I had trained in order to get this far. And I would be damned if I was going to let a Pokemon that had caused me and my friends so much grieve over the last couple of days to interfere with my dream of becoming the Pokemon League Champion.

"Misty… I thank you," I smiled internally, having now been given back my confidence as a trainer. I wasn't the only person who wanted me to win and that made me more determined to make it happen. "Gabite, let's end this!" I war-cried, hurling Gabite's Poke Ball back onto the field. The dragon Pokemon returned onto the field. "Bite, Gabite!" it growled. "I know the perfect way to get that Vespiquen out of the air. Use Sandstorm!" I shouted. Within seconds, Gabite had whipped up another of its powerful tornados of sand and dirt. It hit Vespiquen with full force. Now it was Casey that had stopped in her tracks. She looked a little shocked that the move was executed so soon.

"Vespiquen, get out of there and use Confuse Ray!" Casey shouted. My heart skipped a beat. Confuse Ray would put Gabite at a huge disadvantage if it hit.

"Don't let it hit you!" I warned. A ray of dark purple light flickered through the Sandstorm, but its aim was severed by the magnitude of the Sandstorm. Gabite was able to avoid the ray with ease. I noticed that Vespiquen had lowered itself down in order to attack. This was my chance!

"Dragon Claw, full power!" I roared, knowing that victory was so very close. Gabite charged into the Sandstorm, with its claws glowing a pale shade of green. I saw Vespiquen fly out of the twister, but not using its wings. It crashed atop of one of the rocks on the field. I whooped, raising my hands into the air. Casey simply smiled, but wagged her finger at me again.

"Don't think this is over yet! Heal Order, Vespiquen." Casey chuckled. The Combee grubs once again made their appearance and circled around their Queen. Within moments, the Bee Pokemon had regained health yet again, but at what cost.

"It IS over, Casey," I smiled back. "You see, you might well be able to have your Pokemon heal itself, but the poison from Bayleef's Toxic attack only gets worse and worse as the battle goes on. Heal all you want. Soon, the poison will do more damage than Heal Order can restore health."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to finish your Gabite off before that happens. Confuse Ray, Vespiquen!" Casey pointed. Another shot of dark purple light raced towards Gabite. This time, it surrounded Gabite in a thick purple fog, before dispersing. Gabite looked around, before staring at Vespiquen. It charged at it, but stumbled sideways and collided head on with a large rock. Casey looked on in amusement, but I was less than pleased with this move.

"No! Gabite, snap out of it!" I pleaded. But it seemed to be ineffective. "Gabite, use Dragon Claw!" Gabite's head suddenly popped up. It's claws glowed once more, but it used the move on the rock that it had just ran into rather than its opponent. But I refused to give up. I could hear Misty and Brock still shouting and cheering for me, disregarding the fact that I was at a disadvantage. I looked around a little more. I could see so many people, but sat in the very front row was a face that made mine screw up in anger. Paul was smirking at Gabite's confusion. His eyes were interlocked with my own.

"Pathetic," he murmered, as I read his lips to decipher what he had said. I clenched my fist yet again. I paid no attention to Vespiquen using Heal Order for the umpteenth time. Paul shook his head at me in disgust. I glared back with hatred in my eyes. I wanted to prove him wrong. Here and now.

"Gabite, use Dragon Claw on Vespiquen!" I boomed. Gabite heard me and charged at Vespiquen once again.

"Fly upwards and keep that Heal Order going!" Casey ordered. Vespiquen weakly began to fly skyward. I could tell that the poison had indeed made Heal Order a lot weaker as well. Gabite still ran towards the ascending Vespiquen.

"Use that rock to get closer and then jump up!" I cried, hoping that Gabite was still able to hear my instructions. Even being confused, Gabite ran up the side of one of the rocks, before jumping onto a taller one before leaping up with the biggest bound I had seen it use! It swiped at Vespiquen with its claws… but missed! Gabite had a look of worry on its face as it began to fall back down to the ground. With a heavy thud, a large cloud of dirt puffed into the air. Vespiquen maintained it's Heal Order almost consitantly. As the cloud cleared, I could see a large hole where Gabite had landed. Casey simply smiled.

"Let's wrap this match up," Casey called to her Bee Pokemon. "Plug up the hole with your abdomen, then use Attack Order!" Her strategy was cunning. She knew that in Gabite's confused state, it would not be able to counter. Especially not with that horrible fall it had just taken. Vespiquen's grubs returned to her, before she lowered herself onto the hole. She wedged herself in, before unleashing the underground attack. I then suddenly thought of something. Something that could finally put this match away.

"EARTHQUAKE!" I roared. Within seconds, the whole arena was shaking. Vespiquen was stuck and was feeling the effects of the Ground attack. Casey was speechless, only her gaping mouth told the tale. "Now give it your most powerful Dragon Claw from underground!" I shouted with excitement yet again. The shaking continued until Gabite blasted through the rocky ground, slicing Vespiquen hard with the Dragon Claw. Vespiquen flew backwards, but somehow its wings continued beating, keeping it inches from the ground. "What!?" I exclaimed. "There's no way it could have survived that!" I looked over at Vespiquen, who was struggling to stay in the air. Then I realised. "It's trying to battle the poison…" I gasped. Vespiquen swayed back and forth. It began to fly forward, preparing its claws for another attack. But it soon stopped and dropped down to the gravel below it… Casey watched on in horror…

"Vespiquen cannot continue the battle. The winner of the match, Jonathyn Christian and his Gabite!" The official announced. The crowd exploded into wailing cheers and applause. I knew not just for me, though. Casey had provided an exceptional battle. I leapt down from the podium and ran at Gabite. I wrapped my arms around its neck with joy.

"Gabite, you were exceptional out there," I smiled appreciatively. "Gabite, Gaba!" it replied triumphantly. Casey had ran over to her Vespiquen, lifting its head up. "What's say we help Vespiquen out?" I turned to Gabite. "Bite, Gaba!" Gabite nodded as if out of a sign of respect. We walked over to Casey and Vespiquen. I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket and pull out a small bottle of orange liquid. I sprayed it across Vespiquen's body. Casey seemed befuddled by what I was doing. As soon as the bottle was empty, Vespiquen's wings began to flitter before it raised itself off the ground, before landing on its abdomen to rest. It looked a lot better. Back to one hundred per cent health. Even the poison effect seemed to vanish. "I used a Full Restore on your Vespiquen," I smiled to Casey. "It looked as though it was suffering from the Toxic attack and I always carry one with me…" Casey bowed at me.

"Thank you," she indebtingly smiled. "I'm sorry if I seemed a little bit out of sorts in the battle," she apologised. I raised my hand to stop her.

"No need," I replied with a chuckle. "In the middle of a match, it's what trainers do. No harm done. I just hope that you aren't too upset."

"Upset?" she laughed. "That was the best match of my life. I would happily lose to anyone who battled half as well as you did today. You were the better trainer. I will just have to train harder with my Pokemon, right Vespiquen?"

"Vespi--," it buzzed with a sort of pleased expression on it's face.

"Gabite, bite, Gabite!" my Dragon Pokemon barked back with an equally happy reply.

"I'll let you get on," Casey smiled. "We'll catch up later, I want to see Misty and Brock before I go too."

"That's fine," I responded. "I've got some things that I need to do as well."

"Cool. Congratulations, Jonathyn," Casey offered her hand courteously. I gladly shook it. The crowd cheered in admiration of our respect after such a gruelling battle. I returned Gabite into its Poke Ball, as did Casey with her Vespiquen. I headed towards the tunnel, applauding to the crowd as well in acknowledgement of their support. I could see Misty and Brock waving as I passed, but made sure I did not lock eyes once again with Paul, who was now walking in the opposing direction. My next destination was the Trainer's Lobby, where I was going to find out my next opponent immediately. I did not want to waste any time, so that I could utilise the time that I would have to train and prepare for such a battle. I was still psyched that I had actually made it through this round. But if it was that difficult so early into the competition, I would have to do much better to progress into Round 4…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Jonathyn finds out who his next opponent is, before joining Casey, Misty and Brock to search for the illusive Azelf that rescued them before… but find themselves in a tricky situation when they get there… but before that, Misty talks to Jonathyn about her feelings for him and someone called "Ash"...