PM: And I'm back again. Rejoice the reaching of a double-digit chapter!
Chapter 10:
A Colossal Event, Pt. 1: May's Challenges!
The day after Justin had joined the group, I had gotten another load of emails from Lovrina, and just deleted them all without looking at them. And then, an hour later still in the early morning, I got an email from Michael again. Beethoven's 5th symphony, part one ran through my mind as I looked at it.
Pat,
I need you to go to a new city, Lieno City. I've been told that some shady types are hiding or causing trouble there. I'll let you handle it; I gotta watch my sister... And that will go just peachy.
From Michael
"Lieno City... Ha-ha-ha... Another of the places I 'created', I guess... As I recall, it was a place for very rich people or famous battlers. That might make it hard, since there's a Coliseum in the heart of the grand city..."
0o0o0o0o0o0
I notified Brendan and May, and then Justin. Speaking of that knucklehead, we had given him our excess, unclaimed Shadow Pokemon, which were Growlithe, Grovyle, Sharpedo, and Marshtomp, giving him a formidable team with his Snorunt and Barboach.
After getting ready and all that, we went to the desert part of Orre, but not like a stereotypical desert; it had some water and minor plant life. From Gateon Port, Lieno City was to the southeast.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Whew... That took longer than expected." I sighed, wiping sweat from my brow. It was HOT.
"Well, before we do any Cipher-busting, Pat..." Brendan spoke up, "Let's get an air-conditioned restaurant. I'm famished."
"I hate to say it, but Sugar-Head's got a point." Justin said. Aside from me, he must've been the hottest, since he was in the most and darkest clothing besides me.
Suddenly, someone with neat brown hair and yellow eyes, in a light blue suit with a red tie and blue shoes walked in front of us.
"Hold it, there guys. No one can enter unless they can give me 5000 Pokemon Dollars or wins in a battle."
"Ah, move it Blubber-Head." I growled. "I don't wish to be held up."
"Well, your wish isn't granted. Don't get smart with me, boy."
I began to get mad...
"Uh oh... Pat's getting angry..." Justin gulped.
"PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED, YOU IMPUDENT IMBECILE!" (The italicized speech doesn't mean my eyes went green.)
"I choose Huntail and Gorebyss!"
From two Net Balls the person threw, blue-topped balls with green net designs, appeared a Huntail, a Water Element with a big, blue, square mouth, orange half-circles on its lower jaw, a one-third circle of the same color on its head, a long, blue, wavy body with orange bumps along the top and white, orange-outlined circles along the sides, with a circle-shaped tail tip with a spike at the very end and two less-sharp spikes going the opposite way on the circle, with two orange-outlined, white circles for nostrils and the same color schemed eyes. Beside it came a Gorebyss, also a Water-Type with a long, pink body having two white stripes in the lower portion, a needle-shaped nose, two large, black eyes, two dark pink clam-shell halves on its "chest" to from a bikini top-like object, a dark pink circle on its tail, and two wavy spikes coming from its lower head and from the top, with the top ending in dark pink.
"Go-o-o-orebyss!" fluctuated Gorebyss.
"Hun!" grunted Huntail.
I reached for my Poke Balls, when suddenly my Shadow Detector visor went up.
"What's that thing?" Justin asked.
"It's Pat's Shadow Detector. It's apparently tied into the Snag Machine system, and pops up when a Shadow Pokemon is being used." Brendan replied.
"I knew that."
The visor's white cursor actually split in two, and centered on both of the guy's Pokemon!
"Huntail. Level 27. Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Storm and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON!"
"Gorebyss. Level 27. Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Rush and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"
"Okay, buddy, OUT WITH IT! What are you doing with Shadow Pokemon?" I asked angrily.
"What? Shadow Pokemon? HA! Like those are real; they're just myths."
"HMPH! I beg to differ... Command your Huntail to use Shadow Storm."
"Fine. Huntail Shadow Storm now."
Huntail's eyes began glowing a purple color, and he created a large dark cloud. A devastating, purple tornado with lightning crackling around it appeared, and was sent off at me. I walked out of its path, and it dissipated.
"Uh... I'm still not convinced! I, Neil, gate guarder of Lieno, will defeat you!"
"Hmm... Fine then. I'll use only one Pokemon. I choose you! MILOTIC!"
From an Ultra Ball and a blast of yellowish-white light, Milotic appeared.
"Miiiiii..." she (The first female Pokemon Snagged!) hummed.
Battle statistics: This is a one-on-two battle with no substitutions or time limit.
My Milotic vs. Neil's Huntail and Gorebyss
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Milotic, begin with Shadow Down." I said.
With its eyes glowing a purple color, Milotic unleashed a wave of black and purple energy at Gorebyss and Huntail, dramatically lowering their Defense.
"And now use Shadow Storm."
Milotic's eyes shone purple again, and a small dark purple cloud appeared in front of her, with black lightning. Two tornadoes were spawn from the storm, and they rammed into Huntail and Gorebyss at half the move's regular power and weren't very effective, but still took off some HP, due to the Defense decreases.
"Grr...! No one passes Neil! Huntail, use Crunch and Gorebyss, use Psychic!"
Huntail's large teeth began glowing a dark color, and it began towards Milotic with its mouth opened more. Gorebyss' eyes began glowing a blue color, and the same color enveloped Milotic, which swung the Water Element about using psychic energy.
Huntail, after Psychic ended, bit down with its teeth onto Milotic's neck, causing more damage to the poor Pokemon.
"Milotic, get rid of that thing with Water Gun!"
Milotic, straining due to the pain from Crunch, lowered its head down towards Huntail, opened its mouth, and blasted a beam of blue water at Huntail, knocking it into the ground and off Milotic's neck. However, Huntail was forced off, and left a few scratch marks with its teeth, which brought constant stinging pain to Milotic.
"Grr... Finish it up with Surf, Milotic!"
The graceful Water Pokemon lifted up its spiked head and called out with its mystic voice, and a large wave of water appeared behind it, which grew and grew, lifting her up onto the tip. It crashed down onto Huntail and continued towards Gorebyss and hit.
"Here's Snag Ball number one!" I shouted. A Great Ball with a red aura was in my Snag Machine hand, and I tossed it out onto Gorebyss, who was vacuumed up as red light. The blue-topped Ball fell to the ground and wiggled constantly, stopping after a while.
"Bingo! And now, I just have to wait a second for my Machine to charge..." I mumbled. Neil was in complete paralyzing shock, which gave my Snag Machine time to charge up!
"And here's number TWO!" I yelled, throwing another red-illuminated Great Ball, this time onto Huntail. He was also sucked up, and the sphere wobbled around a lot, and ceased.
"What... Just... Happened...?" Neil said in a stutter.
Before he could react, I ran up and grabbed the Snag Balls, and tossed Huntail to Brendan, and Gorebyss to May.
"You big thief! Stealing another's Pokemon! WHO ARE YOU?!" Neil yelled.
"I am Pat McClintock, the one who holds the key to Orre's Cipher-less future. I Snagged your Pokemon. Your SHADOW POKEMON!"
"Yeah, right!"
"Listen, Neil..." I walked up to him and grabbed his collars, lifting him up off the ground. "Ever heard the name Michael?"
"...Maybe..."
"Well, he's done the same thing I just did: Snagging Shadow Pokemon. Have you heard of Cipher?"
"..."
"They are the ones producing these fiendish... yet cool... creatures, and wreaking havoc with them! We're Purifying them, AKA getting rid of their Shadow-ness. Got it?" I gave him a stern look into his eyes.
"Grr... FINE! Sounds reasonable... And Cipher is real... I've been a big pain in the butt. If you guys are looking for a challenge, head to the Coliseum. That's where I got my Gorebyss and Huntail; from weird people in black and white clothes."
Neil pointed to a huge tower with a big silver half-sphere at the top, with the bolded, golden letters WELCOME TO LIENO COLISEUM at the entrance, on the ground.
"Thanks, Neil." He walked off.
"Well, guys... That big Coliseum is our text target. Begin operation Coliseum Conquest NOW!" We all entered the city officially, as well as May entering the first Coliseum round...
0o0o0o0o0o0
Lieno Coliseum:
Round One
May walked up from a flight of stairs, and so did her first opponent, a male in his late teens with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white t-shirt with a sleeveless blue blazer, blue jeans, and white sneakers. May also had on my Snag Machine, on her left arm, just in case.
"Let's get it on!" shouted May's opponent.
A mechanical screen appeared on a pole on the left side of the field, in front of the audience but below their viewpoint. It read May vs. (She entered by her first name only, because I CAN'T COME UP WITH GOOD LAST NAME!) Ty. GO!
"I choose you...! Mightyena!" May shouted, throwing a Great Ball out.
With a burst of light, the Mightyena Snagged from Tabitha appeared, and let out a snarl.
"Oh, yeah?" Ty smirked. "I choose you, Cacnea!"
Ty threw a Poke Ball, and the Grass Element Cacnea popped out. Cacnea had a green spherical body with a golden crown-like flower on its head between four dark-green spikes, long green arms with dark green spikes at the end, black circles on its chest, and dark-green, spiked-shaped feet.
"Cacnea!" cried out the Grass Element.
Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no substitutions or time limit.
May's Mightyena vs. Ty's Cacnea
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Cacnea, begin with Growth!" Ty shouted.
Cacnea's look became determined, and it seemed to grow bigger. It shrank back down, and increased its Special Attack.
"Mightyena, use Shad..." May started to say.
'Oops. Better not use a Shadow move...' she thought.
"Use Bite!"
Mightyena pounced towards Cacnea with its fangs blaring and colored a dark color. The Dark Element bit down on Cacnea and jumped back, a few steps from Cacnea, who had recovered from Bite.
"Follow up with Take Down!"
With enormous force, Mightyena rammed itself into its Grass foe, which lowered Cacnea's HP to the low yellows and recoiled Mightyena, dropping down its HP a bit.
"Cacnea, go! Needle Arm!"
With the spikes on its arm glowing a white color, Cacnea launched itself at Mightyena, still going back to his spot, with a swinging arm. He struck the canine Pokemon with his arm harshly, delivering a critical hit, and severe Hit Point damage.
"No, Mightyena!" May cried out. "Uh... Attack with... Shadow Ball!"
Mightyena was knocked to the ground from the force of Needle Arm, but opened its mouth and formed a dark, crackling sphere of energy in it. The sphere enlarged, and then was unleashed onto Cacnea, which knocked the Grass Element onto its back, knocked out. May had won the first match!
The screen aside from the field read: Winner: MAY! in bolded red letters, with a photo of her head beside her name. Ty and May both recalled their Pokemon to their Balls, and congratulated each other on a good battle, then walked into the waiting room for their next battle, or rather May did the last part.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Lieno Coliseum:
Round Two
May and her opponent again walked up a flight of stairs onto the battlefield. The screen from before popped up again, this time reading: May vs. Dusty. GO!
May threw out two Poke Balls, one being a Great Ball, this time, from which her Furret and new Gorebyss appeared.
"Furret!" said Furret.
"Gorebyss!" called out Gorebyss.
The one facing May was Dusty, a man in his 30's, with large glasses, blond hair, and a yellow mustache, wearing a yellowish-green colored shirt with many pockets, the same-colored shorts, white socks, and brown boots.
"I now call to the field..." Dusty shouted, throwing two Ultra Balls onto the field, "Donphan and Sandshrew!"
From the two spheres appeared a Donphan, and a Sandshrew, a Ground Element with a yellow-colored, rodent-like body with a white underside, white claws, black eyes, and also with a brick-like pattern on its back.
"Donphan!" cried Donphan.
"Shrew..." mumbled Sandshrew.
Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.
May's Furret and Gorebyss vs. Dusty's Donphan and Sandshrew
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Gorebyss, now! Begin with Agility!"
Gorebyss closed its eyes, and then made a mad dash around the battlefield and stopped, increasing its Speed tremendously.
"Sandshrew, use Sandstorm!" Dusty yelled.
Sandshrew brought its arms in toward its stomach, forming a brown sphere. He released it, causing a wicked Sandstorm to whip up. It bombarded Gorebyss and Furret continuously.
"No!" May cried.
"Donphan, use Body Slam!"
Once the blinding sand cleared for a while, Donphan threw his massive elephant-like body onto Furret, smashing it into the ground slightly. The Ground Element jumped back to its previous position.
"Now's my chance... Furret, start this off! Quick Attack that Donphan!"
With white light trailing it, Furret sprinted at Donphan and rammed it powerfully.
"Gorebyss, use Surf! NOW!"
Gorebyss focused its eyes, and a small body of water appeared behind it. A large wave rose up, carrying the pink Water-Type on top, barreling towards Donphan and Sandshrew, then crashed down on them both. The super effective hit took out Donphan, and almost did the same to Sandshrew.
"YEAH!" May cheered.
"Return, Donphan!" Dusty shouted. He held out his collapsed Pokemon's Ball and recalled it.
May's Furret and Gorebyss vs. Dusty's Sandshrew
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Sandshrew, use Rock Smash! On... Furret!" shouted Dusty.
Sandshrew's left fist glowed an orange-brown color, and he struck the ground, making a series of cracks speed towards Furret. They reached the Normal-Type and delivered a super effective blow using a few rocks, and a small beam of the energy from Sandshrew's hand. While weak, Rock Smash did take off some HP.
"Furret, use... ICE BEAM!" May yelled while smirking confidently.
Opening its mouth, Furret formed an icy blue sphere of energy in front of its mouth. From the orb of energy, a thunderbolt-like beam shot out at Sandshrew, delivering the super-effective knockout blow.
"YES! WE WON!" May cheered as Sandshrew flopped to the ground and was recalled.
"Good show, girl... Nice." Dusty said, walking to the elevator.
The screen showed Winner: MAY! on it, and she walked back to the waiting room.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Lieno Coliseum:
Semifinals
May walked back to her trainers' spot, and she saw her opponent...
"NEIL?!" cried May in shock.
"Heh..." chuckled May's opponent, the Neil from before. "I'll be competing in every competition you guys fight in, at least in Lieno."
"Okay, then."
May vs. Neil. GO!
"I choose you! Eevee!" May called out, throwing her Eevee's Poke Ball.
"Vee!" Eevee squeaked after emerging.
"Hmm... Come on out Charmander!" Neil shouted, throwing a Great Ball out.
From the burst of white/blue light came a Charmander, a Fire-Type with a lizard-like body, which was colored orange on the backside and yellowish on the belly and underside, with large bluish eyes, white claws, two small front teeth, and a flame at the tip of its tail.
"Char-char!" grunted the Pokemon.
Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three battle with no substitutions or time limits.
May's Eevee vs. Neil's Charmander
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Charmander, start us off with Swords Dance!"
Charmander's arms crossed, making an X, and three large white swords appeared around the Fire Elemental. They slashed each other and disappeared, which boosted Charmander's Attack stat a lot.
"Follow up with Brick Break!"
With a brown-red encased fist, Charmander began running towards Eevee, ready to hit.
"Eevee, dodge Brick Break and use Dig!"
Eevee saw the oncoming Charmander and jumped out of range when he tried to hit, and then dug into the ground swiftly, making a hole.
"...Hmm... Ah! Charmander, use Dragon Rage into the hole!"
Charmander drew in a breath and began to glow a green color, leaned over so his opened mouth was over the hole, and formed an orange ball in front of his mouth. Crackling, he let it fly into the incomplete tunnel.
"NOW EEVEE!" May yelled.
Eevee dug out behind Charmander and tackled it from behind with some dirt and dust around it, shaving off a lot of HP, and then dodged the Dragon Rage attack that was still in "orbit", which made it hit Charmander, KO'ing it.
"Charmander!" cried Neil. "...Return!" He recalled his fainted Fire-Type, and thanked it for a good battle.
"Next up! I call to the field... Totodile!"
From another Great Ball, a Totodile popped out from the burst of light.
"Toto-toto-toto!" it grunted while dancing.
May sweat-dropped. 'Well, there's someone to set an example for Pat's Croconaw...' she thought.
May's Eevee vs. Neil's Totodile
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Totodile, use our combo! LeerPunch!"
Totodile's eyes glowed a red color briefly, which brought fear into Eevee's, lowering the latter's Defense. The crocodilian Pokemon then lurched towards Eevee, and brought out its right hand, now a fist, which was glowing a brilliant white color. Totodile slammed its fist into Eevee's body, which knocked it out with KO-power to spare!
'What was...? Oh, man! Leer and then Focus Punch!' gasped May in her head, while recalling Eevee.
"Good, Eevee... And now, I choose Furret!"
From a Poke Ball, May's Furret appeared.
"Furret!"
May's Furret vs. Neil's Totodile
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Furret, go! Use Shock Wave!"
A blue lightning sphere formed in front of Furret's face, and from it shot out thousands of blue bolts of electricity, which hit and... Well, shocked Totodile harshly. Furret dealt a super effective move out onto the Water-Type.
"And now! While he's stunned, follow up with Quick Attack!" May shouted.
Furret dashed towards the momentarily paralyzed Totodile with white light trailing its long tail, and slammed into Totodile, delivering the knockout blow!
"..." Neil blinked. "That was quick. Grr..." He recalled his collapsed Pokemon.
"Okay, now for my last Pokemon! Help me win this battle, Hitmontop!"
Neil threw a Poke Ball into the air, and from a burst of light appeared a Hitmontop, a Fighting-Type with a brown-colored head with a horn on the top and wing-shaped objects protruding from the sides of its head, a circular blue body with a brown triangle at the top, which was its neck, two brown legs with white stripes of tape before the feet, white claws, and a tail that looked just like its legs.
"Hit-mon... TOP!" Hitmontop cried out with its high-pitched voice, spinning around quickly.
May's Furret vs. Neil's Hitmontop
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Hitmontop, Bulk Up!"
Hitmontop drew in a deep breath, and then exhaled, focusing his power, which boosted the Fighting-Type's Attack and Defense.
"And now, Focus Energy!"
Hitmontop crouched this time, putting its small brown hands into an x-shape, closed its eyes, and opened them a few seconds later. All this boosted his Critical Hit ratio.
"Go, Furret! Use Flamethrower!"
Breathing in and then out, Furret let loose a beam of red and orange fire towards Hitmontop.
"Heh..." Neil smirked. "Hitmontop, spin!"
His Fighting Pokemon began to spin wildly, and as the fiery blast hit Hitmontop, it was blown away by the force of the spin!
"What?!" cried May. "Grr... Furret, stop Flamethrower and use Iron Tail!"
Furret stopped exhaling fire, and began to dash towards its opponent as its tail began to glow a metallic color. Furret jumped up upon reaching Hitmontop, and began to strike him with its tail.
"Now, Hitmontop! Counter it!"
Hitmontop spun around again, forming a scarlet shield around himself. The defensive attack deflected Iron Tail back onto Furret, at double the power.
"No! Furret!" May cried out.
"Finish it off, Hitmontop, with Brick Break!"
For once, Hitmontop stood on its two feet, and his hands began to glow a reddish-brown color, and Hitmontop unleashed the attack in two punches on Furret, knocking it out with a strong, super-effective attack.
"Aw, man..." sighed May as she recalled her Pokemon. "Nice Furret... You did good..."
She growled, looking at Hitmontop.
'That thing is SO TOUGH! It can deflect my beam attacks like that Flamethrower, AND my offensive attacks! How am I gonna beat it...?!'
Finally, May just grabbed a Ball from her waist and threw it in the air, calling out:
"Go, whoever you are!"
In the crowd...
Justin, Brendan, and I were sitting in the left part of the crowd, cheering May on. Brendan even had little flags and stuff with words like May 4-Ever, and YOU'RE DA BEST, MAY!.
"What is she doing? Any good Pokemon trainer should always know the Pokemon their choosing to use!" Justin said.
"Yes, but you wouldn't know from personal experience..." I mumbled quietly.
"GRR! Oh, sure!"
"Knock it off guys!" shouted Brendan.
From the burst of yellowish light from the opened Poke Ball erupted a large shape of light, which further became a Beautifly, a Bug/Flying Element with a monarch-butterfly-like body; a black body with a white underside, four small, white legs, two large blue eyes, a long, curly, black tongue, two black antennae, and two large black wings with gold, red, and blue markings on it. Shiny sparkles also erupted from the Ball with Beautifly.
"Bea-u-ti... FLY-Y-Y!" shrieked Beautifly happily.
"Is that May's Contest-winning..." Justin tried to say, his mouth agape.
"Yep. That's May's second strongest Pokemon and second Pokemon she got, second only to her Blaziken in both categories." Brendan said, grinning.
"Humph..." I huffed. "It can win those ridiculous Contests... But can it win in a real battle? A battle of toughness, endurance, and wit?"
"Grr...!" Brendan growled as a red anger cross popped up on his forehead.
"Alright! Beautifly... It's SHOWTIME!" May cheered.
May's Beautifly vs. Neil's Hitmontop
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Beautifly, use Giga Drain!"
A green orb of energy formed in front of the dual-type's curled tongue, and the same appeared in front of Hitmontop. With a burst, several energy streams came out from Hitmontop's orb to Beautifly's, which took off some serious HP from the Fighting Elemental.
"You can't really deflect that attack..." May smirked. "Beautifly, finish that Hitmontop off with Aerial Ace!"
Flapping its wings swiftly, Beautifly disappeared into thin air.
"Be on your guard, Hitmontop..." Neil cautioned. "Prepare to Counter!"
Hitmontop crouched onto its knee and began to slowly form a red-orange shield.
May could feel Beautifly's presence behind her, and whispered...
"Use Mega Drain! Just like we practiced!"
With a flash of green, another, smaller green sphere of energy appeared in front of Hitmontop and Beautifly, who became visible again. Energy streams from Hitmontop's orb burst out, and went into Beautifly's sphere. Hitmontop fell down after its Counter shield broke, knocked out.
"My... My Hitmontop!" Neil cried out.
"Yeah! We won, Beautifly!" May cheered.
"Beau!" Beautifly nodded its head.
Hitmontop and Beautifly were returned to their respective Poke Balls, and their trainers walked towards each other.
"Nice, May. That surprise attack caught me off guard." Neil congratulated.
"Yeah, but your Hitmontop was really tough! This was a great battle!" May said.
She and Neil walked to the elevators they came from, and Neil went into the crowd, demoted to spectator instead of battler.
Winner: MAY! read the screen.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Lieno Coliseum:
Finals
It all came down to this... The last battle of this go-through. May had the ability and willpower to claim victory...
She walked to her trainer's box from where she was deposited by the elevator, and her opponent walked to her spot as well.
"A CIPHER PEON!?" cried May.
"What, you figured you'd fight an ordinary person? Keh-keh-keh!" The Cipher Peon had reddish-brown hair, barely visible with her helmet on, and a British accent.
"Grr..."
"But surely you can pull off a victory! I'm only a Peon."
The screen was now attached to the wall, and read: May vs. Nimblis. GO!
"I choose you two, Mightyena and Gorebyss!"
From two Balls May tossed out, her Mightyena and Gorebyss appeared from flashes of light.
"Gor-r-r-re!" Gorebyss fluctuated, flipping its tail back and forth.
"Mightyena..." Mightyena growled.
"Nicely played, girl. How about a scuffle with these? Come out, my duckies!" Nimblis said, throwing two Poke Balls out.
From them both appeared a Koffing, a Poison-Type with a circular purple shape, red mouth with two white fangs, yellow gas coming from large pores, and a yellow skull-and-crossbones mark.
"Koffing! Koffing!" they both grunted.
Battle statistics: This is a three-on-three double battle with no time limit or substitutions.
May's Mightyena and Gorebyss vs. Cipher Peon Nimblis' Koffing and Koffing
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Mightyena, use Howl!"
Mightyena let out a loud howl from its mouth, boosting its Attack.
"Koffing, use Toxic on that Gorebyss!"
The Koffing on the left opened its mouth, and from it came a blob of purple poison, sent hurling at Gorebyss.
"Gorebyss, destroy Toxic with Water Gun!"
From the tip of its needle-shaped nose, a small beam of blue water shot at the poison, which resulted in Toxic being eliminated, as well as Water Gun fading.
"Grr..." Nimblis growled.
It was then that, up in the crowd, I remembered something from the real world...
'YAH! Nimblis is that idiot on Mount Battle that uses the Selfdestruct or Explosion/Protect combo! I gotta warn May!'
Pulling my PDA out, I quickly sent a warning to May, who also had a PDA, which I had bought for her and Brendan. She pulled hers out and read the message, and gave me a thumbs-up.
"Okay, then... Gorebyss! Use Psychic!"
Gorebyss' eyes began to glow a soft blue color, and a wave of psychic energy of the same color shot from in front of Gorebyss' nose at the left Koffing, which delivered a super-effective blow to the Poison Elemental.
"Ha! And now, Mightyena! Use Shadow Ball on the other one!"
Between Mightyena's jaws, a crackling black ball of energy formed, and began to grow. After some major growth, Mightyena unleashed the crackling sphere onto the right-side Koffing, which took a large toll off of Koffing's HP.
"THAT... IS... IT! Koffing on the left, use Protect! And Koffing on the right..." Nimblis began to smirk as one Koffing made a golden shield around itself.
"...Use EXPLOSION!"
"Uh-oh!" May cried out.
"Oh, crud..." Justin groaned.
"DON'T HURT MY MAY!" Brendan yelled.
"Mammamia..." I moaned.
A whitish-red glow surrounded the second Koffing, and it exploded, in a dark red atomic-bomb-blast form. The eruption brought an automatic KO to the user Koffing, and Mightyena and Gorebyss as well, due to its power. Only the Protecting Koffing survived, whom also stopped producing his shield.
"I hate your strategy..." May growled.
"Why?" Nimblis asked as they both recalled their fainted Pokemon.
"Because Pokemon shouldn't be treated like that! They shouldn't even learn a move which causes them to faint automatically! Just isn't right!"
"Oh, simmer down, girl. They're just for battling! Who cares about them?"
'...Nimblis has a point.' I thought, and then shook my head in response.
"WHATEVER! Maybe to a lousy Cipher Member like you... But not me. And so... It's time you learned that lesson. I choose you!" May threw a Poke Ball, which had a glistening flame mark of red and orange on the top center, out onto the field. "BLAZIKEN!"
As soon as the words ran through Brendan's, Justin's, and my ears, we all watched as a large beam of white light erupted from the Poke Ball. It took the form of a Blaziken, a Fire/Fighting Element with a red face and somewhat beak-like mouth, yellow eyes, two sharp and thin appendages coming from the top of its head, a red middle body, small tail, and legs, with yellow flares about half way up the legs also, tan-colored or white down-facing wing-shaped feathers on the head and behind its back, and the same colored feathers on its chest with a yellow triangle below. Its arms were red until below its elbow, which from there were dark gray with yellow and red flames sprouting from the wrists, gray fingers and white claws. Barely visible underneath the fur/feathers on its legs were gray feet with white claws, and a gray, sharp claw on the back of its legs. (Ow. Fingers.)
"BLAZIKEN!" roared the awesome Pokemon, with the flames on its wrist sprouting out more.
"Ooh, I'm so scared." Nimblis muttered.
"Did she just mock a Blaziken?" I asked.
"Yup." replied Justin.
"SHUT UP, NIMBLIS!" May yelled.
"Heh... Well, here's my Pokemon, girlie. Come on out, Relicanth!"
From a Great Ball Nimblis threw appeared a Relicanth, a Rock/Water Element with a brown body and tan designs on it, a tan, rock-like face with closed eyes and no teeth, a red dot on the body, three small brown fins on each side of its fish-like body, a longer top fin with tan designs blotted on the tip, and a swordfish's top fin-shaped tail fin.
"Reli-canth..." it said in a deep voice.
And that's when the Shadow Detector visor on May's shoulder went up, and centered its on-screen cursor onto Relicanth.
"Relicanth. Level 30. Rock/Water Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Down and Shadow Blitz. SHADOW POKEMON!" However, the computer's voice had become slightly deeper and slower...
"A Shadow Pokemon!"
'Heh-heh-heh... Finally, a chance to Snag something MYSELF.' thought May, grinning smugly.
May's Blaziken vs. CP Nimblis' Koffing and Relicanth
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Okay, Blaziken! Use Bulk Up!" May ordered.
Blaziken closed its yellow eyes and drew in a deep breath, and then relaxed, boosting his Defense and Attack stats.
"And now, Focus Energy!"
He also stuck his hands out horizontally and did a series of Tai-Chi moves with closed eyes, focusing his mind and boosting his Critical Hit ratio.
"Koffing, use Sludge Bomb! Relicanth, use Shadow Blitz!"
Koffing opened its mouth and shot several blobs of purple poison at Blaziken. The Fire/Fighting dual type simply hopped out of the way. However, it didn't see the next attack coming; Relicanth had rammed towards Blaziken with a purple haze surrounding its body, and struck Blaziken with the super-effective Shadow attack, but still barely did anything.
"My Blaziken is tougher than you may think, Nimblis." May smirked. "We've been together in Hoenn, Kanto, and even when I went to Johto."
"Yeah, for your baby Contests!"
"THEY AREN'T FOR BABIES! Blaziken, finish off Koffing with a Slash attack!"
With its claws glowing a whitish color, Blaziken jumped at Koffing and slashed its face twice, delivering a critical blow to Koffing. Two side effects took place; one, Koffing was KO'd and its eyes became swirls, and two, a diagonal tic-tac-toe pattern was put on Koffing's purple face.
"Great Scott!" cried Nimblis.
"Yeah! Go, Blaziken!" May cheered.
"Well, I still have my Shadow Pokemon." Nimblis said angrily after recalling Koffing to its Ball.
May's Blaziken vs. CP Nimblis' Relicanth
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Time to dish out the hurt! Relicanth, Dive!"
A pool of water somehow appeared below Relicanth, and the Rock/Water Pokemon dove down into it, unable to be seen.
"Hmm... Where is it?" questioned May, looking around the field. Her Blaziken did as well.
Suddenly, another pool of water appeared underneath Blaziken, and Relicanth shot out of it and tackled from below, sending Blaziken skyrocketing.
"And now, Relicanth, use Water Pulse!"
Relicanth opened its mouth and formed a glowing blue sphere of water energy. It grew larger, and shot at the still airborne Blaziken swiftly, delivering another harsh, super-effective hit.
"No! BLAZIKEN!" cried May as she watched her beloved Pokemon fall.
Blaziken was able to land onto its feet, without and injuries from the landing.
"Oh yeah! Blaziken, use Ember!"
Breathing in deeply, Blaziken blew out from its mouth several groups of burning orange fireballs, which flew at Relicanth and hit. While dramatically ineffective, the Fire attack from the powerful Pokemon was able to scratch out a lot of Relicanth's HP, putting it in the low greens.
"Follow up with Scratch!"
With a swift leg movement, Blaziken went airborne and flew at its opponent, and scratched its face. This attack was able to bring Relicanth into the low yellows, though not very effective.
"Now's my chance..." May said. She grabbed a Great Ball from her hip pouches and slid it into the Snag Machine. It came out in her hand with a red aura, and May threw it at Relicanth. The sphere tapped the Rock/Water-Type and opened up, sucking it up in red light.
The blue-and-red-topped Ball dropped to the ground and shook about several times, and stopped after a while.
"OH YEAH! I SNAGGED A SHADOW POKEMON!" May cheered gleefully. With Nimblis in shock, May ran to the Great Ball and grabbed it from the ground.
Since the crowd knew about Shadow Pokemon and my "team", "Team Pat", no one questioned what had transpired.
"I told you she could do it." Brendan smirked.
"Did not." I replied, giving him a stern look.
"Oh, sure!" retorted Justin.
Nimblis was carried away by security, and probably to the police.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The next day would be Brendan's challenge, so we all met up in the Pokemon Center.
"That was great, May. I thought that only those who had upper body strength could Snag." I congratulated. May had given the Snag Machine to Brendan.
"Yeah, thanks, Pat. Hey, WAIT! I HAVE UPPER BODY STRENGTH!" A red anger cross appeared on May's head, and her yelling made me flinch back into a stiff position.
All other people in the room looked at May like she was crazy, and then continued what they were doing when Brendan gave them all a harsh glare.
"Uh... Anyway..." said May softly, with a small sweat drop on her head.
"That Relicanth is MINE!" declared Justin, grabbing the Great Ball containing Relicanth, which was on a nearby table.
"No way, Jose! I caught it!" May said.
"I WANT IT!" Brendan yelled.
A sigh escaped my lips as everyone in the room looked at the scuffle.
"Break it up, guys. Justin, you can have it, but only because you're new to the team. And... my best friend."
"Thanks, Pat!" Justin pulled away from May and Brendan, holding the Ball.
"I'll call it... TerraMarine."
"What?" Brendan questioned.
"TerraMarine. Terra-kinesis is the ability to control rocks and dirt, and Marine is... Well, a word relating to the sea, so..."
"Sounds like a girl's name to me..." Brendan whispered to May.
"Too true." she replied.
"Oh, sure!" growled back Justin.
The three got in another scuffle, causing me to sweat drop and sigh again...
PM: I wanted to make all four Lieno challenges in one Chapter, but I won't. The Chapter would be, like, 400 Kilobytes, AKA way too long.