Glory's Long Road: Episode #11 "Survival"
Calm winds blew across the waters of Lake Ontario, playing games with the loose strands of Kanna's dusty rose hair. For the day off between the rounds, Erik had decided to leave the competiton behind for a time. The Hell Zone took a lot out of him, as Erik more or less crashed into bed after the round, sharing few words to Kanna. That was most unusual, as the two often spent late parts of the night talking with each other.
The small sailboat drifted slowly on the lake surface, leaving a rippling wake in its trail. The flapping of the main sail and sloshing of water against the hull provided the only sounds to Kanna's ears. On the deck she sat with her knees held tightly to her chest, gazing out over the dark blue horizon. A faint dull blue streak broke up the band, a freighter ship from the States. Kanna adjusted her khaki shorts in an attempt to get more comfortable on the fibreglass boat deck.
Going topsides, Erik emerged from the cabin quarters under the deck, holding a towel and pillow. "Here, found this below deck." He said, tossing the things to her. "Thanks." She replied, grabbing the towel and giving it a flick to spread it out. Laying down on it, she sighed, finally having something good to lie down on. "This is much better."
"Tell me about it." A voice, Erik's, came from the helm. Turning the spoked wheel, he set the direction of the boat before getting up onto the deck. "A day's rest is well needed."
"Actually, I was taking about the stuff you brought up from below deck, but I guess you could use a day to regroup and recover."
"Yep." He lowered himself onto the fibreglass deck, a hand on the metal railing.
"Especially since you look so tense..." Pouncing like a cat, Kanna grasped onto Erik's shoulders, pulling him down. He landed softly across her stomach, with his head on the lower part of her ribcage. His shoulders were like clay in her hands, as Kanna massaged his stress away. "That feel better Erik?" A supressed grunt is all he could manage. Having found a relaxing position to be in, he felt himself drift off in to sleep. Kanna laughed to herself, at the fact Erik was asleep, lid down across her.
But then it hit her. She had been in the exact same place before. Her face flushed a sudden red, and she was quick to draw a breath. Deep within the recesses of her memory, one bottled away suddenly was released. Tremblings set in with a fury, rocking all of her body. Taking a firm hold of Erik's shoulders, Kanna gives him a firm shake, lodging him from his sleep. "Erik!"
"Whaaaa!" He cried, springing up, disturbed from his blissful nap. "Th... the... boat jusstt rocked..." She managed to say, lying as well as she could.
"It did?" He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but then again, he was almost dead to the world. Kanna nodded once. "Just scared me, that's all."
"There's no need to be scared anymore Kanna," His arms lightly embraced her body. "Because I'm here for you."
That was another one. Oh god, why is this all coming back to me now? Kanna asked herself. With a vengeance, events of the past were breaking free and storming her mind. Everything was in a mess for her, and she felt the walls of stability crumbling under the wieght of sorrowful memories. Giving into her emotions once more, she buried her face into Erik's chest, tears streaming like a river. Arms clutch around him, pushing her face further into Erik, as if in a vain attempt to smother herself.
Erik, stunned by the sudden outburst looks down at the sobbing Kanna for a few moments, trying to pick any reasoning behind what lay in his eyes. Shaking his head, he decides to leave that for some other time. Right now, he had to attend to Kanna in the only way he could, by allowing the emotions to run their course under the red setting sun.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The remainer of the night was uneventful to say the least. Kanna had retreated to the quarters below deck, away from Erik. He had the damn sure feeling that she was avoiding him, as for why, he didn't know. Even when he retired for the night, she never spoke a word to him. And he knew that Kanna wasn't asleep.
At the crack of dawn, Erik awakes and brings the sailboat into port. Only then does Kanna re-emerge from the bunks. "Kanna, you feeling alright today?" He inquires, sympathetic to her emotions and mental condition. Passing right by him, she shared no words, just stepping onto the pier.
And the same happened on the taxi ride back into the Blue League complex. Kanna on one side, Erik on the other, and no words between the two. When Erik went to pay the driver, she bolted out of the cab. Quickly, he tossed the money to the cabbie, no caring about the few bucks worth in change. Something more important was on his mind. Kanna.
"Wait for a minute Kanna!" He shouted out.
"What do you want?" For a quiet voice, it carried the distance between the two. The physical distance that is. "I want to know what's wrong with you lately." He stated, finally catching up with her.
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing."
"It's something you wouldn't understand." He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "But I want to understand." She ripped her shoulder away from his hand, still remaining back on. Her heart, mind, and soul were burning by a flame. "This is something you can't help me with." Collecting herself once more, Kanna ran off into the crowd, lost to Erik's eyes. He stood there, debating to go after her. More harm than good would come out of it, he thought.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kanna never returned back to the hotel room to see Erik off to his match. His nerves were on full alert, as Kanna usually calmed them before each round. But now, he had to go into a massive stadium filled with spectators, and no reassurance talk. Shaking his head, Erik brushed it off. He had no choice but to go on.
Walking through the main lobby of the complex, a board with the match brackets was displayed on a wall monitor at least a few metres across. Numerous red SCRs were placed by competitor names. The unlucky survivors of the Hell Zone. They were the one's that succumbed to injuries and dropped out, hence they were scratched from the runnings.
Scanning the board, he finds his name, E. Iverson, halfway through the left side slots. Looking to his competitor, Erik breathes a sigh of relief. In bold red, SCR. A bye. That really was a saving grace. One less match really could determine it all. At further investigation, nearly half the field had been reduced from the scratches. A bad run no less.
A tap comes on his shoulder. "Kanna!" He exclaimed, turning on his heel, expecting his travel companion. Instead, he finds a videocamera and mircophone in his face. He felt let down to say the least.
"Darren Dutchyshen actually." He corrected. "Mind if I get an interveiw Erik?"
"Nah, go on ahead."
"Ok, roll camera." Darren said, getting the camera man filming. "I'm standing here with the up-and-coming star, Erik Iverson. From complete unknown, this young Canadian has quickly risen, and many have stopped to realize that he is a force to be reckoned with. Erik, how do you think your chances are for winning this event."
"Well, to be honest, their just as good as anyone else's really. I could go into a match, suffer a bad injury, and lose. It's just that simple." His comment did have a certain air of truth to it.
"Yes, as we all saw in your last match of the opening round. Has that injury incurred by Sandopan affected your game plan coming into this last few matches?"
"Not in the least Darren. I'm here to win, and if that means going all out no matter what to win, that's exactly what I'll do."
"The spirit of a warrior lives on. Best of luck Erik."
"Same to you Darren." The two shook hands, before Darren and his cameraman leave for another trainer to interveiw.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Hundreds of thousands of spectators all on their feet at once, shouting out anthems at once. Stepping out onto the converted clay turf of the Skydome, Erik felt like a gladiator marching out into the Collosium to fight in anamalistic combat, driven by adrenline and the fevourous cries of the audience. His weapon, the red and white capture balls held in place by scabbard clips on his belt. And like the warriors of olde, his only true armour were his wits.
His opponent marched in from home plate normally was during a baseball game. Her shimmering gold hair rustled in the wind blowing down from the dome as it retracted. Shadows waged a losing war on the red orange clay against the invading light. Gradually, the front approached Erik's foot, and stopped. It was time to fight.
The announcer introduced the trainers that will duel for the enjoyment of the wild frenzied mob. "Over from homeplate, is Kristy Lee." The crowd behind homeplate exploded with shouts and whistles. Many a teenaged boy enjoying well spent money on scalped tickets. Kristy turned to blow a kiss to her fans, which further riled them, if that was possible.
"And over in centre field, Canada's own, Erik Iverson." The entire outer field quickly silenced the batch behind home, rising to their feet, shouting out encouragements and waving flags of white, blue, red and gold. With such a backing, Erik wasn't going to let them down.
"This match is scheduled for six pokemon, no time limits. Let's get ready to ruummmbbbllleee!" Whatever section of the crowd that remained silent during the introduction of the trainers, definately wasn't now. The roar reached proportions to that of a large scale airport. The earth actually quivered under the shouts and motions of those in attendence.
Kristy took a pokeball off her skirt belt, and just like that, the stadium quieted down to the volume of a high performance car. Kissing the ball for luck, she threw it in. "Perushian, go!" A parabolic dish picked up her voice from afar, playing it on the Skydome speaker system. The mountain lion stroked it's red gem once, picking itself off the clay ever-so-slowly.
In his own way, Erik plucked a capture ball from his belt, and cast it into the squared circle. Red energy formed into that of Lupus. The old alpha female's underside was still burned and raw from the Gaadii's attack, but had healed up some what during the break. Her lips drew back, barring deadly daggers of hard white calcium enamel. Everyone was ready for combat.
Current of wind swirled above the stadium floor, churning the air of turmoil into a state of intense organized chaos. "Perushian, Slash attack." Holding a prestine stance, the sleek panther rushed in at Lupus. Taking the blow, Lupus turned head aside. Opaque claws tore flesh just below her ear. A calculated tactic, sacrificing to gain. At such close quarters, counters were easily made. Snapping her body around, Lupus swiped at the cat. It was more of a smashing blow than a slicing cut. Impact sent Perushian's head in temporary motion, taking her off centre, and into a state of swaggering unbalance. Just for a few brief moments.
Like lightning, Lupus went on the pure offensive. Lunging, she dove for Perushian's throat. Sharp teeth graze skin, not penetrating, but inflicting enough force to assert control. Taking a shift in weight, Lupus drug the cougar down on top of her. Right to where she wanted her victim. Then the vices clamped.
Helpless, Perushian flailed about, struggling against the forces that robbed her of oxygen. The only thing the thrashing accomplished was to burn off more vital air than normal. Lupus had the cat by the most sensitive part of its body, and wasn't willing about to let go.
The olive-green eyes of the Perushian began to roll back in their sockets as the last moments fleeted away from her. With her literal last bit of air, Perushian made on despirate plight to escape. Extending claws out to the potential, last blind slashes were made.
Razor cuticles clawed through raw flesh. Perushian had struck her burns. Reacting sharply from extreme pain, Lupus lets go of the strangle hold, recoiling back in a thrash. Perushian rolls onto her feet, though still on the ground, panting hard, sucking in percious oxygen.
The eyes of the ice wolf closed tighly, and her jaw locked in a grimace. Her chest was afire all over again. The inferno was engulfing her heart, over-riding all inhabitions she once had. Regaining her upright position, the wolf launched herself into a blitzkreig. Perushian saw the attack coming, but has held in fear by the flames of the eyes.
Throwing all her weight around, Lupus ploughs into the side of Perushian. A dull thwack marked the crushing of her shoulderblade. The abrasive clay provides no remorse for the injured pokemon.
Lupus herself was providing no remorse either. Opening her jaws, a sapphire blue sphere took form within. An Ice Beam... no something else. Taking aim, Lupus shot, sending off a thick, heavy colomn of ice. Everything in its wake was frosted over, including the mountain loin. Red laser retracts the fallen.
Kristy quickly subbed in another pocket monster, staying silent. Scarlet energy forged the shape of a tall rodent. Slapping it's bolt-like tail onto the clay, the Raichu formed tiny veins of electricity over his cheeks. "Raichuu, thunderbolt." Paired fingers of yellow lightning streak from orange cheek pouches to their target, Lupus. She leapt back, evading the first as it whips by under, but got caught off-guard by the second, honing in on the blistered ribcage. Unconcious before she hits the ground, Lupus landed in a hard thud.
Two handing it, Erik recalled and sent out at the same time, issuing Sandopan into duty. The ailing hedgehog did it's best to conceal the crippling injury to the ribs. Yet, a slight list to the side betrayed all his acting attempts. "Raichuu, Mega kick." Kristy wasn't about to let a type disadvantage ruin her bid for victory.
Taking a swing, the tall electric mouse performed a swift roundhouse, only to connect with nothing but air. Sandopan had dropped back, putting distance between himself and the Raichuu. A medium range fight would be ideal for Sandopan in his current state. Driving a claw into the ground with the force of a jack-hammer, Sandopan jarred the ground. Minor divides split around the zone of impact, followed by a fast and furious temor. In a cloud of rising dust, Raichuu topples over, shaken around by the seismic energy.
"Get up, and Body Slam it." With the motion of the clay ground subsided, Raichuu flipped back to his feet, darting toward Sandopan, taking a leap into the air. The hedgehog saw it's approach. Turning back on, Sandopan flared the plate quills off, creating a pin cushin for the decending mouse to fall onto. The crowd responded with a deep "ooh" as Raichuu bounces off the sharp back of Sandopan, onto the ground. Many slit marks appeared in red on Raichuu's chest, before a beam took him back to the safety of his capture ball.
"Sandopan, return." To keep Sandopan out too long would be risky, considering his broken ribs. Best to only to use him when neccessary. He took refuge by Erik's side, charging back up for another assault at a later time. Removing a pokeball from his belt, Erik sent out Kanna's Rapurasu. She was still feeling the effects of the Nidoriino biotoxin, enough to make her nausous, but not enough to keep her from fighting.
Kristy too sent out a new fighter. Erik grimaced at what it was, a Utsudon. Resting on the ground, the bellflower twitched the small green leaves attatched to it's thin body. "Razor Leaf." A slight rotation from the flower, throwing a disc-like blade of grass into the air.
"Ice Beam it down." Erik ordered. A normal braided stream of ice shoots from Rapurasu mouth, coating over the leaf. Excessively weighed down, the frosted leaf fell to the earth, shattering. "Stun Spore." Shaking, Utsudon dispersed at thin cloud of blue dust into the air. Convection currents in the stadium direct the spores over Rapurasu, falling to the ill effects.
"Sunny Day-Solar Beam!" A combo string like that could inflict substantial damage. The fact that Rapurasu immobilized physically didn't help the matter. Kristy had all the time in the world to charge up for a Solar Beam. Rays of the sun intensified under the influence of the first portion of the combo. Large spheres of pale green sucked into the bellflower's mouth, forging off the beam attack. And he could do nothing but wait, as Weepinbell let loose with the Solar Beam.
"Concentrate a Psychic in front of you Rapurasu." Thankfully, her mind wasn't affected like the rest of her body. Deep purple psychic waves build up before her, right in the path of the incoming Solar Beam. The attacks collided, and the beam deflected around the sphere, away from Rapurasu. "Now shoot it." Utsudon stood stunned at the tactic as the Psychic approached, and hit. Shockwaves sent it into the air. Having the last laugh, Utsudon fired again at an open target. It had reserved a second round. This additional blast hammered into the vulnerable Rapurasu in a burst of light. Erik withdrew Rapurasu from duty, Pijon taking point.
"Utsudon return." Kristy made a wise decision, and retracted her plant away from the battle. She had other plans for him, later. But for now, she would challenge Pijon in a game of aerial dominance. "Eaamundo, go!" Both birds were of the same size, and by the way they hovered in midair, were of similar combat styles. Type considerations might play a part, but this looked more like a dogfight.
"Steel Wing." Eaamundo's normally crimson wings flared white. Pijon fell back from the swipe of a glowing wing, but it turns out to be broader than she anticipated. Metallic armour slammed into the artic bird's chest, knocking her back slightly. She countered with an Icy Wind, laying down a coat of frost onto Eaamundo's shiny armour, hindering its flight. Cold metal cracked as it moved, sticking slightly. Kristy shouted out an order. "Eaamundo, try a Razor Wind." Again, the great steel bird's wings shone in a bright light. A fast bringing together of it's wings created a powerful blast of air, filled with sharp debris. Defending, Pijon placed up an Ice Arc, shielding her from the wind.
Answering back, she attacked with a Gust, blowing the shattered remnants of the arc towards Eaamundo. The hail stones bounce and crack off the tough armour hide, further cooling Eaamundo. It's flight was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, as the metal contracted. Having such a disadvantage, Pijon could assume control over the skies. Moving in, she prepared to latch onto the iron bird, and throw it to the ground. Just as she grabbed Eaamundo, Kristy called out an unexpected order. "Drill Peck." Shock was written all over Pijon's face, as Eaamundo plunged a spinning beak into the artic bird's exposed chest. Losing her grip, Pijon fell back to earth. Erik recalled her.
"Parushen, Spike Cannon." He shouted out, sending in a new pokemon. Fresh from the capture ball, the oyster fired a round. The single spike struck Eaamundo in the wing, breaking frosted metal feathers. Kristy quickly brought back her pokemon. Things were all tied up at three a piece for the young trainers. And the crowd was loving every minute of it all. Each blow brought them further out of their seats, rising to a frenzy.
Kristy searched around her belt for the next pokemon to battle with. Erik was sure it was going to be Utsudon again. To his suprise, and relief, she sent out a Morufon. The pale lavendar moth fluttered in the air, flapping frail wings. Kristy carefully eyes the massive fractures in Parushen's shell, documenting them to memory for later, if she needed it. "Morufon, Gust." The flimsy wings of the moth kicked up a fast rush of air, tipping Parushen over.
"Parushen, use Ice Beam." Flipping back over, using his shell as a springboard, the great armoured clam fires a beam of twisted ropes of ice. It's target shifted aside, allowing the beam to pass by. "Tackle attack."
What was she trying to do? Erik thought to himself. "Clamp it once Morufon gets close enough." Before the poison moth can tackle into Parushen, he shut the outer shell, catching the bug in a vice. But Morufon wasn't struggling like it should be. Then it hit Erik.
"Morufon, Psybeam." The tackle was only a ruse to get inside Parushen's fortress. In a brilliant flash of light, the two fly apart. Parushen spun like a top for a few moments, before coming to a stop, fainted from the proximity of the Psybeam. Morufon landed on the ground, a distance away, still concious. But not for long.
Pointing a finger, Sandopan rushed the field. Touching his claws together, the hedgehog slashed at the downed moth. A thin blade of energy marked it's path through Morufon. And that was the end of him. Kristy retracted Morufon from battle. "Go, Utsudon." She called out, as the grass pokemon took shape for the second time in the match. This was her plan. A small stone lay attatched to the vine starting to grow out of it's head. A Solar stone. "Synthesis." From the sun, shot an intense ray of light. Not only was Utsudon regaining energy, but the stone obtained it's catalyst. The glow of the stone spread all over the pokemon's body, and the form change began. The glowing body shifted to a form similar to that of Madazubomi, only larger and with longer appendages. Light faded away, leaving the crimson red and green pokemon to speak it's name once in a dull hiss. "Venra."
"Venra, Acid." The blood flower spat a blob of purple acid. Nimbly, Sandopan dodged the attack, as it burnt a pit into the clay. "Razor Leaf." Kristy wasn't about to stop her series of quick attacks. Flicking it's hands, Venra threw off spinning blades of grass, faster than it did when it was Weepinbell. Expertly using his claws, Sandopan knocked the leaves out of the air.
Suddenly, Venra stopped throwing discs. Sandopan panted slightly after having deflected so many projectiles. "Solar Beam." She hissed. Venra's palms cupped together in front of it, gathering up the sun's rays. Now was the best time to strike for Sandopan. Yet he was uneasy about the whole procedure, Solar Beam and broken ribs played highly on his mind. On the ground lay the few Razor Leaves that had been thrown. An idea ran through his mind.
Reaching down in a quick motion, Sandopan grabbed up a few discarded leaves, and threw them back at Venra. One stuck into the flowers thin body, shocking it at the sudden infliction of pain. So much so, that it lost focus, dropping the half-charged Solar Beam.
Now stunned, Sandopan ran in towards Venra, sweep kicking the feet out from under the flower. It collapsed to the clay ground below, and was finished with another energy slash, much like Morphon.
A bead of sweatrolled down Kristy's forehead. She had pulled out everything to avoid coming to this. "Foxfire, go." From out of the pokeball emerged the small red fire fox, bandaged up from a fight previous. Sandopan looked over the small vixen with dangerous intent. Again, he drove his claw into the clay ground. Tremors rocked through the stadium, throwing Rocon about. She landed on her side as the ground upthrusted. Kristy, knowing her fate, recalled her, ending the match.
The outfield crowd rose to their feet, raising the roof for Erik's victory. Even over the loudspeaker system, the announcer had a difficult time proclaiming his win and the stats about the battle. It really didn't matter, he had won.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Unlocking the door to the hotel room, Erik stepped in, turning on a light. That was odd. Kanna never used to go to bed this early, especially considering Erik just had a match in the late afternoon. As he walked into the bedroom, he noticed that none of her things anywhere. Only a letter on her bed, neatly made. Tearing the envelope open, Erik read the letter for any clue as to where Kanna was. Instead, he found only more questions.
Dear Erik,
I'm sorry, but because of circumstances beyond my control, I have to return back home. While our time together was short, I fully realize the potential that you, and your pokemon have. Erik, you have great determination, and a strong will, and we will meet again in the not too distant future.
Aisutennyo Kanna
End Episode #11
Pokemon Report
*-----*-----*-----*
Venra
An alternate evolution to Utsudon, using a Solar Stone. Rather agile, and all around dangerous.
Wolfclaw
Lupus' special move. Much like an upgraded Ice Beam. Nothing but pure cold energy.
Translations
Utsudon = Weepinbell
Eaamundo = Skarmoury
Morufon = Venomoth
Rocon = Vulpix
Calm winds blew across the waters of Lake Ontario, playing games with the loose strands of Kanna's dusty rose hair. For the day off between the rounds, Erik had decided to leave the competiton behind for a time. The Hell Zone took a lot out of him, as Erik more or less crashed into bed after the round, sharing few words to Kanna. That was most unusual, as the two often spent late parts of the night talking with each other.
The small sailboat drifted slowly on the lake surface, leaving a rippling wake in its trail. The flapping of the main sail and sloshing of water against the hull provided the only sounds to Kanna's ears. On the deck she sat with her knees held tightly to her chest, gazing out over the dark blue horizon. A faint dull blue streak broke up the band, a freighter ship from the States. Kanna adjusted her khaki shorts in an attempt to get more comfortable on the fibreglass boat deck.
Going topsides, Erik emerged from the cabin quarters under the deck, holding a towel and pillow. "Here, found this below deck." He said, tossing the things to her. "Thanks." She replied, grabbing the towel and giving it a flick to spread it out. Laying down on it, she sighed, finally having something good to lie down on. "This is much better."
"Tell me about it." A voice, Erik's, came from the helm. Turning the spoked wheel, he set the direction of the boat before getting up onto the deck. "A day's rest is well needed."
"Actually, I was taking about the stuff you brought up from below deck, but I guess you could use a day to regroup and recover."
"Yep." He lowered himself onto the fibreglass deck, a hand on the metal railing.
"Especially since you look so tense..." Pouncing like a cat, Kanna grasped onto Erik's shoulders, pulling him down. He landed softly across her stomach, with his head on the lower part of her ribcage. His shoulders were like clay in her hands, as Kanna massaged his stress away. "That feel better Erik?" A supressed grunt is all he could manage. Having found a relaxing position to be in, he felt himself drift off in to sleep. Kanna laughed to herself, at the fact Erik was asleep, lid down across her.
But then it hit her. She had been in the exact same place before. Her face flushed a sudden red, and she was quick to draw a breath. Deep within the recesses of her memory, one bottled away suddenly was released. Tremblings set in with a fury, rocking all of her body. Taking a firm hold of Erik's shoulders, Kanna gives him a firm shake, lodging him from his sleep. "Erik!"
"Whaaaa!" He cried, springing up, disturbed from his blissful nap. "Th... the... boat jusstt rocked..." She managed to say, lying as well as she could.
"It did?" He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but then again, he was almost dead to the world. Kanna nodded once. "Just scared me, that's all."
"There's no need to be scared anymore Kanna," His arms lightly embraced her body. "Because I'm here for you."
That was another one. Oh god, why is this all coming back to me now? Kanna asked herself. With a vengeance, events of the past were breaking free and storming her mind. Everything was in a mess for her, and she felt the walls of stability crumbling under the wieght of sorrowful memories. Giving into her emotions once more, she buried her face into Erik's chest, tears streaming like a river. Arms clutch around him, pushing her face further into Erik, as if in a vain attempt to smother herself.
Erik, stunned by the sudden outburst looks down at the sobbing Kanna for a few moments, trying to pick any reasoning behind what lay in his eyes. Shaking his head, he decides to leave that for some other time. Right now, he had to attend to Kanna in the only way he could, by allowing the emotions to run their course under the red setting sun.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The remainer of the night was uneventful to say the least. Kanna had retreated to the quarters below deck, away from Erik. He had the damn sure feeling that she was avoiding him, as for why, he didn't know. Even when he retired for the night, she never spoke a word to him. And he knew that Kanna wasn't asleep.
At the crack of dawn, Erik awakes and brings the sailboat into port. Only then does Kanna re-emerge from the bunks. "Kanna, you feeling alright today?" He inquires, sympathetic to her emotions and mental condition. Passing right by him, she shared no words, just stepping onto the pier.
And the same happened on the taxi ride back into the Blue League complex. Kanna on one side, Erik on the other, and no words between the two. When Erik went to pay the driver, she bolted out of the cab. Quickly, he tossed the money to the cabbie, no caring about the few bucks worth in change. Something more important was on his mind. Kanna.
"Wait for a minute Kanna!" He shouted out.
"What do you want?" For a quiet voice, it carried the distance between the two. The physical distance that is. "I want to know what's wrong with you lately." He stated, finally catching up with her.
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing."
"It's something you wouldn't understand." He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "But I want to understand." She ripped her shoulder away from his hand, still remaining back on. Her heart, mind, and soul were burning by a flame. "This is something you can't help me with." Collecting herself once more, Kanna ran off into the crowd, lost to Erik's eyes. He stood there, debating to go after her. More harm than good would come out of it, he thought.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kanna never returned back to the hotel room to see Erik off to his match. His nerves were on full alert, as Kanna usually calmed them before each round. But now, he had to go into a massive stadium filled with spectators, and no reassurance talk. Shaking his head, Erik brushed it off. He had no choice but to go on.
Walking through the main lobby of the complex, a board with the match brackets was displayed on a wall monitor at least a few metres across. Numerous red SCRs were placed by competitor names. The unlucky survivors of the Hell Zone. They were the one's that succumbed to injuries and dropped out, hence they were scratched from the runnings.
Scanning the board, he finds his name, E. Iverson, halfway through the left side slots. Looking to his competitor, Erik breathes a sigh of relief. In bold red, SCR. A bye. That really was a saving grace. One less match really could determine it all. At further investigation, nearly half the field had been reduced from the scratches. A bad run no less.
A tap comes on his shoulder. "Kanna!" He exclaimed, turning on his heel, expecting his travel companion. Instead, he finds a videocamera and mircophone in his face. He felt let down to say the least.
"Darren Dutchyshen actually." He corrected. "Mind if I get an interveiw Erik?"
"Nah, go on ahead."
"Ok, roll camera." Darren said, getting the camera man filming. "I'm standing here with the up-and-coming star, Erik Iverson. From complete unknown, this young Canadian has quickly risen, and many have stopped to realize that he is a force to be reckoned with. Erik, how do you think your chances are for winning this event."
"Well, to be honest, their just as good as anyone else's really. I could go into a match, suffer a bad injury, and lose. It's just that simple." His comment did have a certain air of truth to it.
"Yes, as we all saw in your last match of the opening round. Has that injury incurred by Sandopan affected your game plan coming into this last few matches?"
"Not in the least Darren. I'm here to win, and if that means going all out no matter what to win, that's exactly what I'll do."
"The spirit of a warrior lives on. Best of luck Erik."
"Same to you Darren." The two shook hands, before Darren and his cameraman leave for another trainer to interveiw.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Hundreds of thousands of spectators all on their feet at once, shouting out anthems at once. Stepping out onto the converted clay turf of the Skydome, Erik felt like a gladiator marching out into the Collosium to fight in anamalistic combat, driven by adrenline and the fevourous cries of the audience. His weapon, the red and white capture balls held in place by scabbard clips on his belt. And like the warriors of olde, his only true armour were his wits.
His opponent marched in from home plate normally was during a baseball game. Her shimmering gold hair rustled in the wind blowing down from the dome as it retracted. Shadows waged a losing war on the red orange clay against the invading light. Gradually, the front approached Erik's foot, and stopped. It was time to fight.
The announcer introduced the trainers that will duel for the enjoyment of the wild frenzied mob. "Over from homeplate, is Kristy Lee." The crowd behind homeplate exploded with shouts and whistles. Many a teenaged boy enjoying well spent money on scalped tickets. Kristy turned to blow a kiss to her fans, which further riled them, if that was possible.
"And over in centre field, Canada's own, Erik Iverson." The entire outer field quickly silenced the batch behind home, rising to their feet, shouting out encouragements and waving flags of white, blue, red and gold. With such a backing, Erik wasn't going to let them down.
"This match is scheduled for six pokemon, no time limits. Let's get ready to ruummmbbbllleee!" Whatever section of the crowd that remained silent during the introduction of the trainers, definately wasn't now. The roar reached proportions to that of a large scale airport. The earth actually quivered under the shouts and motions of those in attendence.
Kristy took a pokeball off her skirt belt, and just like that, the stadium quieted down to the volume of a high performance car. Kissing the ball for luck, she threw it in. "Perushian, go!" A parabolic dish picked up her voice from afar, playing it on the Skydome speaker system. The mountain lion stroked it's red gem once, picking itself off the clay ever-so-slowly.
In his own way, Erik plucked a capture ball from his belt, and cast it into the squared circle. Red energy formed into that of Lupus. The old alpha female's underside was still burned and raw from the Gaadii's attack, but had healed up some what during the break. Her lips drew back, barring deadly daggers of hard white calcium enamel. Everyone was ready for combat.
Current of wind swirled above the stadium floor, churning the air of turmoil into a state of intense organized chaos. "Perushian, Slash attack." Holding a prestine stance, the sleek panther rushed in at Lupus. Taking the blow, Lupus turned head aside. Opaque claws tore flesh just below her ear. A calculated tactic, sacrificing to gain. At such close quarters, counters were easily made. Snapping her body around, Lupus swiped at the cat. It was more of a smashing blow than a slicing cut. Impact sent Perushian's head in temporary motion, taking her off centre, and into a state of swaggering unbalance. Just for a few brief moments.
Like lightning, Lupus went on the pure offensive. Lunging, she dove for Perushian's throat. Sharp teeth graze skin, not penetrating, but inflicting enough force to assert control. Taking a shift in weight, Lupus drug the cougar down on top of her. Right to where she wanted her victim. Then the vices clamped.
Helpless, Perushian flailed about, struggling against the forces that robbed her of oxygen. The only thing the thrashing accomplished was to burn off more vital air than normal. Lupus had the cat by the most sensitive part of its body, and wasn't willing about to let go.
The olive-green eyes of the Perushian began to roll back in their sockets as the last moments fleeted away from her. With her literal last bit of air, Perushian made on despirate plight to escape. Extending claws out to the potential, last blind slashes were made.
Razor cuticles clawed through raw flesh. Perushian had struck her burns. Reacting sharply from extreme pain, Lupus lets go of the strangle hold, recoiling back in a thrash. Perushian rolls onto her feet, though still on the ground, panting hard, sucking in percious oxygen.
The eyes of the ice wolf closed tighly, and her jaw locked in a grimace. Her chest was afire all over again. The inferno was engulfing her heart, over-riding all inhabitions she once had. Regaining her upright position, the wolf launched herself into a blitzkreig. Perushian saw the attack coming, but has held in fear by the flames of the eyes.
Throwing all her weight around, Lupus ploughs into the side of Perushian. A dull thwack marked the crushing of her shoulderblade. The abrasive clay provides no remorse for the injured pokemon.
Lupus herself was providing no remorse either. Opening her jaws, a sapphire blue sphere took form within. An Ice Beam... no something else. Taking aim, Lupus shot, sending off a thick, heavy colomn of ice. Everything in its wake was frosted over, including the mountain loin. Red laser retracts the fallen.
Kristy quickly subbed in another pocket monster, staying silent. Scarlet energy forged the shape of a tall rodent. Slapping it's bolt-like tail onto the clay, the Raichu formed tiny veins of electricity over his cheeks. "Raichuu, thunderbolt." Paired fingers of yellow lightning streak from orange cheek pouches to their target, Lupus. She leapt back, evading the first as it whips by under, but got caught off-guard by the second, honing in on the blistered ribcage. Unconcious before she hits the ground, Lupus landed in a hard thud.
Two handing it, Erik recalled and sent out at the same time, issuing Sandopan into duty. The ailing hedgehog did it's best to conceal the crippling injury to the ribs. Yet, a slight list to the side betrayed all his acting attempts. "Raichuu, Mega kick." Kristy wasn't about to let a type disadvantage ruin her bid for victory.
Taking a swing, the tall electric mouse performed a swift roundhouse, only to connect with nothing but air. Sandopan had dropped back, putting distance between himself and the Raichuu. A medium range fight would be ideal for Sandopan in his current state. Driving a claw into the ground with the force of a jack-hammer, Sandopan jarred the ground. Minor divides split around the zone of impact, followed by a fast and furious temor. In a cloud of rising dust, Raichuu topples over, shaken around by the seismic energy.
"Get up, and Body Slam it." With the motion of the clay ground subsided, Raichuu flipped back to his feet, darting toward Sandopan, taking a leap into the air. The hedgehog saw it's approach. Turning back on, Sandopan flared the plate quills off, creating a pin cushin for the decending mouse to fall onto. The crowd responded with a deep "ooh" as Raichuu bounces off the sharp back of Sandopan, onto the ground. Many slit marks appeared in red on Raichuu's chest, before a beam took him back to the safety of his capture ball.
"Sandopan, return." To keep Sandopan out too long would be risky, considering his broken ribs. Best to only to use him when neccessary. He took refuge by Erik's side, charging back up for another assault at a later time. Removing a pokeball from his belt, Erik sent out Kanna's Rapurasu. She was still feeling the effects of the Nidoriino biotoxin, enough to make her nausous, but not enough to keep her from fighting.
Kristy too sent out a new fighter. Erik grimaced at what it was, a Utsudon. Resting on the ground, the bellflower twitched the small green leaves attatched to it's thin body. "Razor Leaf." A slight rotation from the flower, throwing a disc-like blade of grass into the air.
"Ice Beam it down." Erik ordered. A normal braided stream of ice shoots from Rapurasu mouth, coating over the leaf. Excessively weighed down, the frosted leaf fell to the earth, shattering. "Stun Spore." Shaking, Utsudon dispersed at thin cloud of blue dust into the air. Convection currents in the stadium direct the spores over Rapurasu, falling to the ill effects.
"Sunny Day-Solar Beam!" A combo string like that could inflict substantial damage. The fact that Rapurasu immobilized physically didn't help the matter. Kristy had all the time in the world to charge up for a Solar Beam. Rays of the sun intensified under the influence of the first portion of the combo. Large spheres of pale green sucked into the bellflower's mouth, forging off the beam attack. And he could do nothing but wait, as Weepinbell let loose with the Solar Beam.
"Concentrate a Psychic in front of you Rapurasu." Thankfully, her mind wasn't affected like the rest of her body. Deep purple psychic waves build up before her, right in the path of the incoming Solar Beam. The attacks collided, and the beam deflected around the sphere, away from Rapurasu. "Now shoot it." Utsudon stood stunned at the tactic as the Psychic approached, and hit. Shockwaves sent it into the air. Having the last laugh, Utsudon fired again at an open target. It had reserved a second round. This additional blast hammered into the vulnerable Rapurasu in a burst of light. Erik withdrew Rapurasu from duty, Pijon taking point.
"Utsudon return." Kristy made a wise decision, and retracted her plant away from the battle. She had other plans for him, later. But for now, she would challenge Pijon in a game of aerial dominance. "Eaamundo, go!" Both birds were of the same size, and by the way they hovered in midair, were of similar combat styles. Type considerations might play a part, but this looked more like a dogfight.
"Steel Wing." Eaamundo's normally crimson wings flared white. Pijon fell back from the swipe of a glowing wing, but it turns out to be broader than she anticipated. Metallic armour slammed into the artic bird's chest, knocking her back slightly. She countered with an Icy Wind, laying down a coat of frost onto Eaamundo's shiny armour, hindering its flight. Cold metal cracked as it moved, sticking slightly. Kristy shouted out an order. "Eaamundo, try a Razor Wind." Again, the great steel bird's wings shone in a bright light. A fast bringing together of it's wings created a powerful blast of air, filled with sharp debris. Defending, Pijon placed up an Ice Arc, shielding her from the wind.
Answering back, she attacked with a Gust, blowing the shattered remnants of the arc towards Eaamundo. The hail stones bounce and crack off the tough armour hide, further cooling Eaamundo. It's flight was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, as the metal contracted. Having such a disadvantage, Pijon could assume control over the skies. Moving in, she prepared to latch onto the iron bird, and throw it to the ground. Just as she grabbed Eaamundo, Kristy called out an unexpected order. "Drill Peck." Shock was written all over Pijon's face, as Eaamundo plunged a spinning beak into the artic bird's exposed chest. Losing her grip, Pijon fell back to earth. Erik recalled her.
"Parushen, Spike Cannon." He shouted out, sending in a new pokemon. Fresh from the capture ball, the oyster fired a round. The single spike struck Eaamundo in the wing, breaking frosted metal feathers. Kristy quickly brought back her pokemon. Things were all tied up at three a piece for the young trainers. And the crowd was loving every minute of it all. Each blow brought them further out of their seats, rising to a frenzy.
Kristy searched around her belt for the next pokemon to battle with. Erik was sure it was going to be Utsudon again. To his suprise, and relief, she sent out a Morufon. The pale lavendar moth fluttered in the air, flapping frail wings. Kristy carefully eyes the massive fractures in Parushen's shell, documenting them to memory for later, if she needed it. "Morufon, Gust." The flimsy wings of the moth kicked up a fast rush of air, tipping Parushen over.
"Parushen, use Ice Beam." Flipping back over, using his shell as a springboard, the great armoured clam fires a beam of twisted ropes of ice. It's target shifted aside, allowing the beam to pass by. "Tackle attack."
What was she trying to do? Erik thought to himself. "Clamp it once Morufon gets close enough." Before the poison moth can tackle into Parushen, he shut the outer shell, catching the bug in a vice. But Morufon wasn't struggling like it should be. Then it hit Erik.
"Morufon, Psybeam." The tackle was only a ruse to get inside Parushen's fortress. In a brilliant flash of light, the two fly apart. Parushen spun like a top for a few moments, before coming to a stop, fainted from the proximity of the Psybeam. Morufon landed on the ground, a distance away, still concious. But not for long.
Pointing a finger, Sandopan rushed the field. Touching his claws together, the hedgehog slashed at the downed moth. A thin blade of energy marked it's path through Morufon. And that was the end of him. Kristy retracted Morufon from battle. "Go, Utsudon." She called out, as the grass pokemon took shape for the second time in the match. This was her plan. A small stone lay attatched to the vine starting to grow out of it's head. A Solar stone. "Synthesis." From the sun, shot an intense ray of light. Not only was Utsudon regaining energy, but the stone obtained it's catalyst. The glow of the stone spread all over the pokemon's body, and the form change began. The glowing body shifted to a form similar to that of Madazubomi, only larger and with longer appendages. Light faded away, leaving the crimson red and green pokemon to speak it's name once in a dull hiss. "Venra."
"Venra, Acid." The blood flower spat a blob of purple acid. Nimbly, Sandopan dodged the attack, as it burnt a pit into the clay. "Razor Leaf." Kristy wasn't about to stop her series of quick attacks. Flicking it's hands, Venra threw off spinning blades of grass, faster than it did when it was Weepinbell. Expertly using his claws, Sandopan knocked the leaves out of the air.
Suddenly, Venra stopped throwing discs. Sandopan panted slightly after having deflected so many projectiles. "Solar Beam." She hissed. Venra's palms cupped together in front of it, gathering up the sun's rays. Now was the best time to strike for Sandopan. Yet he was uneasy about the whole procedure, Solar Beam and broken ribs played highly on his mind. On the ground lay the few Razor Leaves that had been thrown. An idea ran through his mind.
Reaching down in a quick motion, Sandopan grabbed up a few discarded leaves, and threw them back at Venra. One stuck into the flowers thin body, shocking it at the sudden infliction of pain. So much so, that it lost focus, dropping the half-charged Solar Beam.
Now stunned, Sandopan ran in towards Venra, sweep kicking the feet out from under the flower. It collapsed to the clay ground below, and was finished with another energy slash, much like Morphon.
A bead of sweatrolled down Kristy's forehead. She had pulled out everything to avoid coming to this. "Foxfire, go." From out of the pokeball emerged the small red fire fox, bandaged up from a fight previous. Sandopan looked over the small vixen with dangerous intent. Again, he drove his claw into the clay ground. Tremors rocked through the stadium, throwing Rocon about. She landed on her side as the ground upthrusted. Kristy, knowing her fate, recalled her, ending the match.
The outfield crowd rose to their feet, raising the roof for Erik's victory. Even over the loudspeaker system, the announcer had a difficult time proclaiming his win and the stats about the battle. It really didn't matter, he had won.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Unlocking the door to the hotel room, Erik stepped in, turning on a light. That was odd. Kanna never used to go to bed this early, especially considering Erik just had a match in the late afternoon. As he walked into the bedroom, he noticed that none of her things anywhere. Only a letter on her bed, neatly made. Tearing the envelope open, Erik read the letter for any clue as to where Kanna was. Instead, he found only more questions.
Dear Erik,
I'm sorry, but because of circumstances beyond my control, I have to return back home. While our time together was short, I fully realize the potential that you, and your pokemon have. Erik, you have great determination, and a strong will, and we will meet again in the not too distant future.
Aisutennyo Kanna
End Episode #11
Pokemon Report
*-----*-----*-----*
Venra
An alternate evolution to Utsudon, using a Solar Stone. Rather agile, and all around dangerous.
Wolfclaw
Lupus' special move. Much like an upgraded Ice Beam. Nothing but pure cold energy.
Translations
Utsudon = Weepinbell
Eaamundo = Skarmoury
Morufon = Venomoth
Rocon = Vulpix
