(A/N: I'm back with the rematch against Waluigi! I hope you enjoy)
Chapter 14: Darkness Duel! Act Two!
It was a bright new day and Lorenzo rose out of bed feeling refreshed and full of vigor. Today would be the day of the rematch against Waluigi! After getting ready, he met up with the others in the lobby of the Pokémon Center.
"Someone's excited." Merlee giggled as she saw him run over to them.
"Of course I'm excited." Lorenzo said as he adjusted his hat. "Things will be different this time!"
"Well you definitely put in a ton of effort, so you totally deserve to walk out with the badge!" Kaylee spoke around a piece of toast in her mouth.
"Let's not talk in absolutes." Sam said. "But we're giving this one more shot."
"Alright, are you all ready? Let's move!" Lorenzo declared as they made their way to the Gym once more.
They walked down the familiar streets of Jadevine Town. Passing by the tennis courts, the four eventually saw the dark building. Upon closer examination it appeared that two figures were outside of the Gym.
"Hey Waluigi. And... Wario?" Lorenzo tilted his head.
"Yup!" the stocky man replied. "Takin a break from the Gym for a bit."
"I see." Sam said as he pictured his unfortunate Gym assistants having to pick up the slack.
'So this is the guy they mentioned earlier.' Merlee thought with a not so pleasant expression. Her Embarge gave her a quizzical look.
"Anyway, are you ready for the rematch?" Waluigi asked.
"Mm-hm! We trained super hard!" Lorenzo said as he stepped forward.
Wario crossed his arms. "You better actually beat him this time runts!"
"Yeah, I want a challenge this time. So come on!" Waluigi beckoned them inside.
Once again, they were greeted by the dark interior. "If it's possible it seems darker than it was before." Kaylee shuddered.
Once they reached the battlefield, several lights turned on much to her relief. She really doesn't like the dark.
"You know the drill." Waluigi said as he twirled a Pokeball on his finger. "Double Battle!"
"Well of course! We spent the whole day preparing!" Sam replied.
"Don't get snappy boy!" the tall man retorted. Merlee stifled a laugh as the referee got in his usual spot on the field.
"This will be a 2-on-2 Double Battle! When all four of the opposing side's Pokémon are defeated, the winner shall be decided! Furthermore, only the challengers may substitute Pokémon! So, without further ado, let the battle begin!" the referee declared.
"Alright, here goes. Wormite, come on out!" Lorenzo called. "Burnion, let's do this!" Sam shouted. The two Pokémon landed down on the field looking as ready as ever.
Waluigi pulled out two Pokeballs. "Sneasel! Purrloin! Let's go!"
Sam looked a little bewildered at his choice of Pokémon. "Don't tell me you're trying to go soft on us with an Ice type?"
Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Type advantages mean nothing when you're as sneaky as Waluigi! Anyway, Purrloin, Sneasel! Fake Out!"
The two Pokémon lunged in a startling manner, causing Wormite and Burnion to flinch!
Lorenzo and Sam groaned. "Now, Purrloin use Shadow Claw and Sneasel use Ice Shard!" Waluigi commanded. Purrloin's claws grew a dark aura and it leapt forward. Simultaneously, Sneasel shot out several fragments of ice.
Wormite and Burnion soon recovered from the flinch. "Wormite use String Shot on Purrloin!" Lorenzo yelled.
"Burnion, Flame Burst that Ice Shard!" Sam shouted.
Wormite released the sticky string and it impeded Purrloin, preventing it from landing a hit. Additionally, the Flame Burst completely melted the Ice Shard!
"They're not doing too bad, eh Wario?" Kaylee turned to him.
"This is just the beginning! Don't be so sure!"
As Purrloin struggled in the string, Sneasel had no other choice but to help out. "Slash it off!" Waluigi called. The Sharp Claw Pokémon did as told and began to hack at the sticky string.
"Here's an open opportunity." Sam said to Lorenzo.
"String Shot again!" the boy called. Now both Sneasel and Purrloin were tangled up!
Sam grinned dangerously. "Flame Burst! Full power!"
Burnion charged up before releasing the flames at full power. The flammable string that entangled the foes only made the attack stronger.
"Shoot!" Waluigi stomped as he saw that Purrloin and Sneasel were both knocked out.
"Sneasel and Purrloin are unable to battle!"
Kaylee and Merlee jumped. "Yes! Good start, guys!"
"Quit the celebrating, it's not over." Wario rolled his eyes and the girls sat down.
Waluigi angrily returned the Pokémon. "Are you kidding me? Talk about cheap! But this'll all end here. Darsatyr, Cularia! Go!"
The mosquito and satyr stood menacingly before Burnion and Wormite. The Glow Worm shuddered slightly but Burnion gave him a reassuring look.
"Let the battle resume!" the referee declared.
"Wormite, use String Shot!" Lorenzo commanded. "Burnion, Flame Burst!" Sam added. The two attacks merged and created a huge fiery ball.
"Not so fast! Cularia, Darsatyr! Shadow Ball!"
The twin orbs of darkness combined and hit the fire ball, causing smoke to fill the arena. Kaylee, Merlee and Wario started to cough. Burnion and Wormite looked back and forth, unable to see clearly in the smog.
'He's clearly using the smoke to hide.' Sam thought.
"Try to illuminate the area with Flash!" Lorenzo commanded. Wormite's body let off a sharp glow that helped cut through the smoke.
However, when the area was illuminated, Cularia was right in front of it. "Quick, Burnion! Flame Burst on Cularia!" Sam called. But unfortunately, Darsatyr came out of nowhere and took Burnion down, causing it to misfire!
Kaylee and Merlee gasped as Wormite was hit by the attack, knocking it out!
"No!" Lorenzo shouted.
"Wormite is unable to battle!" the referee declared.
"Man, defeated by your own partner." Merlee shook her head.
"Pa-thetic!" Wario laughed.
"Quiet you!" Kaylee snapped at the portly man.
"You did your best out there." Lorenzo said as he returned Wormite. His attention then focused on the Pokeball on his belt. "I need to pull my weight in this battle… me and Sam are counting on you... Go Aquelip!"
The ball was thrown and the small Water type appeared before him. "Aque!"
"Let's deal with the freaky onion next!" Waluigi smirked. "Cularia, Aerial Ace and Darsatyr use Headbutt!"
The two came hurtling towards Burnion at insane speeds. "Aquelip! Use your tail to grab Burnion!" Lorenzo shouted.
As commanded, Aquelip used its long tail as a lasso to grab Burnion away from danger, causing Darsatyr to hit the ground. But...
"Aerial Ace never misses!" Waluig reminded as Cularia did a mid-air rotation, striking Burnion and knocking it out. Sam winced. He should have remembered that.
"It's all tied up, I can't watch!" Merlee squeaked.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Kaylee said.
"Burnion is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "This is gonna be close." Lorenzo shivered. "Relax," Sam said as he returned Burnion. "We're going at this with a strategy!"
He grabbed a Pokeball. "Grolinguito, go!"
The Leaf Cub landed on the field. "Guiito!"
"Heh, it'll be just as easy as last time." Waluigi sneered.
"Just you wait!" Lorenzo worked up the gall to say."Aquelip, you know the drill!" The Trident Pokemon nodded and propped Grolinguito on its tail.
"What could this be?" Wario asked. Kaylee and Merlee were also unaware of what they were planning.
Grolinguito slowly put its weight down. "That's right, just a little more." Sam said.
"I'm not having any of this! Cularia, Darsatyr, Shadow Ball!" Waluigi shouted. The two attacks were sent in their direction.
"Okay now!" Sam yelled.
The pressure that was placed on Aquelip's durable tail resulted in a spring effect. Grolinguito was catapulted through the air and managed to slam right into Darsatyr.
However, back where Aquelip was, there were two Shadow Ball attacks heading his way. "Dodge them!" Lorenzo ordered. Aquelip jumped and rolled away from one, but the second one managed to hit dead on.
"Looks like a critical hit!" Kaylee gasped.
Aquelip struggled to get up. "Come on Aquelip, you can do this!" Lorenzo called. It fell to its knees, only making the trainer lose more hope.
Wario shook his head once more. "This is it." However, suddenly a bright light enveloped the Water type.
"Could it be!?" Kaylee shouted. "Why yes it is!" Merlee cried. Waluigi and Wario were dumbfounded. Aquelip grew taller, and developed more fin like potrusions on its body. Its tail became sturdier and its arms and legs became longer and stronger.
"It evolved! And I just became a Captain Obvious!" Sam shouted. Lorenzo pulled out his Pokedex, never losing focus on the new creature. He was in complete awe!
"Neptide, the Sea Drake Pokémon and the evolved form of Aquelip. It's powerfully developed arm, legs and tails enable it to survive and navigate in even the roughest seas, where no boats dare to venture."
"W-w-wow! I can't believe it! Congrats Aque- I mean, Neptide!" Lorenzo muttered.
"Tide!" it cried in response. It would take a while to get used to its new size.
"Enough theatrics, let's fight!" Waluigi shouted.
"Okay okay, Grolinguito, use Dig!" Sam called and the small creature burrowed underground.
"Neptide jump in with him!" Lorenzo commanded.
Cularia and Eclipsatyr kept their guard up. "Trying a failed strategy? Pfft!" Waluigi scoffed. "Cularia, Darsatyr, Shadow Ball in that tunnel!"
Grolinguito and Neptide, both saw the attacks heading after them and freaked out a little, scurrying a little bit faster underground.
"I wish we could see what's happening down there." Kaylee leaned forward in her seat.
There was a bit of rustling until suddenly the ground loosened up on the field. Grolinguito and Neptide both jumped out of the ground with the Shadow Ball attacks behind them.
"Send them back to 'em!" the boys called. Neptide and Rapidrow spun and whacked the spheres of darkness with their tails causing them to fly into into the opponents.
Cularia and Eclipsatyr were disoriented from the hit. "Cheaters!" Waluigi yelled.
"Now, Neptide, Aqua Cutter!" " Grolinguito Razor Leaf!" Lorenzo and Sam commanded.
A storm of sharpened blades of water and leaves enveloped the opponents, striking them from several directions! Merlee was mesmerized by the synchronized and dazzling display. "Pretty…" she said.
When the attack cleared the two Dark types fell to the floor. "Darsatyr and Cularia are unable to battle which means that victory goes to the challengers!"
"Yes! We did it!" Lorenzo cheered. "You know it!" Sam shouted as they high fived. Neptide and Grolinguito, even in the wake of their exhaustion, smiled at each other.
Kaylee and Merlee were jumping up and down while Wario looked intrigued. "First me, and now him!" Wario proclaimed. "Whodda thunk?"
"Alright, alright. You beat me. I guess you learned from that loss earlier." The thin man sighed. "You know the speech. As per league rules here is the Mischief Badge." He handed them each a black and white badged that resembled a moon.
The duo accepted their badges and put them in their respective slots.
"Well bro, we're in the same boat." Wario walked over to Waluigi and slapped his back.
The taller man nodded. "Yeaah, but at I least beat them once! You couldn't even do that!"
"Watch it tooth pick!"
Before Waluigi could toss an insult back (and he certainly had a lot) his phone rang.
"Hello?... What?... watch our backs?...yeah yeah got it... it's these brats that should be careful. Yup... smell ya later." He shut his phone before turning to the others. "A Gym Leader called and she sounded frantic. Apparently some wackos are up to no good and they're targeting trainers and Gym Leaders alike."
Wario balled up his fist. "My Gym was just targeted recently. Those lousy crooks!"
"We handled crooks before. We should be alright out there." Lorenzo assured.
"Alright then. Anyways, the Leader who called is in the next town over, Miryla Town!" Waluigi said.
"BUT!" Wario cut in. "It's on the edge of our kingdom, almost in Sarasaland. And you gotta cross a desert to get there!"
"A desert, yay..." Sam groaned.
"You just won a badge, be happy!" Kaylee laughed.
"Just watch your backs from thieves in the desert." Wario warned
"AND kidnappers. Those have been common too!" Waluigi added.
"We got this under control!" Kaylee said.
"Whatever, now go and beat the other Gyms! Now that you beat me, I refuse to allow you to lose to anybody else!" Waluigi said. "Yeah! For the both of us!" Wario slid in.
The four waved as they exited the Gym and entered the streets of Jadevine Town.
"What a sec, Miryla Town has a Pokeathlon Dome too!" Kaylee remembered. "Looks like that's a big city for all of us!"
"Yup. But before we go…" Merlee reminded them. They each turned around, fully aware of what would come next...
(A/N: Our little group will soon become smaller. Also, the next town is by Sarasaland. Hmmm. Who could our next Leader be? Be sure to R&R. See you later!)