You thought I was joking.
You were…mistaken.
Upload Date: 12th June 2016
Chapter 21: Focus on the Task at Hand!
Ciran Town, Sevii Islands
10:45am, 28th July 2005
"Alright, guys! Great work!" Richard grinned, wiping his forehead.
His six pokémon all let out relieved sighs and sat down for a rest.
Richard had woken up early that morning so that they could do a couple of hours of training before setting off for Anar Town. The ferry to Outcast Island ran infrequently, so he needed to be there in time for the one at three o'clock in the afternoon. At the same time, though, he didn't want to arrive hours before and end up sitting around doing nothing while he waited.
Having found out a little more about Verdant Island, Richard had decided to use the slightly longer, but easier of the two main routes across the island to Anar Town. This one took him up from Ciran Town and then followed the largely open north coast until it reached Anar Town.
The other route was the shorter path through a dense patch of woodland known locally as 'Pattern Bush', which sounded interesting but Richard wasn't willing to risk getting lost and missing the ferry – he wanted to finish up on Outcast Island as quickly as possible so that he could head back towards Ruin Valley.
Recalling his pokémon to their poké balls, Richard headed back inside the pokémon centre. He returned to his room and had a quick shower before finishing packing the rest of his stuff and heading back down to the lobby.
"Thank you," the receptionist said as he returned his room key. "Did you have a good night?"
"I did, thanks," Richard replied. "I just wanted to check: the ferry from Anar Town to Outcast Island leaves at three, doesn't it?"
The receptionist nodded.
"That's right," she replied. "It shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours to get there from here, even if you take the road along the northern coast."
"Glad to hear it!" Richard grinned. "I guess I'll be off then!"
"Good luck at the Outcast Island gym!" the receptionist called after him.
"Thanks!" Richard called back as he left the pokémon centre. He started walking towards the path to the north.
Anar Town, Sevii Islands
2:55pm, 28th July 2005
Having loitered around the wooden jetty for an hour or so, Richard jumped onto the small ferry almost as soon as the passengers returning from Outcast Island had got off.
"Just the one person," he said to the teenage boy in charge of collecting the crossing fee.
"Five poké," the teenager replied. He had long-ish black hair which hung down over his ears. His boredom was visible in his blue eyes.
Richard fished around in his pocket and pulled out five poké.
"Thanks," the teenager replied as he took the money.
"What's with that bored tone?" The balding man with a light grey beard standing by the controls demanded in a booming voice. "Aren't you enjoying these trips across the sea?"
"Sorry, Boss," the teenager replied.
"Lighten up, lad!" The man continued. "The passengers don't want to see you sulking all day!"
"Yes, Boss." The teenager shrugged.
"Honestly!" The man shook his head. "If your attitude drives people away, Leo, then I'll mention it to your father!"
"W-Wait! There's no need to do anything like that!" Leo cried in panic.
"Is your dad really that scary?" Richard asked, unable to stop himself from butting into the conversation.
"That man's a psycho!" Leo replied, turning to him.
"That's no way to speak about your dad, Leo!" the man said scornfully. He turned to Richard as well. "The name's Charles Hudson. I'm the captain and owner of this ferry."
"Pleased to meet you," Richard replied. "I'm Richard Winter from Pewter City."
"A pleasure." Charles nodded. "This here is Leo Reed, my 'assistant'."
"Richard Winter, eh?" Leo gave him a curious look. "Nice to meet you." He sounded a little more animated now than he had at the start. "Since you're heading to Outcast Island, I guess you're going to challenge the gym."
Richard nodded. "That's right. How did you guess?"
"Because there's virtually nothing else out there," Leo replied. "In any case, if you're challenging the gym, then you'll find out what my dad's like first-hand soon enough."
"Huh?" Richard gave him a confused look for a second before realising. "You mean your dad is…"
"Markus, the Outcast Island gym leader, yes," Leo replied with a sigh.
"Your dad's a gym leader?" Richard cried. "That's so cool!"
"It really isn't," Leo replied.
"Markus does push Leo quite hard in his training," Charles admitted. He briefly glanced at his watch and noticed the time. "Looks like it's time to head off, Leo!"
"Got it, Boss!" Leo jumped onto the jetty and untied the ropes so that the ferry could leave. He jumped back on as Charles started to turn away from the jetty.
"What kind of person is Markus?" Richard asked. "Liz, the gym leader in Atla Town, said that he's a kind person at heart."
"Yeah, well, he's always much softer and kinder to Liz than he is to me," Leo replied. "You'll see what he's really like when you challenge the gym."
"Is there a pokémon centre on Outcast Island?" Richard asked, deciding to change the subject.
"Of course!" Leo snapped scornfully. "We're not a complete backwater!"
"Calm down, Leo!" Charles called. "He was only asking a valid question."
"Sorry." Leo apologised to Richard. "The 'town' on Outcast Island is tiny, but we have everything that we need to run a gym there. A pokémon centre is essential when trainers come to challenge the toughest gym leader in the Sevii Islands."
"I see," Richard replied. "Sorry for being rude."
"No, it's fine." Leo shook his head. "I was the one who overreacted. Since I'm off duty after this run, do you want me to take you to the gym?"
"Sure, that's be a great help!" Richard grinned.
Outcast Island, Sevii Islands
3:29pm, 28th July 2005
"What do you mean 'he closed the gym'?!" Leo shouted.
He and Richard had arrived at the gym on Outcast Island. Much like the gym in Cinnabar Town back in the Kanto region, the Outcast Island gym was built into the side of the mountain which dominated the entire island. It seemed very austere – There were a couple of old wooden stools in the lobby, which was otherwise a bare room. There were no decorations at all. It was almost like stepping into a cave. It contrasted sharply with the elegance of Dexter's gym in Port Bounty.
"He just said that he was going to be closing up for the rest of the day after the last challenger left," the receptionist replied, shrugging his shoulders. "You know what he's like, Leo."
"Argh! He's always doing this!" Leo yelled in frustration. "He's a gym leader! He can't just wander off whenever he feels like it!"
"The gym leaders out here in the Sevii Islands seem a lot busier than the ones back in Kanto," said Richard, looking around the room. "I've come across three gyms which have been closed when I first stopped by."
"We don't get as many challengers out here in the Sevii Islands," the receptionist explained. "The gym leaders are more 'part-time' than their counterparts in Kanto."
"Ah! I see!" Richard nodded.
"I'm sorry about this, Richard," Leo sighed. "I have no idea where he's gone."
"Don't worry, it's fine," Richard assured him. "There's no point worrying about it if there's nothing we can do about it."
"I guess so," Leo sighed. "My dad's always causing problems like this."
"That's just the luxury of being the gym leader in a place like this," the receptionist replied. "He can more or less do what he wants because comparatively few challengers are willing to make the journey out here. The fact that he's the strongest of all the gym leaders in the Sevii Islands and is greatly respected by the Pokémon Association helps as well."
"Surely that's an abuse of position, right?" Leo asked.
The receptionist shrugged. "Take it up with him, Leo. You're his son after all."
"You know that he doesn't listen to anything I say," Leo grumbled.
"Do you want to book a slot for tomorrow?" the receptionist asked Richard. "If Markus knows that he's got an appointment, then he's less likely to wander off again tomorrow."
"This really does happen a lot then?" Richard paused to think for a second. "Alright, when's the earliest slot tomorrow?"
"Nine o'clock," the receptionist replied. "There are no other challengers at the moment."
"We'll go with that then," said Richard. "Thanks!"
"No problem." The receptionist nodded. "Sorry about the gym leader not being here."
6:31pm, 28th July 2005
By way of apologising for Markus' absence, Leo had insisted that he help Richard train for the gym battle. Though Richard had told him that he didn't need to, he welcomed the help – what better practice could there be than to train with the gym leader's student? It was even better considering that Leo probably understood his dad better than anyone else. The result was an intense evening of battling on a desolate, rocky patch of land next to the sea.
Outcast Island itself couldn't have been more different from Verdant Island. While the latter was covered in thick foliage and surrounded by attractive beaches or majestic cliffs, Outcast Island seemed desolate and empty. The 'town' consisted of the pokémon centre and a collection of small houses, as well as the gym, a small shop for food and other essentials and the jetty from which Charles ran his ferry. Scores of other small fishing boats were tied to the sides of the jetty and countless more had been pulled up the rocky beach next to it. If the townspeople wanted anything, then for the most part they needed to get the ferry over to Anar Town. The few children who lived in town needed to travel to Ciran Town each day to attend school.
The town was nestled on a patch of flat land with the mountain enclosing it on two sides and the sea on the other. There were few trees and virtually nowhere suitable to grow food. Access to the rest of the island was limited since it meant travelling through the difficult, and sometimes dangerous, passes between different parts of the mountain. According to Leo, there were a few hardy people who lived in the isolated parts in the north and west of the island. These areas were more exposed to the effects of the weather, but also had more foliage. There were a couple of small farms nestled in tiny valleys between the 'limbs' of the mountain stretching out to the sea, but most of the island's food came from Verdant Island.
"The rest of the island sounds quite exciting!" Richard grinned as the two of them walked back towards Leo's house.
"It's not as good as you think," Leo replied. "The farmers and other people who live out there are as tough as nails – my dad was born and grew up out there as well."
"What makes it so tough?" Richard asked.
"They say that pokémon associated with darkness or the occult lurk out in the Wilderness," Leo replied. "At least, that's what my dad has told me."
"Do the pokémon cause trouble?" Richard asked as they reached the front door to Leo's house, an old but sturdy-looking wooden building overlooking the rocky beach. Verdant Island and Anar Town could be seen in the distance over the channel.
"You bet they do," Leo sighed. "Most of them are just pranksters, but apparently some of them are really evil. In fact, virtually no one lives in the north east of the island because a pokémon that steals human souls is supposed to live there!"
"There's a pokémon that dangerous here on the island?" Richard asked, his eyes wide.
"Apparently," Leo replied. "I've never been to the north east of the island myself, so I don't know. Maybe you could ask my dad when he gets home."
"Is it just you and your dad living here?" Richard asked.
Leo nodded as they stepped through the door.
"My mum left my dad when I was younger. She lives in Ciran Town now. I go and see her now and again."
"Why did you decide to stay with your dad?" Richard asked. "Ah! If you don't mind me asking!" he added quickly, bowing his head in apology.
"It's fine," Leo replied. "The truth is that my dad wouldn't be able to take care of himself if I wasn't here. Ah! Feel free to take a seat!" He gestured to an old red sofa in the living room. "I'm the one who does the cooking and cleaning whenever he's not putting me through some punishing training regime."
Leo paused for a second to think.
"He was pretty torn up by the divorce, even though he deserved it, and I guess I just couldn't leave him alone."
"It's pretty cool that you do the cooking and cleaning," said Richard.
"Thanks!" Leo grinned. "Why don't you stay over tonight? That way you can try some of my food!"
"Sure!" Richard nodded eagerly.
They heard the sound of the front door opening.
"I'm home!" A loud, deep voice rang out.
"Looks like my dad's back," Leo said with a sigh. He stood up and walked towards the door. "Dad! Why did you close the gym this afternoon?"
"That? Haha! Sorry about that! I wanted to take some time to do some training on the other side of the mountain!"
"A challenger arrived for you!" Leo told him scornfully. "In fact, he's the trainer we were talking about."
"Oh? You mean the one Liz told us about? Richard Winter?"
This caught Richard's attention. Markus and Leo already knew who he was? He jumped to his feet as the gym leader entered the room.
Liz had once described the Outcast Island gym leader as 'a bit scary, but kind at heart'. Richard certainly got the scary part. Markus was a huge man who towered over both the boys. He was well-built with thick arms and legs, and had unkempt dark brown hair and a short, similar-coloured beard. He had a tough-looking face that seemed to show all of his experiences of the harsher aspects of life on Outcast Island. He looked like the kind of person who would make the ground shake as he walked.
Despite that appearance, his tone of voice had been more playful and friendly when he'd been speaking to Leo and his eyes, though in a seemingly-permanent squint, contained a spark of energy and kindness.
"So you're Richard Winter?" he asked, looking Richard up and down.
"T-That's right!" Richard nodded quickly. "P-Pleased to meet you!"
"Hahaha!" Markus laughed loudly, his booming voice almost making the wooden building vibrate. "There's no need for you to be so uptight!"
"Sorry," Richard apologised. Maybe Liz and Leo had been talking about his size when they'd said he was scary?
"I suspected that you might find your way here eventually," Markus said. "Ever since I heard about you from Liz." He looked around the room. "She mentioned that you had two friends with you. Are they not around?"
"There was something else they needed to do," Richard replied.
"I see." Markus looked momentarily troubled. "Well it's too late for me to reopen the gym tonight, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for a battle."
"That's fine by me," Richard replied. "I booked a slot for tomorrow morning anyway."
"That's all good then!" Markus grinned. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do – Liz was full of praise for your skill as a trainer!"
"I hope I won't disappoint you!" Richard grinned, feeling more at ease.
"I'm sure you won't!" Markus smiled at him. He turned to Leo. "Leo, why don't you go and get started on dinner?"
"I was going to do that anyway," Leo replied, a frown crossing his face as he turned and left the room.
8:56am, 29th July 2005
"Good morning!" Markus's voice boomed loudly as he, Leo and Richard walked into the Outcast Island gym.
"Morning, Boss!" the receptionist called back. "The arena's all set up for you!"
"Glad to hear it!" Markus replied. He turned to Richard. "Let's head on in and get our battle underway."
"Sounds good to me!" Richard grinned.
"Good luck, Richard," said Leo, patting him on the back. "Just remember everything we practiced yesterday!"
"Thanks, Leo!" Richard replied.
"What's this? No 'good luck' for your father?" Markus frowned as he turned to Leo and leaned towards him.
Leo flinched. "You don't need luck," he muttered.
"Is that so?" Markus continued frowning for a second before pulling back and starting to walk towards the doorway to the main arena. "You're going to refereeing this match, Leo! You'd better not show any bias!"
"Yes, Dad!" Leo replied sullenly.
9:01am, 29th July 2005
The arena inside the Outcast Island gym wasn't too far from what Richard had predicted, unfortunately. It was effectively nothing more than a cold, dark room hollowed out behind the lobby. Aside from a couple of wooden benches running along the sides of the room and a couple of overhead lights, the room hadn't been touched. The walls and roof were still rocky and uneven from being drilled out and the arena floor wasn't much better. Richard, Markus and Leo's footsteps echoed as they walked across the rocky floor towards the edges of the arena.
Richard shivered as the cold bit into him. He stopped as he reached his position at one end of the battlefield. At the other end, Markus took his position. Both of them glanced at Leo, who stood halfway down the arena at one side.
"So what are the rules for the gym battle?" Richard called.
"Five-Round Elimination!" Markus replied loudly. "The battle itself will be fought in five separate one-on-one rounds! The first trainer to win three of the five rounds is the overall winner!"
One-on-one rounds?" Richard thought for a second. "That means that there are no substitutions, right?"
"That's right!" Markus called back.
"Are both of you ready?" Leo called from the side-lines.
"Yes!" Markus and Richard both called back.
"Alright! This is an official Sevii League gym battle between Markus, the Outcast Island gym leader, and the challenger, Richard Winter from Pewter City!" Leo announced. "The battle will be a Five-Round Elimination battle and the winner will be the first trainer to win three rounds! In addition, neither side is allowed to substitute pokémon! Begin!"
"Go, Spear!" Richard threw out a poké ball.
Spear burst out of his poké ball and started hovering above the battlefield.
Since he wasn't allowed to switch out his pokémon, Richard was going to have to fight through any type disadvantages as well. He'd need to be careful. He looked back over at Markus.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Markus' usual grin and jovial demeanour had vanished. An almost maniacal smile had appeared on his face and his eyes burned into Richard. He was like a different person!
"Go, Misdreavus!" he shouted, throwing out a poké ball. His voice assumed a tough, authoritative tone, completely different to his earlier tone. His voice boomed around the room in a much more threatening way.
"M-Misdreavus?" Richard pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the small grey pokémon floating ominously in the air in front of Markus.
"Misdreavus, the screech pokémon. Misdreavus loves to bite and yank people's hair from behind without warning, just to see their startled reactions. It likes playing mischievous tricks such as screaming and wailing to startle people at night."
"I was expecting someone like Markus to use fighting types or something," Richard murmured to himself as he put his Pokédex. The appearance of a ghost type had caught him completely off-guard. Regaining his composure, he gave his first order: "Spear, use Agility!"
Spear, also slightly off-put by Markus' change, recovered and sped towards Misdreavus.
"Now use Drill Peck!" Richard ordered.
Spear dropped back to normal speed behind Misdreavus and ploughed into her from behind. She cried in pain and crashed to the ground.
"Get up, Misdreavus!" Markus called, his tone unchanged.
Misdreavus pulled herself up, a sinister grin on her face as Spear swooped round above her.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Richard called.
Spear nodded and dove down towards Misdreavus again, who cried out as she was hit and thrown back, landing with a crash on the ground again. She'd clearly taken a lot of damage from the last two attacks.
Richard was immediately suspicious. This was the strongest gym leader in the Sevii Islands – there was no way that he'd just let his pokémon take attacks like this. He must be planning something. Looking at Markus, Richard couldn't discern anything from his eyes. The warmth and friendliness of before was gone, replaced with cold determination and focus.
This must have been what Liz and Leo meant when they said that Markus was scary – he was a completely different person while battling!
"Use Pain Split!" Markus ordered coldly.
Misdreavus nodded as she pulled herself up. Her eyes lit up with a bright red light. A red aura appeared around Spear as he circled above. He suddenly let out a screech of pain and lost height. A red glow drifted from him to Misdreavus, who immediately started to look far less tired.
"What was that?" Richard exclaimed as Spear recovered and regained height.
"Pain Split is an attack which equalizes the amount of energy and injuries both pokémon have!" Leo called. "Since Misdreavus had much less health than Spear, she gained health while he lost it!"
"Leo!" Markus called darkly, shooting a glare at him.
"Sorry, Dad!" Leo cried in fright.
"Use Psybeam!" Markus called to Misdreavus.
Misdreavus fired a beam of multi-coloured psychic energy towards Spear, who cried in pain as he was hit. He lost height again and crashed to the ground.
"Spear! Are you alright?" Richard cried.
Spear pulled himself up again and gave a weary nod.
"Okay, use Aerial Ace!" Richard shouted.
Spear nodded. He took off and flew towards Misdreavus, his wings glowing a bright white colour.
"Intercept it with Psybeam!" Markus called.
Misdreavus fired another Psybeam towards Spear.
"Dodge it with Double Team!" Richard yelled.
Spear nodded. Suddenly, a whole group of doubles appeared around him. The Psybeam struck one of the Spears, only for it to vanish instantly. Another Psybeam produced the same result. The remaining Spears dove in and the real one slashed at Misdreavus with his wings. Misdreavus cried in pain as she was thrown back.
"Use Perish Song!" Markus called.
Misdreavus started singing a mournful song which echoed eerily around the arena.
"Now use Psybeam!" Markus shouted.
Misdreavus fired another beam of psychic energy towards Spear, striking him directly. Spear cried out in pain as he dropped back to the ground with a crash.
"Are you okay, Spear?" Richard called anxiously.
Spear pulled himself determinedly up again, though it looked like he was on his last legs.
"Finish it up with Psybeam!" Markus ordered.
Misdreavus fired another Psybeam.
"Dodge it with Agility!" Richard yelled. "Then use Drill Peck!"
Spear took off and vanished from sight, just in time to avoid the Psybeam. Reappearing on Misdreavus' left, he dove towards her while rotating like a drill and smashed his beak into her.
Misdreavus cried in pain as the two of them crashed to the ground. As the dust cleared, Spear just managed to pull himself up with the last of his strength. Misdreavus, however, was knocked out.
"Misdreavus is unable to battle!" Leo announced. "The winner is Fearow! The first round goes to the challenger!"
"Haha!" Markus laughed, his usual demeanour returning as he recalled Misdreavus. "I never expected your fearow to hold on like that! Exceptional battling!"
"Thanks!" Richard called back, unnerved by how quickly he'd shifted his personality back again. He recalled the exhausted Spear to his poké ball.
"Sorry about my attitude in battle!" Markus grinned at him, guessing what he was thinking. "But I didn't get to be the strongest gym leader in the Sevii Islands by not taking my battles seriously!"
"Don't worry! It's not a problem!" Richard laughed nervously.
"Anyway, on to the next round!" Markus boomed. He pulled out his next poké ball.
"Go, Xatu!"
"Go, Flare!" Richard called.
Flare burst out of his poké ball while, across the battlefield, a bird with a bright green head and white wings with black tips landed softly on the ground.
"Xatu?" Richard pulled out his Pokédex.
"Xatu, the mystic pokémon and the evolved form of natu. Xatu is known to stand motionless while staring at the sun all day long. Some people revere it as a mystical pokémon out of their belief that xatu possesses the ability to see into the future."
"Is that true?" Richard asked in surprise as he put his Pokédex away.
"There's no time for talk!" Markus called. "Xatu, use Psychic!"
Xatu's eyes glowed a bright blue colour. Flare cried in alarm as he was lifted into the air. With a whoosh, he was hurled back to the ground with a crash.
"Flare! Are you alright?" Richard cried.
Flare pulled himself unsteadily back to his feet and nodded.
"Alright, use Agility!" Richard called.
Flare started charging towards Xatu. In a split second, he vanished from sight and reappeared behind the mystic pokémon.
"Now use Take Down!" Richard shouted.
Flare threw himself towards Xatu.
"Teleport!" Markus called.
Xatu vanished just as Flare was about to hit him. Flare cried out in surprise, losing his footing and stumbling to the ground.
"Use Peck!" Markus called.
Xatu dove down from the murky ceiling of the room and pecked at Flare viciously.
"Fight him off with Ember!" Richard yelled.
Flare nodded and fired a blast of embers at Xatu at close range. Xatu screeched in pain as he was hit and thrown back.
"Use Confuse Ray!" Markus ordered as Flare and Xatu both pulled themselves up again.
Xatu fired a cluster of yellow orbs towards Flare.
"Dodge it and use Agility!" Richard shouted.
Flare nodded. He vanished from sight, easily avoiding the Confuse Ray, and reappeared on Xatu's right.
"Now use Take Down!" Richard called.
Flare threw himself towards Xatu's exposed flank.
"Teleport!" Markus yelled.
Xatu vanished again.
This time, Flare was expecting it and pulled off a safe landing. Looking around, he spotted Xatu lurking in the shadows high above the arena.
"Use Bounce!" Richard ordered.
Flare sprang up and sailed through the air towards Xatu.
"Those without wings shouldn't try to fly!" A grin appeared on Markus' face.
Xatu's eyes glowed blue. Flare cried out in alarm as he was snatched out of his leap.
"Flare?" Richard cried as he hit the ground with a loud crash.
As the dust cleared, Flare pulled himself unsteadily back to his feet. He looked exhausted and seemed to be having trouble putting weight on one of his front hooves. He looked back and gave Richard a reassuring nod though, as Xatu dropped back down to the ground ahead of them.
"Use Agility and then Taken Down!" Richard ordered.
Flare rushed forwards, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his injured leg. As he was about to hit Xatu, the mystic pokémon dove to the left at the last moment to avoid the attack.
"Use Ember!" Richard shouted.
Still travelling forwards, Flare swung his head around and fired a burst of fiery embers towards Xatu, who cried in surprise and pain as he was hit.
"Use Take Down again!" Richard yelled as Xatu fell back in confusion.
Flare winced as he pivoted on his bad leg and charged forwards again. He crashed into Xatu and both pokémon fell to the ground.
"Xatu! Get up and use Psychic!" Markus ordered as the dust cleared.
Xatu pulled himself unsteadily to his feet and lifted Flare into the air with his psychic powers.
"Use Ember!" Richard shouted.
Flare fired another burst of embers towards Xatu just before he could throw him back. Xatu cried in pain, dropping Flare back to the ground.
"Finish up with Take Down!" Richard yelled.
Flare raced forwards and slammed into Xatu again. He cried as he was thrown back. He landed with a crash.
"Xatu?" Markus called.
Xatu responded weakly.
"Xatu is unable to battle!" Leo called, the slightest hint of satisfaction in his tone. "Ponyta is the winner! The second round goes to the challenger!"
"What was that, Leo?" Markus called.
"Nothing! I didn't say anything wrong!" Leo cried immediately.
"It sounded like you were favouring one participant over another!" Markus called.
"You're mistaken!" Leo insisted.
"Great work, Flare!" Richard grinned.
Flare gave him a weary grin as he was recalled to his poké ball.
"I've got to admit, I underestimated you!" Markus called. "I knew that you would have improved since you first lost to Liz, but I never expected this!"
"Thanks, Markus!" Richard shouted back with a grin. "Now if I win the next round, I win the battle, right?"
"If you can win the next round!" Markus grinned as he pulled out his next poké ball. "I think it's time I stopped going easy on you!"
"That suits me perfectly!" Richard grinned back, pulling out his next poké ball as well.
"Go, Gengar!" Markus called.
A shadowy purple pokémon with red eyes, a sinister grin and spikes on its back burst out of the ball and landed on the ground.
"I choose you, Helix!" Richard called, throwing out his own poké ball.
Helix called as he burst out of the ball.
"Start out with Destiny Bond!" Markus called, his tone turning dark again.
Gengar nodded. He fixed Helix with a stare, his eyes glowing with a dark aura. A similar aura surrounded Helix before fading.
Helix looked around. There didn't seem to have been any effect.
"Well, whatever." Richard shrugged. "Use Spike Cannon!"
Helix nodded and fired a volley of spikes towards Gengar…
…Only for them to sail harmlessly through his spectral body and crash to the ground.
"Ah! I forgot that normal type moves like Spike Cannon don't affect ghost types!" Richard cried in frustration.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Markus called.
Gengar built up a dark ball of energy in his hands and then threw it towards Helix, who cried in pain as he was struck.
"Counter with Ancient Power!" Richard shouted.
Helix summoned a cluster of boulders surrounded by a regal blue aura. He hurled them towards Gengar, only for the ghost type to dive nimbly to the side.
"Use Shadow Ball again!" Markus ordered.
Gengar cackled as he threw another Shadow Ball towards Helix, who cried as he was hit again.
"Are you okay, Helix?" Richard called.
Helix nodded.
"Alright, use Water Gun!" Richard called.
Helix fired a blast of water towards Gengar, who dodged it. A second blast of water, however, found its mark.
"Now use Ancient Power!" Richard yelled as Gengar was knocked off-balance by the Water Gun.
Helix summoned another cluster of boulders and hurled it towards Gengar, who cried out in pain as he was struck by the falling boulders and thrown back.
"Use Shadow Ball again!" Markus ordered as Gengar pulled himself unsteadily back to his feet.
The sinister grin on Gengar's face was replaced by an angry glare as he put threw another Shadow Ball towards Helix, who grimaced as he was hit again. He managed to hold himself in position.
"Use Water Gun again!" Richard shouted.
Helix nodded and fired another blast of water towards Gengar, only for him to dive out of the way.
"Use Ancient Power!" Richard called.
Helix nodded and fired another cluster of boulders towards Gengar, who shouted in pain as he was hit and thrown back again.
"Use Hypnosis!" Markus called as Gengar jumped back onto his feet.
The ghost type fired a ray of psychic energy from his eyes. Helix tried to dodge, but was a second too slow. His movement became sluggish as he fell asleep.
"Now use Nightmare!" Markus ordered.
Gengar's eyes lit up with a purple aura. Helix cried out in his sleep, his face screwed up in pain.
"Helix! You've got to wake up!" Richard yelled.
"Finish it up with Shadow Ball!" Markus called.
Gengar nodded. He threw one final Shadow Ball towards the helpless omastar, sending him flying back.
"Helix!" Richard cried as he landed with a crash in front of him.
"Omastar is unable to battle!" Leo announced. "Gengar is the winner! The third round goes to the gym leader!"
"So how does it feel, seeing my real power?" Markus asked as he recalled Gengar.
"You know," Richard began as he recalled Helix. "I think I'd have been worried if it weren't for the fact that Gengar can't fight in the next round!"
"Touché!" Markus grinned. "By the way, you didn't have any chance of winning that round right from the start."
"Hmmm?" Richard gave him a curious look. Then he remembered. "Destiny Bond?"
"That's right!" Markus grinned. "Destiny Bond is a move that causes the opponent to faint if they cause the user to faint! This round could only have ended as a tie or a win for me!"
"You just wanted to show off your power!" Leo sighed.
"I've still got two of the three wins that I need!" Richard added. "I just need to win one of the two remaining rounds in order to win the match!"
"That's certainly true!" Markus nodded. "Shall we move on to the next round?"
"Sure!" Richard nodded. He pulled out his next poké ball. "Go, Tory!"
Tory cried out as he materialised.
"I choose you, Hypno!" Markus called.
A hypno burst out of the poké ball and landed on the ground. His eyes widened as he saw Richard.
"Huh?" Richard noticed the reaction. "Aren't you the same hypno that Livvi caught that time?"
Hypno nodded enthusiastically. He looked around the room and seemed disappointed that there was no sign of the others.
"So, the psychic-type trainer Liz mentioned that time was you?" Richard asked Markus.
"That's right." Markus nodded. "I was hoping to show your friend, Livvi, how much he's grown since then, but I guess that won't be possible."
Hypno gave Richard a determined look.
"Well, Tory's not going to be a pushover either!" Richard grinned.
Tory nodded enthusiastically.
"Use Future Sight!" Markus ordered.
Hypno nodded. His eyes glowed blue for a couple of seconds before fading again.
"And now use Headbutt!" Markus called.
Hypno charged forwards, lowering his head as he drew closer to Tory.
"Dodge it and use Leech Seed!" Richard yelled.
Tory nodded. The eggs all split up and darted to the sides to avoid Hypno. Spinning round, they fired a cluster of seeds from different directions. Hypno cried out as the seeds hit him and started to spread their roots.
"And now use Sleep Powder!" Richard shouted.
Tory reassembled and fired a cloud of green spores towards Hypno.
"Dodge it and use Psychic!" Markus called.
Hypno leapt to one side. As he landed, his eyes lit up with a bright blue colour. Tory cried out as he was lifted into the air and hurled back to the ground.
"Are you alright, Tory?" Richard called anxiously.
Tory nodded as he reassembled. He hadn't taken much damage at all.
"Glad to hear it!" Richard grinned. "Use Barrage!"
Tory fired his outlying eggs towards Hypno, who cried in pain as each one managed to score a direct hit. He stumbled back in confusion.
"Use Hypnosis!" Markus ordered darkly.
Hypno nodded and fired a ray of psychic energy from his eyes.
"Dodge it and use Sleep Powder!" Richard shouted.
Tory separated out again to avoid the Hypnosis. One unlucky egg was struck by the ray and fell asleep, but the others remained active. As the others began to fire Sleep Powder back at Hypno, their collective conscious woke the sleeping egg up again. Hypno cried out as he tried to swat the spores away from him. He let out a big yawn and then slumped down to the arena floor.
"Wake up, Hypno!" Markus yelled in a booming voice, causing Richard, Leo and Tory to jump. Hypno, however, didn't react in the slightest.
"Use Barrage again!" Richard called.
Tory nodded and fired his outlying eggs towards the sleeping hypno. The first four struck the easy target, but the newly-awoken one overshot.
As the eggs reassembled, a blast of psychic energy suddenly came out of nowhere and struck the centre of them – Hypno's Future Sight attack from earlier. Tory cried out as he was scattered in all directions.
"Are you okay, Tory?" Richard called.
The eggs picked themselves up again and nodded. They'd taken a fair amount of damage from the Future Sight attack, but were still ready to go.
"Alright, use Barrage again!" Richard yelled. He'd realised that Hypno's psychic type attacks probably weren't doing that much damage because Tory was also a psychic type, so that meant Confusion would be useless.
Tory fired off his outlying eggs again. Hypno grunted painfully in his sleep as four of the eggs ploughed into him before bouncing off again. He finally stirred and then pulled himself groggily to his feet.
"Use Headbutt!" Markus called. He seemed to have realised that psychic-types moves were of little use as well.
Hypno nodded and charged forwards. He lowered his head and crashed straight into Tory, sending him flying back.
"Use Barrage!" Richard yelled.
Tory recovered in mid-air and fired his outlying eggs again. Hypno grunted in pain as three of the eggs crashed into him with dull thuds. He briefly dropped down to one knee before pulling himself up again.
"Finish this up with another Headbutt!" Markus ordered.
Hypno made to step forward, but suddenly went limp and crashed to the ground again. Leech Seed had sapped the last of his energy.
"Hypno is unable to battle!" Leo announced with a grin. "The winner is Exeggcute! The fourth round goes to the challenger! The challenger has won three of the five rounds and is thus the winner of the match!"
"We did it, Tory!" Richard cheered, running forward onto the battlefield.
Tory grinned back at him as he reassembled.
"What were you getting so excited about?" Markus called over to Leo.
"N-Nothing!" Leo stuttered back.
Hypno pulled himself into a sitting position, looking slightly disappointed.
"You did well, Hypno," Markus said as he walked up to him. "It looks like you started to pick up on the things I taught you after all!"
Hypno grinned back at him, his spirits lifted slightly.
"Well, I gambled on using a new addition to my team and it didn't pay off – that's my fault as a trainer," Markus said as he turned to Richard. "Rest assured that I would have won the last round hands down!"
"We'll never know, will we?" Richard grinned, secretly relieved as he recalled Tory to his poké ball.
"Haha!" Markus laughed as Leo walked over to join them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small violet-coloured badge shaped like a diamond. "Here! The Focus Badge is yours!"
"Thanks, Markus!" Richard said gratefully as he took the badge. "That makes six now!"
"Then you fulfil the requirements to enter the Sevii League," said Markus. "You might want to spend as much time as you can training though – some of your techniques in that battle were sloppy. I'd hazard to suggest that our battle was lost by me rather than won by you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Richard replied bitterly. "In any case, I think I learnt a lot by battling you – like how not to judge someone based on their appearances or behaviour!"
"You'd do well to keep that in mind!" Leo grinned.
"There's one other thing I wanted to ask you," said Markus. "I was hoping to speak to her myself, but I guess I'll have to go through you instead."
"What is it?" Richard asked.
"Your friend, Livvi, how does she feel about Hypno?" Markus asked.
"Huh?" Richard was taken aback by the question. "I don't really know. She didn't seem down or anything the last time I saw her."
"How was she after she gave Hypno to Liz?" Markus asked.
"She seemed…" Richard paused to think. "A little sad, I guess. I think by the time she actually gave Hypno away, she thought it was the best thing for Hypno."
"I see." Markus looked over at Hypno. "The truth is that Hypno has seemed out of sorts ever since he arrived here. He adapted quickly to the training regime and is a very capable battler." He paused. "But I think his heart has always been elsewhere."
"You mean Hypno wants to go back to Livvi?" Richard asked.
"It seems that way," said Leo.
Hypno nodded.
"So that's the other thing I want to ask of you, Richard," said Markus. He recalled Hypno to his poké ball and placed it in Richard's hands. "Please can you take Hypno back to his trainer?"
Richard looked down at the poké ball and locked eyes with Hypno. The pokémon nodded at him.
"You can count on me!" Richard grinned. "I'm sure Livvi would want to thank you for taking care of him all this time!"
"The pleasure has been all mine!" Markus laughed.
"I should probably set off back to try and meet up with them," Richard murmured. "Though they're probably already back at Carlona City by now."
"Captain Hudson's next trip to Anar Town is in forty minutes," said Leo. "If you want then I could come with you as far as there!"
"Sure! Sounds good to me!" Richard grinned. He turned back to Markus. "Thank you for the gym battle, Markus! I'll make sure I do you proud at the Sevii League!"
"I'll be watching!" Markus grinned. "Now get going and take Hypno back to his trainer!"
"I'll see you later, Dad!" Leo called back as he and Richard started walking away.
Markus watched until they left the room. He let out a chuckle.
"It seems that there's nothing stronger than the bonds between trainer and pokémon." He smiled. "I guess I should let Liz know that everything's worked out."
And so Richard has now won all six badges he needs to participate in the Sevii League.
Having given Dexter's gym a gimmick in the form of the platforms and bridges, I thought I'd try something different with Markus as well. Hopefully the elimination battle worked well and provided an exciting read.
On a slightly different note, I leave Pavia on Tuesday (14th June) and will be going on a brief road trip around north-east Italy with my family before heading home via Germany and Belgium. I should be in the German city of Baden-Baden next Sunday and I don't yet know if I'll have access to the Internet, so there's a chance that you may have to wait an extra week to find out what happens to James and Livvi. :P
Anyway, as ever, any feedback on this chapter would be greatly appreciated.
Until next time!
Team Listings:
Richard's Team:
Active:
Naro (Nidoking): male, mild, sturdy body, likes dry food, poison-ground type, Poison Point ability, known moves are Horn Attack, Megahorn, Poison Sting and Double Kick.
Sting (Beedrill): male, hardy, often dozes off, eats anything, bug-poison type, Swarm ability, known moves are Focus Energy, Poison Sting, Twineedle and String Shot.
Spear (Fearow): male, mild, likes to thrash about, likes dry food, normal-flying type, Keen Eye ability, known moves are Drill Peck, Double Team, Aerial Ace and Agility.
Helix (Omastar): male, naïve, somewhat stubborn, likes sweet food, rock-water type, Shell Armour ability, known moves are Spike Cannon, Water Gun, Ancient Power and Tickle.
Flare (Ponyta): male, rash, likes to thrash about, likes dry food, fire type, Flash Fire ability, known moves are Take Down, Agility, Bounce and Ember.
Tory (Exeggcute): male, brave, strong willed, likes spicy food, grass-psychic type, Chlorophyll ability, known moves are Leech Seed, Confusion, Sleep Powder and Barrage.
Temporary:
Hypno (Hypno): male, quirky, loves to eat, eats anything, psychic type, Forewarn ability, known moves are Psychic, Hypnosis, Future Sight and Headbutt.