Chapter 26: Johanna Moore

I wake up when the sun's rays hit my face through the window. I don't feel anyone beside me. I sit up and rub my eyes. I hear the shower running. I get up and get dressed. Dawn gets out of the bathroom, wearing a towel. We both turn red upon seeing each other. Dawn suddenly grins. I see the semi-familiar look in her eyes. I walk towards her and kiss her. She returns the kiss and wraps her arms around me. I feel her towel roll up from behind her. The only thing between the two of us is her towel. She stop kissing me and smiles. "It's cold in here," she says, giggling.

"Get dressed. I'll be waiting in the lobby."

"I was thinking-"
"Stop thinking. You're horny."

"Damn."
I walk out of the room, leaving Dawn to change. Riolu follows me, oblivious to what just happened. Eve is staring at me, smirking. "Stop thinking about me and Dawn kissing, Eve."

"Why should I? You two look adorable together."

I reach the lobby and stop. I see Mom standing in the lobby. She is looking at me. "There you are."
I walk over to her. She hugs me. "It's been awhile since I've seen you in person."
"The others should be waking up just now."

I sit on the couch next to Mom and wait for the rest. Dawn comes out with Riley. I stand up and walk over to Dawn. We hug and I wave at Riley. "Let's go," he says.

I nod and start walking to the door followed by Dawn. Mom runs over. "Aren't you going to wait for Barry and Roark?"
Dawn giggles. "They already left. They've been getting up early the past few days to train their pokémon."
"Oh. Then let's go train."
We walk away from the town to the spot Dawn and I battled at. Mom looks at the damages. "What happened here?"
"Dawn and I battled."

"They were magnificent!" Riley says.

Mom turns to him. "Also, who are you?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Riley. I'm from Iron Island."
"Really?"
Riley turns to me. "Let's begin."

I nod. Mom gets out a pokéball. "Show me how strong you've gotten Chris."
I turn to her. "We aren't battling."

Mom cocks her head. "What?"
Riley and I both flare up our Auras. "I'm training to control Aura."

Mom backs up. "What the…"

"I have an ancient power that dates back to the beginning of time, Mom."
"And it's seems his power is enormous," Riley adds on.

Dawn nods. "He's amazing."
Riley and I both create Aura Spheres. Riolu copies us, joining in. Riley throws his into the air and brings his right hand back next to his face. He shoves his arm forward, releasing a blast of Aura that destroys the sphere. I gasp. "What was that?"
"That is what is known as a Force Palm. It's Lucario's version of it. Normally, Fighting types make physical contact, but Lucario blasts his Aura outwards to attack an enemy. Attempt it."

I throw my sphere into the air and copy the motions Riley did. I try to expel Aura, but it blasts only a few feet forward. I gasp as the ball of Aura falls back down towards me. Dawn gets up and throws herself on me to get us both away. Riley steps where the ball will land and grabs it. He grunts and is forced a few inches into the ground. He surrounds his arms in Aura and throws it into the sky. The orb detonates with a massive explosion. We all watch in terror as the Aura dissipates. Riley turns to me. "To think that that Aura Sphere contained so much energy. It's magnificent. You've improved so much so quickly."

"Really?"
"It took me months to get where you are now. I worked extremely hard to improve my Aura to be able to do that."

He points to the sky. "That power is dangerous and unstable. You need to work on mental control and constitution. Without that, your raw power is destructive and harmful to everything in the universe."

"I can't tell if you're praising me or scolding me."

"It's both. You have more power in you than I originally thought."

"I thought that was only a little bit of my power."

Riley's eyes widen. "What did you say?"

"I thought…"
"I know what you said. That was only a tiny portion of your power? You probably have the power to destroy to entire planet if you tried."

Mom and Dawn back away from me. "You don't have to stay away from him. Unless he targets you or the planet, his Aura is harmless."

Dawn scoots next to me and hugs me. "You would never hurt me, right?"

"Never. I wouldn't even think about it."

Dawn smiles and pulls me closer. Mom is smiling at the two of us. "How do I control this power?"
"This is why I trained on Iron Island, Chris. You could meditate or anything you can do to make your mind and spirit into one being. Aura comes from within, Chris. Some people can only grasp the full power of their Aura in times of great stress and others grasp their full power through lifelong training and practice. Either way, you could die before you finally control your Aura. It'll take much longer for you to fully grasp the power of yours. The power will show itself little by little, gaining more power each time you bring out your potential."

I nod. "For now, you should focus on mental training before we proceed any further in practice."

I close my eyes. "Alright."
I stand up and Dawn releases me. I look at Mom. "You wanted to see how strong I've become. I have the answer now. You can't win."
She smirks. "Really? I'm a lot tougher than I look."
Eve and Riolu walk forward. I let out Rotom and Prinplup. I grab my last two pokéballs. "These two are my strongest pokémon."

I let Darkrai out. "You saw him last night."
I look at Uxie's pokéball. "This is one I caught after my first day of becoming a trainer."

"Your Shinx?"

I shake my head. "Staravia?"
I shake my head. "Much stronger."

I throw it into the air. Mom's expression changes from curiosity to shock as Uxie appears in front of her. "Hello," she says. "I'm Uxie, the Legendary Pokémon of Knowledge."
Mom backs up, shaking. "U-U-U-Uxie?…"
Riley is also shocked. I nod to Dawn. She throws Mesprit's pokéball into the air. Mom looks down as Mesprit appears. "Impossible."
"Barry has Azelf. We've promised to not use them for gym battles."

Dawn chuckles. "Most gym battles."

I grin. "I had to use her in Roark's."
Mom turns around. "It really is Darkrai, isn't it."
"Yes," he says. "I am the Nightmare Pokémon, Darkrai."
I see tears on Mom's face. "I can hardly recognize you. Are you even my son?"
I walk through the crowd of pokémon and embrace Mom. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too."
Dawn walks through and hugs the both of us. "I might as well call you Mom as well."
Mom smiles and starts crying some more. "I love the both of you!" she says.

Dawn smiles. "It's been a long time since I've been told that by a parent, well, future mother-in-law."
"Already announcing your marriage?" Mom replies. "You really have grown up."
My Pokétch starts beeping. I turn around and quickly return Uxie and Darkrai. Dawn returns Mesprit just as quickly. She lets out Lopunny and stands beside me. "Eve. Get over here."
She nods. I look around for Miror B. "Get out here. We know you're here!"

"You better listen, Miror B. You and Team Galactic are never going to win!"

Trudly and Folly walk out of the forest. "You really think so?"
Miror B. walks out of the woods behind them. Alongside him, I see two others. I gasp. "Mars?!"

She grins. "Surprised?"

Jupiter is on the other side of Miror B. I smirk. "Rotom."
Rotom zips to the front of me. "Remember us, Jupiter?"

Mom is watching us, confused as hell. Riley lets out Lucario. "Team Galactic."
Mars looks at him. "You… You were at Valley Windworks."
"That doesn't matter," Jupiter says. "Hand over Uxie and Mesprit."
"Never."
Mars steps forward. "I'll ask you again in case you misunderstood."
She snaps her fingers. Three grunts walk out of the woods. They each have guns pointing to three different people. Barry, Roark, and Looker are their hostages. Another grunt is holding a purple force field. Azelf is inside. She's knocked out. I gasp and back up. "No…"
Dawn steps forward. "Over our dead bodies!"
Mom taps on my shoulder. "Chris… would you kindly tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"
I chuckle nervously. I point to the people in front of us. "This is Team Galactic. They want to destroy the world as we know it and bring about a new beginning."

I see a giant shadow over the ground. I look up and see a giant hot air balloon. Two people jump out and land in the tree. They jump to the ground. It's Jessie and James, but they're wearing white uniforms with a red 'R' on it. "Prepare for trouble," Jessie says.

"Make it double," James continues.

"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie."

"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
They stand still as if waiting for something, then they both open their mouths.

Suddenly a Meowth runs up behind them. "Meowth, dat's right!"
They both jump and stare at the Meowth. We are all staring at them, confused. "Meowth," James says. "You're here!"

"I've always been near ya. I came to Sinnoh with ya."
"It's just like old times," Jessie says.

[Song: Team Galactic Boss Battle Remix by GlitchxCity]

Miror B. walks forward and throws two pokéballs. Two Ludicolo appear. Mars and Jupiter both throw pokéballs as well. Golbat and Purugly appear. I growl and get ready for a fight. Several grunts run out of the woods and throw their pokéballs. There's at least twenty pokémon. They may be weak individually, but together… "Hand me over, Chris! You know you can't win this."

"Never."
"Eve, Moonblast! Riolu, Aura Sphere! Prinplup, Bubblebeam! Rotom, Thunderbolt!"

I grab the two pokéballs on my belt. "Darkrai, Dark Pulse! Uxie, Psychic!"

My pokémon all attack in unison. Dawn smiles and tosses all her pokéballs into the air. "Lopunny, Dizzy Punch! Buizel, Aqua Jet! Pachirisu, Spark! Monferno, Mach Punch! Mesprit, Psybeam!"
Her pokémon start attacking. Riley smiles. "Lucario, Force Palm!"
Mom walks forward and takes out two pokéballs. "Pidgeot, Wing Attack! Weavile, Night Slash!"
She throws the pokéballs and her two pokémon appear. They attack relentlessly. I watch Mom command her pokémon. It's just like me. Dawn looks at me. "Now I know why you're such a natural at pokémon battles!"
I smirk. "Riolu, use Force Palm on Mars' Purugly!"

He nods. "Rotom and Uxie, use Thunderbolt and Psywave on Jupiter's Golbat!"
"Eve and Prinplup, use Moonblast and Metal Claw on the Ludicolo!"
"Darkrai, use Dark Void!"

"On who?"
"All of our enemies."
He chuckles and raises both of his arms up. "Dark… Void!"
The attack flies over the battlefield, hitting every pokémon on their side. Mars and Jupiter stare at me. I grin. I create an Aura Sphere and throw it towards them. They start running. "Retreat!"
I smile and turn to Dawn. She smiles at me.

[Song End; Song: Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: Battle! Team Galactic Boss Cyrus (Remix) by The Zame Jack]

"What is that?!" Mom yells.

I turn back to the battle. White slashes are flying through the air. "It's Air Slash!"
They all hit Darkrai. He yells and falls over, knocked out. The pokémon wake up and keep attacking. A Crobat flies out of the woods. It keeps using Air Slash on our pokémon. I see one hit Prinplup, Riolu, Rotom, and Uxie. They all crash to the ground. All of them except Uxie faint. I gasp. With the exception of Mesprit, Dawn's pokémon are defeated. Weavile, Lucario, and Pidgeot aren't looking good. A man walks out of the woods. I gasp and drop to my knees. Cyrus stares directly at me as he throws another pokéball. A Weavile appears and starts attacking. "Eve, use Moonblast on Cyrus!"
She starts the attack. "Use Cross Poison on his Sylveon, Crobat."
Crobat launches purple slashes at Sylveon. She flies back and lands by me. She's knocked out. "What?!"

"By the way, Chris," Cyrus says. "Fairy is weak to Poison."
My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. I growl. "Uxie, attack him!"

"Weavile, Night Slash."

His Weavile attacks both Uxie and Mesprit, knocking them both out with ease. All of our pokémon are down now. I feel tears in my eyes. "No…"
Cyrus grabs both Uxie and Mesprit. I growl and yell into the sky. I stand up and jump at Cyrus. He turns around and forms a purple force around his hand. I gasp. He jabs me in the stomach. "Poison Aura," he says. "You and that man aren't the only Aura users in Sinnoh."
I feel sick. Uxie opens her eyes. "We'll be fine. Train your Aura! Don't go after us!"
I look at Jessie and James. Their pokémon are down as well. Cyrus passes by the grunts holding Barry, Roark, and Looker hostage. "Release them. They will cause no harm."

He turns to Miror B., Trudly, Folly, and Mars. "Jupiter, come with me."
She nods, following him. "Grunts, kill the four of them. They are failures."

Miror B. and the rest gasp and start running. I watch as the grunts shoot four bullets. I hear four bodies hit the ground. Team Galactic starts walking away. I drop to the ground and faint.