A/N New Chapter is here. I intended to have this chapter up for Pokemon day but i got distracted in the week leading up to it. So instead to celebrate MY birthday you get a new chapter.
Hope you enjoy and i'll see you at the end.
For copyright stuff see Chapters 1 and 2.
Feel free to leave reviews and comments.
"Talking"- Person or Pokemon talking
"Talking"- a Pokedex or some other machine talking.
'Thoughts'- Person's thoughts.
Chapter 28: The Hot-headed Quiz Master
"Never thought I'd see you relaxing while there's still daylight left in the day," a voice called.
Brett opened his eyes and looked up from the hot spring he was sitting in enjoying the feeling of the heat seeping into his bones. Diana was standing there a thick woollen coat around her to stave off the November cold, the halter neck of a bikini letting Brett know she intended to join him in the spring.
"The only time I think I've ever felt as cold as today was while I was in the Seafoam Islands and on the bottom floor of the cavern," Brett replied as Diana put her coat and towel down near Brett's stuff and climbed into the spring releasing an involuntary moan of ecstasy at the warmth. "I think I'm entitled to a bit of relaxation. Besides my team is ready for the Gym battle. All I'd be doing would be putting extra polish on things."
"Fair enough," Diana replied. "You visited the Lab?"
"First day I was here," Brett replied. "Which of the two fossils did you take again I'm in no mood to kill the mellow I've got by trying to remember."
"The Helix Fossil," Diana replied with a laugh at the uncharacteristically relaxed mood Brett was clearly in. "How are you handling Aerodactyl, mine seems a little unfocused."
"Probably just reanimation shock," Brett replied. "Mine was a little edgy as well when it was first reanimated. Kabuto too to be honest, tried to eat on of the benches behind the Pokémon Centre."
Diana laughed before slipping further down into the water.
"Good to know it's not just my Aerodactyl then," Diana said. "Did something just move?"
"That'll be Kabuto, for some reason he loves the hot springs," Brett replied.
Sure enough a brown shell emerged from the water and climbed up the side onto shore and chittered away happily causing both trainers to laugh.
A large explosion of water a few knots from Cinnabar mid-morning the next day heralded the arrival of Arthur before being followed by an explosion of sand as he and Blastoise crashed into the eastern shoreline of the island.
"Ow, that was a bad idea," Arthur muttered as he pulled himself out of the sand. "You okay Blastoise?"
The Shellfish Pokémon responded with a weary thumbs up before dropping his arm back to the sand.
"I don't even don't want to know how this happened," Brett said helping Arthur to his feet.
"We ran into a Tentacruel swarm and I told Blastoise to use his water cannons to get us out of there faster," Arthur replied. "Turns out aiming into the ocean wasn't such a good idea. Don't think I've ever travelled that fast."
"That sounds like the sort of thing that Peter would do not realizing what might happen or that Brett would do while trying some crazy new strategy," Diana said releasing Venusaur to help Blastoise up. "How did you do it?"
"We aimed down a bit too much and used a bit too much pressure," Arthur replied as Blastoise scratched at the back of its head embarrassedly.
"Do I want to know what happened?" came a voice from behind the trio.
The three friends turned around to see Peter and Raichu standing a short distance away.
"Blastoise and I just made a minor calculation error when we were escaping a dangerous situation," Arthur replied with as much dignity as possible while still covered with sand.
"If you say so," Peter replied with a snort as Brett and Diana laughed.
"When did you get here Peter?" Brett asked.
"A few minutes back. Gyarados made land at the north of the island," Peter replied. "We were aiming for this beach so I must have been a bit off when I was working out where we were. Nearly missed the island."
Brett simply face-palmed while Diana shook her head. He might be bad at navigating but at least if he had a map he could find where he was going… eventually. Peter inexplicably got worse at navigating when given a map or other navigation tool.
"We've told you before Peter, don't look at a map to find your way," Arthur said. "Just confirm which direction to go then go."
"I know but I wanted to make sure I didn't bypass the island by accident," Peter replied embarrassedly.
"And what have we told you about making plans," Diana commented.
"Don't," Peter replied tonelessly. "Just act on my gut instinct. My plans never work properly."
"God we're a strange bunch," Brett muttered. "I can't navigate to save my life, Arthur nearly turns himself into pancakes on a regular basis and Peter's plans are as water tight as a colander and his navigation is likewise the moment he even sees a map."
"Seems you're the only sane one among us Di," Arthur added.
"I've been friends with you three basically my whole life," Diana replied. "I'm looking at sane in the rear-view mirror with a pair of binoculars."
"True," Peter said cheerfully. "But you wouldn't have us any other way."
The four friends cracked up laughing and started making their way to the Pokémon Center so Arthur and Blastoise could be checked for injuries.
"Riddle me this, trainers," a voice rang out as Brett and his friends walked through the doors of the Cinnabar Gym. "I can bring tears to your eyes; resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a life time. What am I?"
The four friends turned in the direction of the sound to find a bald man with a large white moustache and wearing a lab coat standing on a balcony that overlooked the Gym foyer.
"A memory," Brett replied confidently while his friends looked confused. "You would be the Gym Leader then."
"Correct and correct," the man replied. "Blaine, master of the red-hot Fire types and even hotter riddles and Cinnabar Island Gym Leader at your service."
"We've come for a Gym Badge," Peter added.
"Come right through," Blaine replied pointing at a door opposite the Gym's front door. "I'll just be a moment."
The four friends walked into the battlefield room and were soon joined by Blaine who was carrying a framed photograph in his hand. Blaine walked over to the Gym Leaders zone of the room and hung the photo on a hook sticking out of the wall. As Blaine stepped away Brett was able to get a good look at the photo and recognised the pair in the photo straight away despite being much younger in the photo than Brett had seen either of them. One Blaine while the other was…
"Fuji," Brett muttered in surprise.
"Ah, you've met Xavier then," Blaine said with a smile.
"Yeah, I helped him out of a bit of a spot involving Team Rocket," Brett replied.
"Ah, yes I remember him mentioning that," Blaine said. "Old Xavier and I have been friends since we were younger than you for are now. We grew up together here in Cinnabar, did practically everything together."
"Including Project Titan," Brett muttered in realisation.
"Xavier told me you'd found his journal and returned it to him," Blaine said.
"That means you know all about It," Brett continued.
"Which one?" Blaine asked.
"Both, or all three if you want to count the Original," Brett replied.
"Yes, I know all about the Creation," Blaine replied. "I should since I helped create it. I wouldn't say I know all about the Abomination though. I doubt anyone could."
"Do you feel the same guilt Fuji does?" Brett asked.
"I do," Blaine replied. "Not as much though. Xavier has always been more emotionally sensitive, especially where Pokémon are involved. I'm aware we did everything we could and nothing could have prevented, or even predicted what would happen."
"Good to know at least one person isn't tormenting themselves over something they couldn't prevent," Brett said. "Doctor Resurge definitely made the most of his time as an intern on the project."
"So you worked out you the two brothers on the team were," Blaine commented.
"Fuji's last entry mentions them moving to study Palaeontology," Brett replied. "Wasn't too hard to connect what I know about the two and the timeline."
"Xavier said I'd find a match in you," Blaine said with a laugh. "I thought he just meant in battle, but I see now he meant your mind as well. This should be fun."
"Um, either of you want to fill the rest of us in here?" Diana asked confused.
"It's nothing," Brett replied after some hesitation. "Just some stuff I found out while I was exploring the mansion."
"Now who's going to go first?" Blaine asked smoothly changing the subject.
"I will," Arthur replied. "My team and I have been hard at work practicing."
"Excellent," Blaine replied opening a Poké Ball holder in the wall. "Then let's begin."
Arthur walked over to the challenger's zone while the other three walked over and took a seat in the stands.
"This will be an official Cinnabar City Gym battle between the Gym Leader Blaine and the challenger Arthur from Pallet Town!" the referee, who had arrived during Brett and Blaine's conversation, called. "This will be a four vs four Pokémon battle and only the challenger may substitute Pokémon."
"I'll start with my Ninetales," Blaine called releasing a familiar looking white fox.
"I'll go with my Kangaskhan," Arthur called.
"Ninetales verses Kangaskhan. Begin!"
"Kangaskhan, use Surf," Arthur called.
Kangaskhan raised its arms and a large wave formed under its feet and moved towards Ninetales. Ninetales raised and spread its nine long tails that began to glow and turned metallic. Ninetales then leapt forwards and flipped in mid-air, its nine tails sliced through the wave causing it to collapse and cover the floor while leaving Ninetales untouched.
"Now Ninetales use Will-O-Wisp," Blaine called.
Ninetales spread its tails again and a blueish purple ball of flame ignited above their tips. Ninetales then fanned its tails forward and the flames shot at Kangaskhan who swung at them with its own Iron Tail but only managing to stop six of the fireballs leaving the last three to slam into its body. The force of the fireballs pushed Kangaskhan to its knees before its body was engulfed by flames that quickly died down.
"Oh well," Arthur muttered. "Hey Brett, here's one we got from you. Kangaskhan use Façade!"
Kangaskhan was outlined in an orange glow before shoulder charging Ninetales who was sent flying backwards before summersaulting and landing on its feet gracefully.
"Impressive, but it will take more than that to beat me," Blaine commented. "Ninetales, Flamethrower!"
Ninetales spat a torrent of flame that was countered by Kangaskhan unleashing a large bolt of electricity. Kangaskhan followed up by bursting through the resulting smoke with a Mega Punch that would have sent Ninetales flying had Kangaskhan not sailed right through an illusionary copy summoned by Double Team. Ninetales capitalised on the missed attack by hitting Kangaskhan from behind with a Body Slam and unleashing a close range Flamethrower.
Kangaskhan raised another Surf and then fell backwards and slammed Ninetales, who was still on its back, through the wave and into the ground with its own Body Slam.
"Get out of there with Dig Ninetales," Blaine called.
Ninetales could be seen underneath Kangaskhan groping with its paw trying to make contact with the ground. Ninetales soon managed to hit the floor and start digging out from under Kangaskhan who used a powerful push of its tail to throw itself back to its feet.
"Get it back up here with Earthquake Kangaskhan," Arthur called.
Kangaskhan stomped its foot and a glowing white shockwave spread outwards in a ring as the floor shook. As the shockwave travelled it reached a point halfway across the field at which point Ninetails burst out of the ground as if thrown up by an explosion beneath it.
"Oh, that had to hurt," Brett said. "Earthquake's strong enough normally, but its twice as strong if the target is underground."
"Yeah, I forgot about that during a battle I had on the way here," Peter said. "Finished my Dugtrio off. Thankfully I still had my Farfetch'd."
As the friends talked Kangaskhan and Ninetails continued to trade attacks while dealing with their own ailments, Kangaskhan kept taking damage from the burn Will-O-Wisp had caused while Ninetails was being hampered by the paralysis Body Slam had caused it. It soon became clear that Ninetales' paralysis was hampering it more than Kangaskhan's burn as Kangaskhan began to visibly dominate the battle.
"Overheat, Ninetales," Blaine called hoping to overpower Kangaskhan and snag a victory.
"Kangaskhan, finish it with Façade," Arthur called.
Kangaskhan glowed orange again and dashed at Ninetales leading with its shoulder heedless of the enormous torrent of flames coming at from the other direction. Kangaskhan and the flames met and Kangaskhan forced its way through the torrent of flame, staggering every few steps. None of the spectators could guess which would come out on top. Eventually Kangaskhan made it to Ninetales and slammed shoulder first into the Fox Pokémon sending it sliding backwards and cutting off its attack. The two Pokémon stared at each other before Ninetales collapsed to the ground.
"Ninetales is unable to battle. Kangaskhan is the winner!"
"Well done Ninetales, return," Blaine said.
"Take rest Kangaskhan," Arthur replied.
"Let's see how you like my Rapidash," Blaine said throwing his second Poké Ball.
"Arbok, show what you can do," Arthur called.
"Blaine's team is truly well rounded," Brett muttered as he leant against the open window sill of his room.
"Ninetales is fast and agile, which means I need a way to counter that, but it's rather frail."
"Rapidash is the fastest but not the most agile and has decent bulk."
"Magmar is slow but its defences are huge and its power is nothing to sneer at either."
"And his Arcanine seems incredibly well rounded. Faster than Magmar but slower than either Ninetales or Rapidash. Bulkier than all but Magmar and only Ninetales is more agile. It also seems to have the most raw strength and the most versatile moves."
His friends' battles had gone a long way to determining the strengths and weaknesses of Blaine's Pokémon. Arthur's Kangaskhan had been surprised by Ninetales' speed and agility while both Diana's Golbat and Peter's Primeape had been surprised by Rapidash's speed and bulk.
Magmar's bulk and power had overwhelmed Peter's Hitmonlee and Diana's Venusaur had fallen to Arcanine's mix of attributes despite heavy use of Earthquake and debilitating moves leaving it up to her Lickitung to finish of the Fire type canine.
"Charizard's in obviously but who else?"
"Pidgeot and Alakazam have manoeuvrability. Scyther's out due to type and a think Umbreon's defences are too frail for this fight," Brett continued moving to the room's computer and bringing up his trainer profile with his Pokémon data.
"I know he wants to test his new strength and his bulk and typing would be a big help," Brett said coming to one entry. "Yeah, and I think I know who else to use as well."
Brett quickly made his decision and walked to the vid phones in the lobby to call Oak and swap some Pokémon around feeling confident he'd picked the best team for the job.
"And so it's time for the fourth and final challenge," Blaine said as Brett entered the Cinnabar Gym the next day accompanied by his friends.
"I hope I live up to your expectations," Brett replied confidently.
"Ha, ha, come let us begin," Blaine laughed.
"This will be an official Cinnabar City Gym battle between the Gym Leader Blaine and the challenger Brett from Pallet Town!" the referee called once they entered the battlefield and everyone was in position. "This will be a four vs four Pokémon battle and only the challenger may substitute Pokémon."
"Ninetales is first," Blaine called.
"Poliwhirl, so me what you can do," Brett called.
Out of Brett's Poké Ball appeared a short blue Pokémon with a round body with two large beady eyes protruding from the top, a white stomach with a black swirl, two short legs and a pair of short arms that ended in hands that looked like they were gloved.
"Poliwhirl, the Tadpole Pokémon and the evolved form of Poliwag. A pure Water type Pokémon with the ability Water Absorb. The surface of Poliwhirl's body is always wet and slick with an oily fluid. Because of this greasy covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle. Its two legs are well developed. Even though it can live on the ground, it prefers living in water. The spiral pattern on its belly subtly undulates. Staring at it gradually causes drowsiness."
Poliwhirl had been caught by Brett in Fuchsia City in its pre-evolved form and Brett had been training it hard to get it ready for battle.
"Ninetales versus Poliwhirl. Begin!"
"Ninetales start with a Will-O-Wisp," Blaine called.
Nine fireballs flew from the end of Ninetales' tails and shot towards Poliwhirl who simply stood and watched as they came closer.
"Now, use Waterfall," Brett called when the fireballs were close to hitting Poliwhirl.
A large geyser of water shot up around Poliwhirl extinguishing the Will-O-Wisp before it could hit. Poliwhirl was then carried up the geyser, upon reaching the top Poliwhirl turned and shot at Ninetails dragging the geyser behind it.
Poliwhirl and the geyser crashed into Ninetales who was sent flying backwards before gracefully flipping in the air and landing on its feet.
"Use Dig Ninetales," Blaine called.
Ninetales dove underground and Poliwhirl began to turn in place trying to pick where Ninetales would reappear.
"Poliwhirl use Double Team," Brett called.
A group of illusionary copies of Poliwhirl appeared in a circle around the battlefield. Ninetales upwards burst out of the ground into the air and dispersed one of the copies before its nine tails were grabbed by Poliwhirl who was next to the dispersed clone.
"Now use Seismic Toss," Brett called.
Poliwhirl jumped into the air and rolled in the air dragging Ninetales behind it before throwing the Fox Pokémon hard at the ground. Ninetales slammed into the ground heavily and bounced before twisting and landing gracefully once more.
"Hidden Power," Blaine called.
A ring of yellow energy balls Brett easily recognised as an electric typed Hidden Power surrounded Ninetales before being shot at Poliwhirl. The water type Pokémon closed its fist which became surrounded by cracking ice blue cryonic energy and swung at the oncoming balls managing to destroy most of them with its Ice Punch but four of the orbs slammed into its body sending a painful shock coursing through the Tadpole Pokémon.
Picking itself up Poliwhirl let off a stream of bubbles that spread out across the battlefield preventing Ninetales from dodging. Poliwhirl then capitalised on Ninetales' distraction by shrouding itself in ice and rolling at the Fox Pokémon at high speed. The force of the iced up Poliwhirl hitting it sent Ninetales flying backwards before it flipped in the air and dug underground and Poliwhirl continued to roll around the gym floor waiting for its opponent to pop back out of the ground. During one turn Poliwhirl was thrown into the air in a cloud of shattered ice as Ninetales burst up underneath it. Ninetails spread its tails and unleashed a Will-O-Wisp at its airborne opponent who once more extinguished the spectral flames with a Waterfall attack before launching a Water Pulse attack at the top of its arc. Ninetails avoided the attack with a Double Team causing the Water Pulse to hit the floor and burst leaving a thin film of water across part of the floor.
"Poliwhirl use Waterfall to stay in the air and fir Water Pulses until you hit the real Ninetails," Brett called.
Poliwhirl continued to shoot into the air and fire Water Pulse attacks at the swarm of Ninetales clones, each fake hit causing the floor to become covered with more water and causing Ninetales to summon more clones. As this went on Ninetales fired Flamethrower and Heat Wave attacks causing Poliwhirl to use its Waterfall attack to dodge while Ninetales used the distraction to disappear into the swarm of copies. Eventually Ninetales managed to hit Poliwhirl with a Heat Wave knocking the Tadpole Pokémon out of the air opening it up for a Will-O-Wisp to connect burning the Water type. Once Poliwhirl hit the ground Ninetales pounced on it striking with an Iron Tail attack before jumping up for a Body Slam.
Snapping out of its daze Poliwhirl quickly rolled out from under Ninetales and swung at the Fox Pokémon with a glowing foot just as it landed preventing the agile Pokémon from dodging and sending it flying.
"I'll admit I didn't expect Poliwhirl to know Mega Kick," Blaine commented. "Ninetales use Dig again."
Ninetales disappeared underground allowing Poliwhirl to get to its feet and fire a Bubble Beam into the hole. Ninetales burst out of the ground beneath Poliwhirl knocking it into the air once more.
"Grab it then use Ice Beam," Brett called.
Poliwhirl grabbed hold of Ninetales before firing a blast of cryonic energy, not at its captured opponent as everyone was expecting, but at the floor of the field. The beam made contact and the thin film of water, which had been growing the entire time Poliwhirl had been hovering in the air, began to freeze over quickly covering the floor of the battlefield in a thin layer of ice. Poliwhirl then used a Mega Kick to send Ninetales into the wall before using Waterfall to soften its own landing.
"Now Brick Break," Brett called.
Poliwhirl dashed forward with a glowing arm and swung powerfully at Ninetales who made to dash out of the way with Quick Attack, as it had been before amongst its sea of clones, only to find its feet slipping on the ice allowing Poliwhirl to slam it across the field before following it across the ice and crushing Ninetales with a Body Slam.
"How is Poliwhirl not affected by the ice," Blaine muttered as Ninetales used a Flamethrower to keep Poliwhirl from landing another attack.
Seeing Ninetales cringe slightly as Poliwhirl slid around it Blaine spotted the answer to his question.
"Smart tactic freezing the battlefield to prevent Ninetales from being able to use its speed properly," Blaine said as Poliwhirl landed a Water Pulse. "Then having Poliwhirl use a low powered Waterfall beneath its feet to keep it from slipping on the ice."
"Thanks, I knew we needed to counter your Ninetales' speed most in this battle," Brett replied. "Between this and the Water Pulse barrage from above that set this up I figure we'd be able to counter Ninetales' speed."
"As I said smart," Blaine replied. "But it's time I showed you why I'm Kanto's foremost Fire type experts and one of the top in the world. Ninetails supernova time."
Ninetails spread its tails behind it, its eyes glowing red. At the tip of each tail the flaming vortex of a Fire Spin ignited. Ninetales raised and closed its tails along with the Fire Spins which merged when they got close until there was a single giant flaming maelstrom spinning above Ninetales above the tip of its tails. Ninetales lent its head back and fired a Fire Blast straight into the heart of the maelstrom. Before the Fire Blast formed its signature shape Ninetales' eyes glowed blue and ball of psychic energy formed around the fire ball as Ninetales used a modified Imprison.
Poliwhirl shot backwards to put as much room between it and the giant firestorm with a glowing blue ball in the centre where the Fire Blast was straining against the Imprison trying to form its shape. Ninetales lowered its head and stared straight at Poliwhirl a vulpine smirk on its face. With a flick of its nine long tails the giant firestorm flew in an upwards arc towards Poliwhirl. Ninetales' eyes stopped glowing as the Imprison collapsed allowing the Fire Blast to grow into its shape. The force that the Fire Blast had built up behind it trying to break the Imprison caused the fireball to explode rather than take shape. The force of the explosion caused the vortex around it to be blasted outwards a great sea of flames descending on the field and causing a great cloud of steam to fill the air as the ice on the floor rapidly melted and boiled.
The cloud cleared to show Ninetales standing tired but confident in the same position on the battlefield expecting to see a knocked out Poliwhirl opposite it. Much to both Ninetales and Blaine's shock Poliwhirl was standing mostly unharmed causing Brett to let out an audible sigh of relief.
"I am so glad that freezing itself inside a Waterfall was enough to protect it," Brett said with relief. "Poliwhirl, finish it with Waterfall."
Poliwhirl shot towards Ninetales with in a column of water slamming the Fox Pokémon into the wall where it collapsed.
"Ninetales is unable to battle. Poliwhirl wins!"
"Ninetales return," Blaine said. "That's the first time someone other than another Gym Leader or Elite 4 member has survived Ninetales' supernova attack."
"Poliwhirl take a rest," Brett said before turning to Blaine. "Thanks, I'll admit I wasn't certain we would survive, that was completely made up on the spot out of desperation."
"Oh I can see why Fuji said I'd like you," Blaine laughed. "Let's see how you handle Rapidash."
Out of Blaine's Poké Ball appeared a larger version of the Ponyta Brett had battled in the Cerulean Tournament with a short horn on its head.
"Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokémon and the evolved form of Ponyta. A pure Fire type Pokémon with the ability Flash Fire. Rapidash usually can be seen casually cantering in the fields and plains. However, when this Pokémon turns serious, its fiery manes flare and blaze as it gallops its way up to 240 kmh. Very competitive, this Pokémon will chase anything that moves fast in the hopes of racing it. With its mane blazing ferociously, it races as if it were an arrow."
"Snorlax time for battle," Brett called.
Out of Brett's Poké Ball appeared a large rotund blue ursine Pokémon with a white belly and face.
"Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon and a pure Normal type with the ability Thick Fat. Snorlax's typical day consists of nothing more than eating and sleeping. It is such a docile Pokémon that there are children who use its expansive belly as a place to play. Its stomach can digest any kind of food, even if it happens to be mouldy or rotten. It is not satisfied unless it eats over 880 pounds of food every day. When it is done eating, it goes promptly to sleep."
"Huh, I guess Brett got one of the rare moments his Snorlax is actually awake," Arthur said.
"Tell me about it," Diana said. "The only time I've seen mine awake was after I played Brett's Poké Flute and trying to catch it."
"Snorlax versus Rapidash. Begin!"
"Rapidash, Flame Wheel," Blaine called.
Rapidash shrouded itself in a rolling cloak of flames and dashed at Snorlax who simply let Rapidash hit it simply taking a step back to handle the force and allowing Rapidash to bounce off its flabby stomach. Snorlax launched a Shadow Ball at Rapidash before it could recover.
Rapidash started to glow and charged at Snorlax who countered with its own Double-Edge attack. Snorlax's greater wait caused Rapidash to come off worse from the clash flying backwards just falling short of hitting the wall. Rapidash shook off its daze and released a Flamethrower at Snorlax who simply tanked the attack, however Rapidash used the attack to cover its approach and hit Snorlax with a Take Down. The force of the blow knocked Snorlax off balance and it was clear the Double Kick Rapidash made to follow up with would cause Snorlax to topple over.
"Snorlax get out of there," Brett called desperately.
Snorlax pushed off with its foot and performed a series of surprisingly graceful and acrobatic flips that left everyone in the room, including his trainer and opponent, gaping in shock at the feat which should have been impossible.
Snorlax followed up its gymnastic display by slamming Rapidash with a Focus Punch that snapped Blaine, Rapidash and Brett out of their shock.
"How the hell did it do that?" Blaine asked.
"Good question," Brett replied. "It didn't do anything like that when I was trying to catch it. What the hell have you been doing at Oak's?"
Snorlax simply stared at its trainer and scratched its belly either not understanding the question or not understanding why Brett was so shocked.
"Rapidash use Secret Power," Blaine called.
Rapidash glowed pink and galloped towards Snorlax who lowered his head and charged at its opponent using Headbutt.
The two Pokémon clashed head first with Rapidash being flung backwards by the force of Snorlax's charge. A visible yellow static charge ran over Snorlax's body showing that Secret Power had paralysed Snorlax.
"Snorlax, Metronome," Brett called.
Snorlax's raised its hands and wagged them back and forth until its fingers glowed white. Snorlax became outline in a red glow and dashed at Rapidash and began to punch the Fire type repeatedly, the final blow caused Rapidash to be flung into the wall. Snorlax then began to stagger slightly its eyes still glowing red.
"Huh, Outrage interesting," Brett muttered. "I'm just glad it didn't come out as Splash.
"Rapidash your turn," Blaine called.
Rapidash began waving its horn back and forth until it glowed white. Rapidash opened its mouth and unleashed a giant golden flame from its mouth that took the form of a large bird before striking Snorlax who hadn't been able to dodge due to paralysis.
"Oh come on!" Brett cried. "Not only does Rapidash use Mimic on Metronome but it comes out as Sacred Fire. Why is it whenever Metronome is used against me it comes out as the signature move of a freaking legendary Pokémon? Snorlax use Rock Slide."
Snorlax raised its arms and large rocks began to fall from glowing rings that formed above the field Rapidash began to dodge until one boulder slammed down in front of it causing it to slam head first into the boulder where its horn became lodged.
"Snorlax hit it now with Thunderbolt while it's stuck," Brett called only to face palm when Snorlax managed to shock itself thanks to being confused by Outrage. "Try Focus Punch again."
Snorlax's fist glowed blue and it pulled its arm back and held it as it gathered its focus. After a few moments where Rapidash continue to try to free its horn Snorlax darted forward and swung its fist shattering the boulder and sending Rapidash flying backwards.
Rapidash released an Overheat attack that Snorlax dodged with yet another improbable gymnastic display only to fall to the ground when a Metronome Rapidash used turned into Earthquake while Snorlax was standing on its hands causing it to lose its balance. A Double Kick from Rapidash sent Snorlax rolling across the field only coming to a stop after using a Mega punch to dig its hand into the floor. Snorlax then used another Metronome causing it to spit out a thread of sticky silk that wrapped around Rapidash's legs before being burnt off when it wreathed itself in a Flame Wheel and charged at Snorlax.
A Shadow Ball from Snorlax landed right at Rapidash's feet causing it to stumble and fall to the ground in a daze. A Thunderbolt Snorlax followed up with ended up hitting itself instead of Rapidash allowing the fire type to get back to its feet and unleash a Flamethrower that rolled the large Pokémon further backwards.
"Rapidash finish it with Stomp," Blaine called. Rapidash galloped in front of Snorlax and reared up on its hind legs intending to slam its front hooves into Snorlax.
"Please don't miss," Brett muttered to himself. "Hyper Beam!"
Snorlax opened its mouth and a purple energy ball formed in its mouth before an identical coloured beam shot out and blasted Rapidash backwards into the roof where it fell to the ground and collapsed.
"Rapidash is unable to battle. Snorlax is the winner!"
"After seeing that gymnastic display I'm not even ashamed of losing that match," Blaine said recalling Rapidash.
"I still want to know where he learnt it because I didn't teach it that," Brett replied calling back Snorlax.
"Well let's see how you handle the embodiment of heat," Blaine said. "Magmar light up the battle."
"Nidoking you're turn," Brett called.
Out of Brett's Poké Ball came a large, bipedal, purple Pokémon resembling a reptilian rhinoceros with large ears with green insides, a long, thick, powerful tail and a row of spines along its head and back behind a medium length horn.
"Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon and the final evolutionary form of a male Nidoran. A dual Poison and Ground type Pokémon with the ability Poison Point. Nidoking's thick tail packs enormously destructive power. With one swing, it can topple a metal transmission tower. Once this Pokémon goes on a rampage, there is no stopping it. One swing of its mighty tail can snap a telephone pole as if it were a matchstick. It is recognized by its rock-hard hide and its extended horn. Be careful with the horn, as it contains venom."
"Magmar verses Nidoking. Begin!"
"Start with a Smokescreen Magmar," Blaine called.
Magmar coughed up a thick cloud of black smoke that covered the battlefield shrouding both Pokémon from view. A faint 'X' shaped glow could be seen within the smoke heading determinedly towards where Brett knew Nidoking was standing.
"Magmar's coming Nidoking, you know how to find it," Brett said.
Nidoking closed its eyes and its large ears started to twitch before it spun around and while glowing red slammed a palm into Magmar's crossed arms, the Strength attack knocking Magmar flying.
"Of course its ears are highly sensitive so it can still hear Magmar approaching and can counter despite being unable to see it," Blaine said impressed. "Magmar Flamethrower."
The stream of flame that Magmar spat was met by a Sludge Bomb from Nidoking that stopped the attack and was immediately followed by a Thunderbolt that wracked through Magmar's body.
Magmar quickly recovered and swung a Fire Punch at Nidoking who countered with a Dynamic Punch, the two attacks cancelling each other out. Nidoking then disappeared underground allowing Magmar to set up a Sunny Day to power up its Fire type moves. Magmar was then thrown into the air when Nidoking burst from the ground before launching a Fire Blast at the Poison/Ground type. Nidoking's horn glowed silver and a spiralling wind kicked up around the horn before the sliver glow began to spin like a drill. Nidoking thrust its horn upwards at the approaching Fire Blast, the two attacks detonating harmlessly on contact.
"Not to self, beware of Horn Drill," Blaine muttered. "Magmar Brick Break."
Magmar dashed at Nidoking, ducking under a Sludge Bomb and slammed a vicious arm slam into Nidoking's head only to be wracked with purple energy as Poison Point activated. The poison damage stunned Magmar enough to allow Nidoking to hit it with a Dynamic Punch sending it flying backwards and causing it to stagger slightly while its eyes glowed red.
"Nidoking, Body Slam," Brett called.
Nidoking jumped into the air and dove at Magmar who fluked a dodge as it staggered sideways from its confusion causing Nidoking to crash into the ground where Magmar, in a moment of lucidity, was able to hit it with a Flamethrower burning its opponent. With this it became a battle of time as both Pokémon were now taking incremental damage from their status conditions as well as their opponent.
Nidoking and Magmar continued to trade blows while taking damage and Magmar quickly snapped out of its confusion. Magmar made to strike Nidoking with another Cross Chop only for Nidoking to sidestep and coat hanger it with a Strength attack before shooting a Thunderbolt from its horn. Magmar dodged the bolt of electricity before shooting a Fire Blast at Nidoking.
"Try this out," Brett said. "Surf!"
Nidoking rose into the air on a large wave that rose beneath its feet and extinguished the flaming attack before crashing down on Magmar and washing it into a wall. Magmar got up and spat a Smokescreen in front of it causing Nidoking's Megahorn to miss and its horn to get stuck in the wall.
"Now it's your turn to get stuck," Blaine said. "Flamethrower!"
The stream of fire was interrupted by a Sludge Bomb that Nidoking flung into the air then sent flying backwards with a Confusion attack.
"Horn Drill," Brett called.
Small cracks appeared in the wall as Nidoking's glowing horn began to spin, then resting itself on its tail Nidoking glowed red as it pushed off the wall with its feet using Strength. Nidoking flew backwards as its horn came loose before twisting itself in mid-air till it was flying headfirst for Magmar who staggered from its poison causing it to be struck by the spinning energy around Nidoking's horn. Nidoking landed heavily sliding a short way across the floor while wreathed in flames as it took burn damage while behind it Magmar sank to the floor knocked out.
"Magmar is unable to battle. Nidoking wins!"
"That was an almighty fight Magmar, good work, return," Blaine said. "Got lucky that that Horn Drill hit."
"Honestly, wasn't part of the plan, I just wanted to get Nidoking out of the wall," Brett replied returning Nidoking. "Er, sorry about that by the way."
"Don't worry about it, comes with the territory," Blaine replied. "Let's see if you can handle my strongest Pokémon. Arcanine!"
Out of Blaine's Poké Ball appeared a large orange and black striped canine with a sleek, white mane and tail.
"Arcanine, the Legendary Pokémon and the evolved form of Growlithe. A pure Fire type Pokémon with the ability Intimidate. A Pokémon that has long been admired for its beauty. It runs agilely as if on wings. Its magnificent bark conveys a sense of majesty. Anyone hearing it can't help but grovel before it. Arcanine is known for its high speed. It is said to be capable of running over 10,000 kilometres in a single day and night. The fire that blazes wildly within this Pokémon's body is its source of power."
"Time to test ourselves against a master of your type," Brett said looking at his final Poké Ball. "Charizard go!"
Charizard appeared with a tremendous roar before settling on the ground and snarling at Arcanine who growled back.
"Charizard verses Arcanine. Begin!"
"Arcanine, Crunch," Blaine called.
Arcanine dashed towards Charizard and leapt at it, teeth bared as it tried to clamp its jaws down on the dual typed Pokémon only to receive a Mega Punch to the face and be sent flying backwards where it twisted and landed on its feet and launched a Flamethrower. The Flamethrower was met a one from Charizard and the two attacks clashed in the centre of the field evenly matched before detonating.
"Huh, I never noticed before, but Charizard's left handed, same as Brett," Peter commented watching the Fire/Flying Pokémon punch Arcanine square in the face.
"Funny how things work out," Diana added.
"The odds of that are astronomical," Arthur muttered.
Arcanine dashed through the smoke at a blinding pace and attempted to hit Charizard with an Aerial Ace only to find its opponent had taken to the skies. Charizard hung near the rafters out of reach of Arcanine's attacks, glowing silver before dropping into a spiralling dive and slamming into its opponent.
"Throw it off with Strength," Blaine called.
Arcanine glowed red and pushed off hard with its back legs throwing Charizard off its back and allowing it to get back to its feet. Charizard rolled once through the air before opening its wings and coming to a standstill.
"Dragon Claw," Brett called.
Charizard's claws glowed green and it glided towards Arcanine whose body became outline in green and it raced forward leaving a glowing green afterimage behind before crashing into Charizard and racing past. Charizard spun in the air and managed to clip Arcanine's rear leg as it raced past.
"Strength," Blaine called.
Arcanine made to tackle Charizard who caught the large canine and flew into the air before back flipping and throwing it into the floor. Arcanine shook off the blow and launched a purple coloured Hidden Power ring at it airborne foe who detonated the attack with a Heat Wave.
The smoke from the detonation allowed Arcanine to slam into Charizard with another Extreme Speed before Charizard then slammed it with an Ancient Power attack.
"Iron Tail," Blaine called.
Arcanine's swipe with a glowing metallic tail was met with one of its own from Charizard. The two continued to trade blows with their metallic tails, looking like a bizarre sword fight before Arcanine dug underground after yet another equally matched clash.
"What's he doing?" Brett muttered. "Charizard is immune to Ground type moves."
Seeing a glowing green light from one of the holes left in the field by a previous fight that was nowhere near where Arcanine had gone under caused a moment of realisation for Brett.
"It's connecting all the tunnels together," Brett said. "Charizard, whip up a conflagration quickly!"
Charizard spun up a Swords Dance that was quickly filled with flames just before giant columns of flame burst out of every whole in the battlefield leaving little space untouched. The columns of flame faded to reveal Charizard untouched inside its own flaming cocoon. Arcanine leapt out of the ground shocked to see its opponent unharmed and was barraged by the sea of flames as Charizard released its conflagration straight at it.
Arcanine quickly dove sideways to avoid a Wing Attack Charizard followed with and was able to use an Extreme Speed to jump onto Charizard's back where it landed a powerful Crunch right onto Charizard's shoulder. Charizard roared in pain before making a spiralling climb that forced Arcanine to release its grip on Charizard's shoulder before being flung of and into the wall. Charizard then slammed a spiralling dive into Arcanine throwing it through the wall and into the next room before rising back into the air.
Arcanine flashed back into the room with Extreme Speed and spat an Overheat at Charizard who let itself plummet to the ground to dodge before swinging a Mega Punch that was clearly weaker due to its injured shoulder which Arcanine dodged easily only to have an Iron Tail slam into the side of its head.
"Use Fly again," Brett called.
Charizard once more made a spiralling climb to the rafters only for its opponent to dive underground to avoid its spiralling dive. Charizard spat a Flamethrower into the nearest hole only for Arcanine to leap out of a hole behind it and slam into its back with a Double-Edge.
Charizard slammed Arcanine into the air with a sudden Iron Tail before spinning in place and grabbing its opponent and rising into the air. Ignoring the Flamethrower to the face it received from its opponent it performed a backflip and threw Arcanine towards the ground. The throw was clearly weaker then intended due to Arcanine laying a heavy Crunch into Charizard's neck during the backflip ruining the dual types flow.
Picking itself out of the small indent it had left in the ground Arcanine raced at Charizard with an Extreme Speed who dodged by blowing Arcanine back with a sudden Swords Dance knocking it off its feet.
The two Pokémon continued to trade blows in what was clearly a very close contest. It soon became apparent that both Pokémon were tiring and being hampered by injuries. Charizard's injured shoulder preventing it from properly using most of its moves and the slash across the leg Arcanine had received from Dragon Claw early in the match was slowing it more and more as it tired. Soon both Pokémon stood opposite each other panting heavily and cringing in pain, Charizard's Blaze having activated a few minutes earlier.
"One last move," Blaine said.
"This will decide the match," Brett added.
"Strength!"
"Slash!"
The two Pokémon raced towards each other crossing each other's path and making contact. The two Pokémon stood with their backs to each other huffing heavily. Suddenly Arcanine collapsed to the ground.
"Arcanine is unable to battle. Charizard is the winner! The match goes to Brett from Pallet Town."
"Well fought Arcanine, return," Blaine said.
"Come on back before you collapse buddy," Brett said as Charizard did just that.
"Well that was certainly a magnificent battle," Blaine said meeting Brett in the centre of the field. "It is with great pleasure that I present you with the Volcano Badge. Proof of your victory at the Cinnabar Gym."
"Thank you," Brett replied taking the badge with pride.
The next day Brett and his friends were walking along the beachfront talking about their journey home before their final Gym battle when a voice Brett hadn't expected began calling his name.
"Brett, there you are!" the voice called.
Brett spun around to see Bill running towards them.
"I've been looking for you since I heard you were here," Bill said. "I've been invited out to the Sevii Islands by a friend of mine to assist him in a matter and I wanted to invite you and your friends along."
The four friends quickly agreed and Bill handed each of them a tri-coloured ticket.
"These Tri-passes will allow you to catch one of the Seagallop ferries from Vermillion to one of the first three Sevii Islands and between those three islands," Bill explained. "Follow me and we'll head back to my ferry."
The group soon reached the ferry port and Bill lead them to a small catamaran style ferry close to the end.
"Brett?" a voice called.
Turning Brett caught sight of yet another person he hadn't expected to meet.
"Cat, what are you doing here?" Brett asked before his girlfriend crushed him in a hug.
"My sister and I went with dad down to the Sevii islands for a couple of days to visit a Silph Co. factory out there, we've stopped here to refuel before heading back to Vermillion," Catherine replied.
"We were just heading down there funnily enough," Brett said. "This is Bill, he invited us down there as a thank you for me helping him out of a pickle a few months back."
"We've met," Bill said. "Silph Co. have provided me with equipment I've needed for my research on occasion."
"Ah, that's where you ran off to Catherine," came the voice of Catherine's father. "Ah, it's nice to see you again Brett, these must your three friends I've heard so much about."
"It's nice to see you too Richard," Brett greeted Catherine's father. "Yeah this is Diana, Arthur and Peter."
The three trainers greeted Catherine's father and Brett explained what they were doing again for his benefit.
"Sounds like an adventure," Richard said. "You know Catherine dear you're welcome to go with them if you want."
"Really dad?" Catherine asked excitedly.
"Of course, it may help you decide what you want to do come April," Richard replied.
"Oh thank you dad," Catherine cried hugging her father. "I'll be right back."
Catherine ran off and quickly returned with the backpack she'd taken with her stuff for their trip and hugged her father before quickly boarding the ferry with Brett and his friends who could help themselves from giggling at the thought of the teasing they'd be able to do while at the islands.
The little girl ran as fast as her tiny legs could go. Behind her she could hear the breathing of the monster as it chased her a deep, creepy laugh catching her ears. So focused was she in her fear that she failed to notice the faint rainbow coloured glow a few feet away amongst the trees of the forest as it watched the girl run by, watching and waiting to see what its chosen would do.
Hearing the snapping of a branch close by the little girl chanced a look over her shoulder to see if the monster was catching up. She knew she was close to the edge of the forest where she had a better chance of escaping the monster. Unfortunately while looking over her shoulder she didn't see the large root sticking out of the ground causing her to go tumbling head over heels before coming to a stop badly scratched and cut.
Looking up she saw the large creepy visage of the monster approaching, its deep creepy laughter coming louder and more often now. Glancing over her shoulder she saw she was only metres from the edge of the forest. Looking forward once more the monster came closer its long pointed nose now distinguishable in the greater light levels afforded by the thinner tree coverage.
Before the monster could get any closer a giant torrent of flame burst through the space between the girl and the monster. The girl wondered where it came from only for a large menacing shadow to fall over the clearing accompanied by a deep ferocious growl. The little girl thought she may have been saved from one monster by an even worse one. She really wished her daddy was here.
A/N And another chapter over. Next time we'll be island hopping and maybe even celebrating the holidays.
As you have probably noticed I've started substituting Pokemon on the Gym leader's teams if there are two of them or two from the same family. This chapter is a good example as Blaine's team in FR/LG is Ponyta, Rapidash, Growlithe and Arcanine. Obviously Growlithe and Ponyta were swapped out for Magmar and Ninetales respectively. This is to try give the battles some variety. I'll be continuing this from now on.
Also we are rapidly approaching the Kanto league and I'm going to open up suggestions from you. In a review give a trainer's name, town of origin and a team of six POkemon (preferably Kanto Pokemon but one or two from other regions are acceptable) and I may include them in the Kanto league tournament either as an opponent for Brett or his friends or just another competitor that gets mentioned in the story.
Finally, Arceus I cannot wait until Sun and Moon come out, the new POkemon, the new moves, the new abilities. Sorry nerdgasm over now
I sincerely hope the next chapter will be out in less time but as always anything can happen.
Until next time happy 20th anniversary.
Shadow out.
