I rise from the dead my beautiful readers, its good to be back. Sorry for the wait, but like I said in my note from before, I am suffering from some serious writers block so there is no telling when the next update will be. But I do have some pretty interesting news, I have been mentioned on YouTube. A guy asked me about a concept I didn't really give much thought of, how almost every trainer in almost every story has been aged up from ten to a much older age. It is a pretty interesting concept if you think about it, so if your interested in seeing the video, I'll be posting the name of it since it won't let me paste the link, look for it on the bottom.
Now please, read and enjoy.
"Why in the nine hells did I agree to this!" I growled while I squared off with a Gallade with my Bone Rush. Several cuts littered my body from the battle, while the Gallade had a number of bruises covering him where I was able to hit him. All in all, we were both pretty evenly matched in terms of skill, as well as speed, so there was no telling how long this fight would go on.
'Caleb, we need to end this, now!' I practically shouted while holding the Gallade's blades at bay. I gritted my teeth and pushed with all my might, finally pushing him back and off of me, allowing me to backpedal away and gain some much needed breathing room.
"Quick, use Psycho Cut!"
"Shit!" I just barely sidestepped the attack as the blade of psychic energy wizzed by me, nearly cutting off my tail in the process. 'That was way too close.'
"Extreme Speed, then use Force Palm!" I nodded and fazed out from existence, appearing behind the Gallade soon after, then shot my paw forwards, aiming for his spine. I felt instinct take over and curled my paw into a fist, hitting the blade Pokémon with larger force than my Force Palm could ever achieve. His back arched with the punch before he was basically launched across the field, skipping across the ground like a stone on water, eventually skidding to a halt face first in the ground.
"Gallade!" the trainer yelled and ran towards his downed Pokémon, turning it over to reveal that it was out cold. The kid looked up at his friend, who had currently been standing as the ref, and shook his head.
"Gallade is unable to battle, the winner is Caleb, congratulations."
As soon as those words left his mouth, I had dropped to one knee, totally spent. Almost immediately, I felt arms wrap around my waist as I was lifted from the ground and back onto my aching paws.
"That was awesome buddy, you won the battle and learned a new move, I'm proud of you" Caleb said and picked me up, bridal style, giving my head an affectionate pat in the process.
'Yay' I sarcastically cheered and let my head drop onto his chest. I was remotely curious on how he could have picked me up so easily, but my attention was kind of focused elsewhere, like on all of my aching body.
He laughed at my comment before exchanging a few parting words and a handshake with the young trainer, then continued on his way to Lumiose City.
'Never...again' I simply stated and closed my eyes, slowly losing the fight to stay awake. Caleb's head pats were definitely not helping and, before I knew it, I was out like a light.
"There you go, your Lucario is fully healed, we hope to see you again" Nurse Joy waved as we left the Lumiose City Pokémon center.
'You ever stop to think about how messed up the last part of that sentence is?" I asked after crossing the door to the city. Caleb nodded silently, but kept his eyes straight forward as he stared at Lumiose Tower. I grabbed his hand in my paw and pulled it onto my head, knowing that the feel of my fur would help keep him calm. The boy had been stressing out over this battle ever since we hit the road after Shalour.
"You think were ready bud?" he asked me, showing just how nervous he was. He never asked me that question when he was sure we could win. This meant that he was doubting the abilities of himself and his team, which frankly ticked me off a little bit.
'Caleb, come here' I ordered him. He obliged and leaned down towards me, giving me the perfect opportunity to deliver a smack right to the back of his head.
"Oww, what the hell!" he growled while fixing me with a glare. I shook my head in disappointment, not bothering to even open my eyes to look at him.
'Have more faith in yourself and your team Caleb, whether we win or lose, we will give it no less then our all. If we lose, we lose, we can keep trying, or you can buck up, shut up, and lead us to victory like you have countless times before.' He blinked, trying to process everything I had just literally shoved into his mind. When he finally came back to his senses, he still couldn't come up with a reply, simply opening and closing his mouth silently.
"Arceus...your right Aaron...how could I have been so stupid" he finally said after nearly a minute of silence. The sentence immediately earned a sigh from me. There he goes again, putting himself down.
'Caleb, you aren't being stupid, you simply had a small lapse in judgement. It happens to all of us every now and then.' I soothed, patting his back with a paw. 'Now seriously, stop questioning yourself and your team, and we'll give it everything we've got, just like we always do.'
He smiled and nodded, now looking up at the tower with renewed confidence. His fire finally returned to him, good, now I don't have to smack him anymore.
"Lets do this Aaron, I know were ready." I raised a brow at that. Now where did that come from.
He didn't give me time to question it, already halfway down the road towards the tower, making me run to catch up with him. I knew one thing, he was now more than ready for anything this Clemont had to throw at us.
"Thank God, no climbing" I let loose a relieved sigh as the doors right after the entrance slid open, revealing a large, ground floor, battlefield.
"Greetings challenger" I nearly broke off running at the suddenness of the voice that greeted us. Instead of running off like a little girl, I was struck speechless as I stared up at the giant robot standing over me. Well he wasn't really all that big, maybe about six and a half feet, but you gotta remember that I'm short, so he seems pretty large.
"The robots are taking over, hide me!" I jokingly screamed and hid behind my trainer, peeking out from behind his hip like a scared child. Both trainer and robot could only blink as they looked at me in surprise. I grinned and shook my head, letting them know that I was only joking.
"Okay...anyway, ignore him Mr...robot…person" Caleb hesitantly stuck out his hand towards the robot. It looked down at the offered hand and immediately took it, giving it a friendly shake and bowed respectfully.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Clembot, a creation of Master Clement's. I was created to serve the challengers of the Lumiose City" it stated, rising back to its full height and ushering us forward onto the battlefield.
"It's a pleasure to meet you to Clembont, my names Caleb, and this here's my buddy Aaron" he replied, putting a hand on my head and ruffling my ears. I bowed to the robot in a similar fashion as he did.
"If you will please give me a moment, I shall retrieve Master Clemont, I shall return momentarily, please wait here." Now he's gone, leaving me and Caleb alone on the battlefield.
'I was kind of expecting the battlefield to be metal to be honest, givin that this is a electric type gym' I said, looking down at the dirt floor. Caleb hummed in agreement, but didn't offer much in terms of a reply. I nudged him with an elbow and cast him a sideways glance, but keeping my head turned towards the field.
"Sorry bud, the nervousness is coming back" he told me, rubbing his hands together anxiously.
'Breath' I reminded, doing nothing more than sitting down in a meditative pose, choosing to sit quietly while we waited for Clemont.
"Master Caleb" I jumped, my concentration lapsing as I looked up at the robot as it stood before me. It moved out the way, waving its hand towards the door to the side where faint footsteps could be heard echoing from the opening.
"If I move this here, and this here, and calibrate this to just the right degree...there, all done!" A voice shouted in celebration. Shortly after, a blond guy looking to be about in his late seventeen's stepped through the doorway, giving himself a high five with some robotic arm coming from his backpack.
'That's actually a little sad' I mentally chuckled, already imagining how this must have looked to anyone who didn't know who this was. Me and Caleb even shared a look as a small chuckle escaped us.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I got a little distracted, your Caleb correct?" The boy asked, walking over and extending his hand out towards him. Caleb took it with out a second thought and shook it confidently.
"Yes sir, I came to challenge you to a battle and earn that Voltage badge." He stated, clenching his fist and holding it out in front of him with a confident smile. The boy was actually starting to worry me now, jumping between confident and nervous, I could swear he was becoming bipolar just from this battle.
"Confident are we, very well, I accept your challenge" he said, adjusting his glasses so they reflected the light so his eyes were no longer visible, and then pointed his finger at Caleb on the last few words.
"Excellent, gentlemen, please take your places" Clembot immediately stated, ushering us onto the respective sides of the field.
"Calm down Clembot, no need to rush everything" Clemont said, trying to calm the suddenly overexcited robot. It looked at its creator like he was some kind of crazy person.
"There is plenty of need to rush, you will no doubt have an influx of challengers this afternoon. Have you forgotten that this is what you called the, 'Busy Season'" Clembot said, making Clemont actually cringe before releasing a tired sigh.
"Your right, but still, lets not rush the first challenger of the day" He said, then turned back to Caleb with an apologetic look. "Sorry, he's always like this in the morning."
Caleb waved him off with a smile.
"Now, how about we get this battle started, shall we." Both trainers gained confident smiles and reached to their belts, pulling out their first Pokéballs.
"Alright, this battle will be a three-on-three match between Clemont, the Lumiose City gym leader, and Caleb, the challenger. Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions, now gentleman, please select your first Pokémon." Clembot announced, standing as the referee for this battle.
"Right, Magneton, your up!" Clemont shouted and tossed the ball out, releasing the Magnet Pokémon. (Just look it up, you should all know what a Magneton looks like)
"Electric/Steel type huh, guess I chose right then. Go Kaen!" He released the little Vulpix soon after, which after a few weeks of growing, wasn't exactly so small anymore. Her six tails flared as she stomped a paw, giving off a determined and confident growl before crouching down in a battle stance.
"A Vulpix...I see, that is a logical choice, but it still won't be enough to beat me." Clemont stated and nodded to Clembot. It took the cue and raised a hand to the sky, looking between the two of us for a moment.
"Battle...begin!" As soon as those words left its...mouth...all hell broke loose. Literally, it was hot as hell with all of the fire that suddenly covered the field. I actually hid behind Caleb purely from the surprise and suddenness of the attack.
"Magneton, dodge it, quick!" Clemont shouted frantically, also taken off guard by how strong and swift the attack came for his Pokémon.
"Oh crap!" the Magneton squealed in its metallic voice, quickly flying up into the sky to avoid the spout of fire that would have quite possibly one shot it.
'My God, what have they been doing while I wasn't around?' I wondered in stunned surprise as I stared at the Vulpix. Whatever they did to help her train...I want in.
"Electric Terrain!"
"Oh no you don't, quick Kaen, use Quick Attack!" she nodded and shot towards the Magneton, shoulder bashing it before it could use its move.
"Thunderbolt!" So much for her being suddenly OP, that point blank shot of electricity was enough to knock her back a few feet and wobble a little on her paws. It seemed that they paid way to much attention to special attack, not enough on her special defense.
"Stay strong baby girl, you can do this!" I shouted in encouragement, feeling a sudden surge of confidence emanating from her form. That's when she sprinted forward, flames seeming to completely cover her in an orange glow. Magneton barely had time to blink before a ball of fire slammed into him, knocking him back down to the dirt and pluming up dust.
"Magneton!" Clemont shouted in concern, which was rightly placed since, when the dust cleared, revealed a Magneton with swirls in each of its three...eyes?
I could only stare at Kaen, unable to form any words to describe what I had just seen. My little Vulpix just beat the ever loving crap out of a gym leaders Pokémon in little more than the span of fifteen seconds. I was definitely going to have to figure out what they were doing while I was training...and maybe I'll ask Mew as well. Right now, I needed to figure out if what I just saw was actually true.
'Caleb...what just happened?' I asked numbly, not turning away from the Vulpix currently dancing around the field in celebration.
"I have no clue" he said, sounding as surprised as I was.
"This is...inconceivable. Statistically that should have been next to impossible!" Clemont said, more to himself than to us, as he typed a few things into some pad he suddenly pulled out of no where.
"Actually, you have been falling short on your training, so it is perfectly plausible for such an event to occur." We all looked at Clembot strangely, not actually seeing the reasoning behind this statement. Falling behind on training won't make something like this more likely to occur, but Clemont just shrugged it off, choosing to ignore it for now and throwing out his next Pokémon.
"Heliolisk, its your turn!" He shouted, releasing the generator Pokémon out onto the field.
"Come back Kaen, its Lee's turn" he said, recalling the Vulpix and letting out everyone's favorite little hellspawn. The Kirlia twirled around a few times like a ballerina, finally striking a little pose and winking at the enemy Pokémon.
'Lee, I swear to God your gay' I sweat dropped while I watched the Heliolisk blush and gulp nervously.
"Alright, Heliolisk, use Quick Attack!" And Heliolisk disappears like a freaking magician. Half a second later, Lee was knocked halfway across the field and skipped like a stone across the dirt.
"LEE!" Caleb shouted, immediately being quieted down by the Kirlia's hand.
"I'm fine" he said, making Caleb nod and issue his next order.
"Use Magical Leaf!" I still wonder where these things suddenly appear, even as dozens of leaves suddenly appeared out of thin air and launch out towards the enemy. No matter how fast it could run, there was no way it was going to dodge that move.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Use Psychic before it can let loose!" Perfect strategy Caleb, keep him from defending.
"Heliolisk!" This was honestly just starting to get repetitive, Lee getting a few hits in, then Clemont suddenly turning back and getting a few hits in as well. I honestly think I fell asleep somewhere during the battle. When I woke up, I saw both Pokémon were out like lights.
"What happened?" I asked, my voice tired and groggy. I cracked my neck and shakily stood up to my paws, observing the carnage left behind from the battle. Holes littered the field and both Pokémon were sporting some nasty bruises and scratch marks. At least Clemont finally got one of us, not that he seemed all that excited about it.
"Amazing, you must have been training quite adamantly in order to perform so well, I'm impressed." Clemont readjusted his glasses and reached behind him, pulling out his final Pokéball. "But let's see how you fair against my strongest Pokémon."
"Finally, maybe I'll get to see some real action" I grinned and crossed my arms, eager to see the next battle.
"Bring it on" Caleb grinned and pulled out the Pokéball of everyone's favorite Absol.
"Luxray, your up!"
"Let's finish this Yuki!"
*Pop*Pop*
"Luxray!"
"Absol!"
Out they came, not even bothering to speak, simply uttering their battle cries. Yuki growled harshly, a move mirrored by Luxray as both the disaster and the gleam eyes Pokémon squared off, circling each other like Alpha's preparing to fight for territory. Something must have clicked between the two, causing a serious bout of aggression between the two. No doubt this battle was going to be brutal.
"Alright, use Thunder Fang!"
"Counter it with Night Slash!"
The two charged towards each other, Yuki jumping up and leaning her head back, ready to slash at Luxray with her horn while it charged at her, teeth crackling with electricity. Luxray's teeth clambed down on Yuki's horn, leaving the two in a stalemate.
"Night Daze!" Yuki's form glowed dark black before the darkness exploded, forcing Luxray to release her hold and sent her flying back, bouncing one before flipping in midair with feline grace, landing on her paws and crouching down.
"Volt Tackle!"
"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" The Absol tried to get away, but the Volt Tackle was faster and Luxray rammed right into her side, making her crash to the floor, but she quickly recovered and jumped back onto her paws, pouncing on Luxray who happened to be nearby where she had landed. The two rolled around, clawing and biting at each other, eventually being split apart from the combined force of Discharge and High Daze.
"Shadow Ball!"
"Swift!"
This battle was getting no where fast, just like the Lee and Heliolisk battle, this thing was going into a stalemate, neither side willing to give an inch.
"Your doing good Yuki, keep it up and Use Shadow Ball!"
"Counter it with Swift!" The attacks contacted once again, kicking up dust and dirt.
"Now use the dust to close in with a Night Slash!" Bad idea, did he forget about Luxray's abilities. Seems not, since he said nothing as Yuki charged into the cloud, only to go flying back out after a flash of light kicked her out.
'Gleam eyes Caleb, dust cover won't work, you have to catch it off guard.' Caleb nodded after hearing this information before his eyes lit up as an idea came to his mind.
"Quick, launch multiple Shadow Balls into the dust cloud!" She obeyed without question, launching Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball into the cloud. I could hear the constant shuffle of paws as Luxray was forced to dodge the constant assault. I smiled after realizing his plan, planning on tiring it out quickly. The poor air quality in that dust cloud should make it hard for it to breath, meaning it would slow down substantially and make it much easier to hit.
"Great job Yuki!" Caleb praised, earning a pleased yip from her. When the dust finally settled, it revealed a very tired Luxray panting from the exertion.
"Luxray, are you alright!"
"I...can still...battle" it said in a deep masculine tone. His voice was shaky and tired, but the boy still held strong and clenched his teeth, trying to endure the mixture of pain and exaustion.
"Quick Attack!"
"Volt Tackle!" He tried to perform the move, but he was so utterly exhausted that, after he took one step, he simply fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Luxray is unable to battle, the winner of this battle is Caleb, the challenger, congratulations" Clembot stated.
"Indeed, I seems you beat me, quite easily if I may say. You definitely deserve this" Clement said, appearing out of freaking nowhere and scaring the living crap out of all of us, especially Caleb, who was currently kneeling down in front of Yuki and rubbing her affectionately.
"Well, it wasn't exactly easy, I really had to think on my toes" Caleb humbly stated, looking up at the gym leader for a moment before turning back to his beloved Absol, giving her one last head pat before rising to his feet and readily taking the boys hand in his, giving it a firm shake.
"You say that, but you looked to be completely calm, even your Lucario was completely at ease, it must have known that you would win from the start." I looked up at the blond and grinned, getting ready to make this kids day.
'I have complete faith in my trainers abilities' I said, making the boy blink and look down at me almost immediately, his eyes lighting up with intrigue.
"A Lucario that can use telepathy, amazing" he reached a hand out towards me, but it seems his common sense kicked in first and his hand stopped inches from my head. I gave him a knowing smile and nodded, allowing him to close the distance between us and feeling him take one of my aura sensors into his hands, examining it closely. "Your aura manipulation is far beyond that of a normal Lucario, you my friend are a fascinating statistical anomaly."
I blinked, barely able to keep up with how fast he was talking, especially since he was using big words very quickly right after another.
'I'm confused, was that an insult or a compliment?' Clemont chuckled and rubbed my head gently.
"Excuse me, but I do believe Master Caleb has earned this." I looked over at Clembot to see him holding a small case out towards us. Clemont nodded and stepped in front of the case, popping it open and taking out the sole thing we had come here for.
"Indeed, here you are Caleb, for proving your strength as well as your intelligence by besting me in battle, I hear by award you with the Voltage Badge." Caleb eagerly took the badge from his hands, holding it out in front of him with a giddy smile on his face.
"Thank you so much Clemont" he said, lifting the badge up before his face and pulling out his badge case, planting the Voltage Badge in its respected place, making that the fifth badge in that case. "Three more to go you guys, then we can finally take on the Pokémon League!"
'You mean till we go and win the Pokémon League' I corrected, getting a chuckle from the human and a soft head pat.
"Well, I wish you luck in your journey Caleb, now I would love to talk but I must get back to my shop, I've almost perfected a machine that can practically cut down on the consumption of energy for all of Lumiose City. As you can probably tell, it is very important, so I must bid you all a good day." With that being said, we all went our separate ways. Clemont back to his shop and us back out into the streets of Lumiose City.
"Now how about we all go exploring the city and see if anythings changed" he suggested, releasing all of the team and telling them the plan. He received eager nods from all and barely had time to tell them to be back by sunset before they were basically gone. I'm amazed Yuki went with them instead of sticking around to go to the Pokémon center, but if she was well enough to run that fast, then she'll probably be fine.
'You taking Lee to the Pokémon center' I asked him, receiving a nod.
"Yeah, he fought pretty hard so he'll definitely need his rest." I nodded and started on my way away from him, but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey Aaron...thanks for believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself." I smiled and took his hand in my paw, squeezing it and putting it to my heart before pushing it back to his.
'I'll always have faith in you Caleb, remember to have it in yourself sometimes and you'll be unstoppable.' He smiled at my comment, disconnecting my paw from his hand and pulled me into a hug. He held me close to him for a few moments, comforting me with soothing emotions of joy and contentment, and finally released me to start on his way towards the Pokémon center.
I smiled and nodded before turning back to the city, preparing to search for the needle in the haystack.
"This is gonna suck" I sighed and began my trek into the city.
I know, not my greatest chapter but I wasn't all that much inspired. I apologize for the quality, but I hope you all still enjoyed.
Till next time, Bigshot out.
the name of the video is 'Pokemon trainer O.C. why raise the age' by Marco Hanenbergh.