Chapter 38: The last frontier
That was a very important day as well. I was about to get my last badge, the badge I needed to be able to take on the Elite Four. As you can imagine, I was very excited! The day was really sunny, nothing like the day before. Also, thinking about what happened the night before made me feel really good. That helped me to feel more confident.
So, without further ado, after having breakfast I headed towards the gym. Sootopolis's City gym is located in a small island. Getting to it was easy; Venus helped me to reach the location. Also, I took Cataegis with me and I was willing to let him take part in the battle. Maybe it wouldn't be very appropriate but… I wanted to do it anyways!
There was a big pool on the gym. As soon as I entered, I walked directly towards Wallace, who was standing at the other side of the pool.
"Hi! I guess you know why I'm here." I greeted confidently.
"Of course! Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Wallace. The gym leader of Sootopolis City. There's something about you… A difference in your demeanor… I think I sense that in you. What happened inside the Cave of Origin, and what you did there…"
"I think I could say that it made me grow as a person."
"Well, our upcoming battle will make all that clear. Now, show me. Show me the power you wield with your pokémon. And I, in turn, shall present you… with a performance of illusions in water… by me and my pokémon!" And after saying that, Wallace sent out to the arena a Luvdisc.
Wallace is a lot calmer than his niece Lisia, but that didn't make the battle any less awesome! I calmly walked towards my position. My choice was very clear, I sent out Trevor almost without thinking about it.
"Luvdisc, attack him using sweet kiss!" Wallace's pokémon attacked first. The heart shaped pokémon's mouth glowed pink as she released a pink heart from it towards Trevor, which confused him. Well, the battle would be more difficult than I thought!
Trevor's eyes went sunken as he began to trash around. That wasn't a good thing…
"Trevor, use leaf blade on Luvdisc!" I commanded as I emphasized the last two words. Sadly, Trevor ended up attacking himself instead.
"Now use draining kiss!" Luvdisc kissed Trevor's cheek and he didn't even realize he was being attacked. But I kept my head cool, refusing to freak out. It was my last gym battle and I wanted to do it well!
"Trevor, now try to use gigadrain!" This time he tried to execute the attack, but it missed.
"I can sense you aren't even close to giving up, I like that! Now, keep admiring this show! Luvdisc, use water pulse!" Luvdisc fired a ball of water towards Trevor; the blow was so strong that it made him fall.
But somehow, that attack made him snap out of his state of confusion. I noticed Trevor's eyes weren't sunken anymore and he seemed to be more alert.
"Trevor, focus on your opponent and use dual chop!" And as I suspected, he quickly moved towards Luvdisc, hitting her twice with his claws. Finally, things seemed to be going well!
"Impressive, but you didn't see everything yet! Luvdisc, use attract!"
"Trevor, ignore her and use leaf blade!" After trying his best, Trevor managed to ignore Luvdisc's attack. Next, he used his right arm to slash the heart shaped pokémon with the sharp leaves protruding from it. "Well done!" I encouraged him.
"Luvdisc, use draining kiss!" Once more, Luvdisc approached Trevor and kissed his left cheek, stealing part of his energy.
"That won't stay this way! Trevor, use gigadrain!" This time, he could attack his opponent successfully. Trevor drained part of Luvdisc's as a green beam of light went from the water type to the seeds on his back.
"I like what I'm seeing so far! Luvdisc, use water pulse!" Once more, Luvdisc fired a ball of water towards my pokémon. This time, said ball was slightly bigger, but Trevor could take the hit really well.
"Now use leaf blade, Trevor!" And that's all he needed to defeat the heart shaped pokémon.
"I like how you manage yourself and your pokémon, but this spectacle has just begun! Go ahead, Whishcash!" A dark blue pokémon appeared in the battlefield.
I don't know if Wallace saw this coming, but he was really impressed by what happened next.
"Well done Trevor, I will let you rest a bit." I said as I returned him to his own pokéball. Then I grabbed the Master Ball from my bag… "Cataegis, it's your turn now!" The legendary pokémon appeared, emitting a powerful cry. I chose to not make him undergo a primal reversion because that would have been too much.
"W-wow… Why didn't I see this coming?" Wallace babbled as he looked at the enormous pokémon in front of him. "W-well, Whishcash, use zen headbutt!" The water and ground type launched towards Cataegis as his head and eyes glowed blue. The impact made Cataegis move back a few meters. The attack didn't seem to hurt him very much.
"Cataegis, use body slam!" Yes, that's the first time I commanded him to use an attack. And it almost felt surreal to me! Cataegis jumped up and landed on Whishcash. The opponent was really affected; it looked like we would just need another hit to defeat him. Also, that made me think about how close I was to experience the same (which would have had different consequences), but I brushed it off almost instantly.
"Whishcash, use waterfall now!" Whishcash eyes glowed blue as a column of water rose from the pool. Then the dual typed pokémon swam up the column in a fast, spiraling motion, delivering a rather hard hit to Cataegis. But of course, that wasn't enough to take him down.
"Cataegis, use aqua ring!" Three rings of water surrounded his body. The few damage he got from Whishcash's attacks disappeared.
"It's impressive how much this pokémon trusts you!" Wallace exclaimed as he took a glance at Cataegis. "But now, let's continue! Whishcash, use earthquake!" The pokémon jumped really high into the air and then landed again on the water, making the whole battlefield shake. Cataegis even sunk into the water for a few seconds, but he rose up very soon.
"We are really close! Cataegis, use origin pulse!" I won't forget Wallace's face as I uttered those words. Cataegis jumped up as multiple orbs formed around him. Then he fired a beam of blue energy from each orb at Whishcash. The whole gym became inundated by an intense blue light as Cataegis performed his attack. After the energy faded away, Whishcash had fainted.
"Well done, very well done!" I congratulated my pokémon very enthusiastically.
"Wow… That was superb!" Wallace was downright amazed, which was an honor to me, considering how strong his pokémon are! "But now, let's continue! It's your turn, Sealeo!"
I decided not to keep using Cataegis for the battle; I didn't want to look like someone who uses legends to make things easier… although I know I'm not that kind of trainer. Once more, it was Trevor's turn.
"Sealeo, use aurora beam!"
"Trevor, use fury cutter!"
Trevor could avoid the multicolored beam that Sealeo fired from his mouth as he approached the water and ice type. After that, Trevor rapidly slashed Sealeo with the leaves on his wrists. Then, he returned to his position.
"Now, Sealeo, use body slam!" The light blue pokémon jumped up on the air and landed on Trevor, who had a bit of a hard time getting back on his feet.
"Trevor, now use leaf blade!" This time, Trevor used both arms to attack his opponent. Sealeo is not just a water type; he's also an ice type, which meant that we would have a harder time trying to take him down. But it would be worth the effort!
"Sealeo, try to use aurora beam!" This time the attack didn't miss, Trevor was hit by a multicolored beam which came straight from Sealeo's mouth. The attack affected him quite a bit, but not enough to use any kind of potion on him.
"Trevor, it's time to use gigadrain!" Once again, he absorbed part of Sealeo's energy through the seeds on his back.
"Sealeo, use waterfall!" The eyes of the dual typed pokémon glowed blue as a big column of water rose from the pool. Then, he swam up the column at a great speed, knocking Trevor and sending him a few meters away.
"Trevor, stand up and use fury cutter!" After a few seconds, Trevor recovered from the hit and jumped towards Sealeo at a great speed, slashing him repeatedly.
"Sealeo, use encore and then aurora beam!" Sealeo slammed his fins against the ground and then attacked Trevor once more, leaving him very weak.
Since Sealeo used encore on him, he was unable to use gigadrain. I reached for an hyperpotion in my bag and I sprayed it on Trevor. The potion made him feel much better.
"Since there's no other choice… use fury cutter!" This time, the hit was a tiny bit more powerful than the last time. The fact that Sealeo used encore after Trevor used fury cutter was really beneficial to us!
"Sealeo, use body slam again!" Trevor's opponent jumped into the air, just like the last time. Trevor tried to get out of the way, but it was too late and he ended up being crushed under Sealeo's weight once more.
After that I healed Trevor again, using a superpotion, since he seemed to be having a really hard time when trying to move.
Once Trevor recovered his energy, he used fury cutter again. This time the attack was even more powerful than the two other times. What's more, Sealeo already seemed to be close to fainting.
"Sealeo, do your best and use aurora beam again!"
"Trevor, dodge it and use fury cutter once more!"
And as I predicted, the attack made Sealeo faint. We were closer to getting our eighth and last gym badge!
"Glorious! But the best is still to come. Go, Seaking!" Wallace sent out his fourth pokémon, a mostly red fish pokémon whom had a horn on her forehead. It was a really interesting pokémon!
This time I decided to keep Trevor in the battlefield. Taking that Seaking down shouldn't be too complicated for him. I tried to tell him to use a different attack.
"Trevor, use leaf blade!" And it succeeded. Trevor attacked the water type using his right arm and the hit did a decent amount of damage.
Wallace muttered approvingly before telling his pokémon to attack. "Now, Seaking, use waterfall" A column of water rose as Seaking's eyes glowed in a deep blue color. Then she knocked Trevor down.
"Trevor, use dual chop!" After jumping towards his opponent, Trevor struck Seaking repeatedly, using his claws.
"Seaking, use aqua ring!" Water drops formed around Seaking's body and then they combined together to form three rings of water that made the damage disappear. When you see the pokémon of other trainers executing that kind of moves, it feels annoying!
"Trevor, use leaf blade again!" As I said, Trevor charged at Seaking and attacked her using both arms. I was just hoping that Wallace wouldn't tell her to use aqua ring again…
"Seaking, use waterfall again, now!" Seaking charged Trevor at a high speed as a column of water surrounded her. But this time, the hit wasn't enough to make Trevor fall.
"Okay Trevor, use fury cutter!" Trevor slashed Slaking with the leaves on his wrists so fast that I almost couldn't see anything. He was doing great!
"Seaking, use aqua ring just like before!" Damn it!
"I can do that too! Trevor, use gigadrain!" This time, Trevor absorbed Seaking's energy through his tail. The battle shouldn't take more time.
"Now use horn drill, Seaking!"
"Trevor, dodge it and use dual chop!" Luckily, Trevor could avoid the attack and hit his opponent. If Seaking ended up hitting him, Trevor would have fainted.
"Seaking, it's time to use rain dance!" Seaking's horn glowed light blue as a dark cloud appeared inside the gym and then it started to rain. Yes, IT WAS RAINING INSIDE THE GYM.
After staring during a few seconds at the phenomena, I told Trevor to use leaf blade. He hit Seaking with a swift movement, which was more than enough to defeat Seaking. To be honest, it surprised me. I thought the water type would last a bit more.
"Well, now it's time for you to see the best part. Prepare to be left astounded by this beauty! Go, Milotic!" And a gorgeous Milotic made her appearance. But guess what? There's no better Milotic than mine!
"This should be easy. Trevor, use dual chop!" Quickly, Trevor jumped towards Wallace's Milotic and attacked her twice, but this time he used his tail for the attack.
"Use hydro pump!" After the command, Milotic blasted a very powerful jet of water out of her mouth, which sent Trevor literally flying across the room. So that's why Wallace told his Seaking to use rain dance…
"Use leaf blade, Trevor!" I made a huge mistake there. Trevor could execute the attack successfully but…
"Milotic, now use ice beam on him!" After that, Milotic opened her mouth and a white ball formed in front of it. Then, she released multiple beams of white light, which made Trevor faint almost immediately after being hit.
I stared at Trevor in shock. At that moment, I knew I should have told him to use gigadrain. Then, maybe he would have been able to take the hit. Or not. Who knows? Either way I returned Trevor to his pokéball, not without telling him that he did a great job, and I sent out Venus. She seemed a bit surprised upon seeing another member of her species.
"A fellow Milotic lover! How did you get her?" Wallace asked before resuming the battle.
"I rescued her as a Feebas. Her trainer was being abusive." Remembering that was a bit painful for me. I didn't like to see the way that man was treating Venus.
"I'm sorry to hear that... But she looks radiant now!"
"Yes, she does! I do take good care of her, she deserves it."
"Well, enough talk, let's continue with this spectacle! Milotic, use hydro pump!" Again, Wallace's Milotic fired a powerful jet of water out of her mouth. The attack sent Venus straight to the wall behind me.
"Venus, use dragon tail!" Venus delivered a powerful hit to her opponent using her tail. Wallace's Milotic almost fell to the floor, but she could keep herself steady.
"Your Venus seems to have a good attitude! But that doesn't intimidate us. Milotic, use ice beam!" Wallace's pokémon swam towards Venus and coiled around her, blasting an ice beam straight into her face. That seemed to hurt Venus quite a bit.
"Venus, use aqua tail now!" A spiral of water formed around Venus's tail. Then she hit her rival with it.
"Milotic, use disarming voice!" Milotic opened her mouth and released a beam of purple hearts as she left out a loud shrieking cry. The purple hearts hit Venus as she seemed to be a bit astounded.
"Venus, use dragon tail again!" But this time, the attack missed. Venus still seemed to be a bit flabbergasted after listening to her opponent's voice.
"Great! Milotic, use ice beam!" The opponent fired a light blue beam from her mouth towards Venus. This time the hit wasn't so hard.
"Venus, go ahead and use water pulse!" A large ring of water appeared around Venus as her eyes glowed light blue. Then, the ring of water expanded and hit Wallace's Milotic.
"Milotic, now use recover!" Her body glowed gold as the damage on her body disappeared. It looked like the battle would last longer than we wanted!
"Mine knows that trick too! Venus, use recover!" Just like her rival did, Venus healed her wounds by enveloping herself in a golden light.
"I must admit, your Milotic is very graceful, but mine has nothing to envy! Use hydro pump, Milotic!" Once more, Wallace's Milotic attacked my Venus by releasing a huge stream of water from her mouth. The effects of rain dance still lasted, which explains why the attack was so powerful.
"Venus, counterattack with aqua tail!" Venus spun her tail as a big spiral of water began to form. Then, she flipped her tail and hit Milotic with it.
"Milotic, use disarming voice again!"
"Venus, avoid the attack and use dragon tail!" Venus dodged the beam of purple hearts and hit Milotic right on her face. This time, her opponent couldn't keep her balance.
"Milotic, use recover and hydro pump at the same time!" As her body glowed golden, Wallace's Milotic got ready to attack again.
"Venus, avoid the attack!" After that, Venus began to float in the air, avoiding her opponent's attack.
"Nice way to avoid my pokémon's onset! But she won't be able to avoid this one. Milotic, use ice beam!" Just like the first time, Milotic restrained Venus as she performed the attack, which hit Venus right in the face again. To me it was a bit of a dirty trick, but it was as valid as any other one.
"Now, Venus, use water pulse!" A ring of water formed around Venus. Then that ring turned into a wave which hit Milotic. The battle was really intense! Wallace really deserves his place as eighth gym leader.
"Milotic, use ice beam again!" This time, the water type didn't approach Venus for the attack. That way, the impact was less intense.
"Venus, go and use dragon tail!" And then, Venus gave out one of the most powerful hits she ever delivered. It was clear that she was determined to win!
"Milotic, defend yourself with hydro pump!" It was difficult for Milotic to execute the attack, since Venus's hit harmed her quite a bit. Anyway, Milotic's attack was still really powerful.
"Venus, use aqua tail, but now do it at full power! Do your best, I know you can do this!" And after these words of encouragement, Venus prepared herself to finish the battle. A huge spiral of water formed around her tail and then, she hit her opponent even harder than before. It was done.
Wallace's Milotic fainted. The victory was ours!
I screamed and jumped up and down before hugging Venus. I cried a bit as Venus hugged me back. I couldn't avoid reacting that way even if I wanted to. But that was something that had to be celebrated! After a while, I decided it was time to calm down a bit. It was time to receive my eight and last badge! I returned Venus to her pokéball, but not without congratulating her once more.
"I realize now your authenticity and magnificence as a pokémon trainer. I find much joy in having met you and your pokémon." Wallace said as he approached me.
"Same! Even if when we met for the first time we did it under unfortunate circumstances. But I must say that I enjoyed this battle a lot!" I responded happily.
"I see! You have proven yourself worthy of the Rain Badge. Accept it. Having that badge assures you full obedience of all your pokémon to every command you make."
I took the badge, which represented three drops of water, from Wallace's hands. That was a moment I thought would never arrive. But here I was, putting the eighth badge on its correspondent place in the case…
"Now, this means…" I muttered without completing the sentence, allowing Wallace to continue.
"…that you can take on the Pokémon League. It is the goal that all trainers in Hoenn aspire to reach after obtaining all eight gym badges. If that is the path you chose, then you must find your way to the island said to be the most remote in Hoenn: Ever Grande."
"I'm pretty sure I will make it there! Remember, I've been to a place no human should be able to reach!" I said referring to the Cave of Origin. "Oh, and one last question: Is there any place I should go before heading to Ever Grande?"
"Well it's not obligatory, but the rumors that reach me on the wind whisper that Professor Birch in Littleroot has created more powerful Pokédex. Visit him, obtain this new technology, and I have little doubt you will encounter more diverse than ever before."
"That sounds really interesting! I will definitely pay him a visit!" I didn't see Professor Birch since I started my journey. So many things happened since that day…
"And now… I will hope that a bright future waits for you, whatever path it is you choose."
"Thanks for everything, Wallace. Battling you has been amazing!"
After saying goodbye, I exited the gym and I walked towards the Pokémon Center. I would go to visit my parents the next day. I just overcame the last frontier that separated me from the Pokémon League but before heading to Ever Grande City, I wanted to see my parents. Seeing them would help me to feel even more confident.
"Dad? It's me! I will stop by home tomorrow."