38.
BATTLING THE DARK SIDE
The elevator gives a ping and the doors slide open. I gaze out of them, feeling a chill run up my spine quite different to those caused by the cold of Elsa's chamber. For the room I now behold looks eerily familiar, and I have mixed memories of similar-looking rooms.
At the moment I can see very little, for the entire room is shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by a single spotlight in the centre of the chamber. The floor and walls, from what I can see, are made of dark wood panels, and it looks as though even the high-set windows have been blacked out, allowing no natural daylight to infiltrate. All in all, it looks far too similar to dad's office in the Team SPF hideout.
"Come in, Luke. Make yourself at home."
I jump as the hard voice emanates from the darkness. Hesitantly I take a couple of steps forward, Reo following behind me, and after a few moments the elevator doors slide shut again. Now I am sealed in the room, with no escape until my battle against the final member of the Elite Four is done. I take a few more steps forward, when suddenly a light illuminates above me. I look up at it for a moment, and then look down to see that I have made my way over to the challenger's rectangle.
My gaze is directed forward now as a third spotlight flashes on opposite me. Standing under it is an extremely slim man dressed in black robes with wide sleeves. He has long, dark brown hair and wears black glasses despite being in such a dark room. His face bears an amused smirk and his hands, hidden by the sleeves of his robes, are clasped in front of his chest.
"Welcome, Luke Norton, son of Dominic Norton, the recently deposed Leader of the Silvari Pokémon Force," the man says. "I am Brandon, master of Dark-type Pokémon, member of the Silvari Elite Four, and the greatest Trainer in the world."
"Yeah, I remember you," I tell him. "We met in Creation Mountain. You got annihilated by your son's unevolved Houndour."
Brandon's eyebrows lower in annoyance. "Hmph. I held back against my son. You have yet to witness my true power, Luke."
"We'll see about that," I retaliate. "What is this place, anyway?" I add, indicating the surroundings. "Why do you like to live in the dark so much? It's like being back in the underground HQ of Team SPF in here."
The smirk reappears on Brandon's face. "I imagine so. Dominic and I always had very similar tastes. I was an architect before I became a full-time Pokémon Trainer; I designed not only this room, but also the entire building below Skyris Town. It was all my creation."
"Why would you do such a thing?" I ask now. "You must've known what Team SPF was planning. You must've thought your Pokémon were a threat from them."
Brandon laughs. "Dominic and I go way back," he informs me. "He wouldn't try and challenge me for my Pokémon. We have too much respect for each other…or at least, we did. Now that he has been defeated, however, he is not worthy of my attention."
"That means you must be the person Dominic mentioned in the hideout," Reo says now. "He told us he had one associate when he was a child who he respected because of their power and their similar ideals to his. That was you," he finishes.
"Correct," Brandon confirms with a nod. "But he lost, and is no longer worthy of being a rival to me. I hope you, Luke, will show me the power you inherited from your father. His spirit and passion for battling is in your blood - that, you cannot deny."
"I don't intend to deny it," I say. "I'll show you just how good me and my Pokémon are. And once I beat you, I'll go on to become the Champion of Silvari. You can't stop me now."
"Then show me your power, child!" Brandon commands. "Choose your first Pokémon! Who shall my first victim be?"
I consider my options for a moment. Gardevoir is ruled out immediately - she's massively weak to Dark attacks as a Psychic-type Pokémon. That gives me five options, including two which are good against Dark types. I decide to keep Reo for later on and go with my other advantageous Pokémon first.
"I'll kick things off with Leavanny," I announce, removing his Poké Ball from my belt and throwing it to the ground in front of me. For a moment the room is illuminated by the bright flash as the ball opens, then it clears to reveal my slender Bug-type Pokémon standing opposite Brandon, waiting for the release of its opponent.
Brandon considers for a moment before tossing down his own Poké Ball. It opens to reveal a large, black dog Pokémon with shredded black fur and a menacing-looking face.
"Mightyena," Reo informs me. "I recognise that one. It's the same kind of Pokémon as the beast that tormented me while I was kept prisoner by Team SPF."
"Looks like it's tormenting Leavanny somewhat, too," I say, indicating forward, where Leavanny has taken an uneasy step back.
"Mightyena's ferocity naturally intimidates its opponents," Brandon tells me with a smirk. "Your Pokémon will be reluctant to use its full power against me. All right, Mightyena, begin with a Howl attack."
Mightyena opens its jaws wide and lets out a blood-curdling howl, getting itself ready for the battle ahead. I hear Leavanny let out a tiny cry of fear.
"Don't be scared, Leavanny - you're strong against Dark-type Pokémon," I remind him. "Kick things off with a Razor Leaf attack." Leavanny's leafy cloak ruffles and he motions forward, sending a flurry of leaves towards his opponent. Mightyena shudders slightly as the attack connects but it does not fall down, easily withstanding the blow after lowering its power with its Intimidate ability.
"Take Down, Mightyena!" Brandon orders. Mightyena gives a bark and starts to charge towards Leavanny, its head lowered.
"Leavanny, Protect yourself!" I call, and Leavanny manages to throw up its protective barrier in time, stopping Mightyena in its tracks. This only serves to enrage Mightyena, however, as a deep growl strikes up in its throat as it looks daggers at Leavanny.
"Mightyena, Crunch attack!" Before Leavanny can protect itself again, Mightyena leaps at it, its jaws wide open, and clamps its mouth down on Leavanny's right leg. Leavanny gives a shrill squeal and struggles to remain standing as Mightyena continues to bite with more and more force.
"Leavanny, use X-Scissor to get it off you!" I instruct. Leavanny fights through the pain and raises its arms above its head, before bringing them swishing down in a scissor-like action across Mightyena's back. The large dog lets out a howl and scampers backwards, releasing Leavanny and trying to put some distance between them. "Good work! Now finish it with another Razor Leaf!"
The second leaf attack is too much for Mightyena, and as the sharp-edged leaves finish swirling past its body it finally collapses to the floor, breathing heavily, unable to resume battling.
"Hmph. Return, Mightyena," Brandon says, recalling his Pokémon, the disappointment prevalent in his voice. "I admit that you have some strategy, Luke," Brandon says grudgingly. "You battle quite well. Why don't you become my apprentice? If I were to train you to use your obvious power in more…destructive ways, who knows how strong the two of us could be?"
"I'll pass, thanks," I growl back at him. "Reo and I are happy the way we are."
"A pity," Brandon says with a shake of his head. "You're turning down a golden opportunity. This is what you get when you say no to me!" Brandon hurls down his second Poké Ball, and out of it comes a vicious-looking Pokémon with deep black skin and a red frill around the back of its head. It has sharp claws and looks a little like a weasel.
"Weavile," it growls menacingly at me.
"What type of Pokémon is that?" I ask Reo in an undertone.
"I'm not sure," Reo admits. "I've never seen one before. It looks quite agile, though. Perhaps it would be best to match speed with speed?" With this in mind I choose my own Poké Ball and unleash my bird Pokémon, Staraptor, the fastest member of my team.
Brandon gives a cold, merciless laugh. "A poor choice," he mocks. "Weavile, let's not waste time. Icy Wind attack, now!" My stomach twists unpleasantly. Weavile is part Ice-type? Staraptor doesn't stand a chance against Ice moves…
Sure enough, Weavile opens its mouth and exhales a freezing blast of air straight at Staraptor, who gives a squawk of pain as the attack connects. Realising that I can't switch Staraptor out now to save it from this onslaught, I decide a change of tactic is in order.
"OK, Staraptor, first use Double Team to gain an evasive advantage!" I instruct. Staraptor picks itself up off the floor and begins to hover in the air, concentrating its energy and generating a plethora of illusory Staraptor all hovering alongside her.
But Brandon just laughs again. "Weavile, Faint Attack," he says simply. Weavile motions forward and unleashes a shadowy version of itself which charges in a spiral around every Staraptor illusion, eventually making contact with the real thing before returning to its original place. "Now, give it another Icy Wind!" Another blast of cold air takes Staraptor down to the floor again - down, but not out yet.
"Come on, Staraptor! Use your Endeavor attack to turn things around!" Staraptor hears my instruction and looks up at Weavile. There is a flash of light and suddenly Weavile is rocking backwards, wheezing, its health suddenly reduced to as low as Staraptor's. "Good! Now use…"
"Weavile, Quick Attack," Brandon says calmly, before I have a chance to give a command. Weavile dashes forward and brings its claw up to strike Staraptor, and due to her already low health the attack is enough to make her collapse backwards onto the floor, knocked out.
"No, Staraptor…" I give a sigh of resignation and hold up her Poké Ball, recalling her. "You tried hard. Well done," I say as my Pokémon returns to safety.
"Sentiment will get you nowhere," Brandon mocks from across the room. I look up angrily at him and see that he has also recalled his Weavile. "If you want to win a Pokémon battle, you must treat it as if it were a fight to the death. Casualties cannot be allowed. You cannot thank your Pokémon for failing you."
"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that," I challenge. "We're both one round up. I only need two out of the next three rounds to beat you. Then we'll see whose ideals are the most appropriate."
"I expect we will," Brandon sneers. "Now, if you don't mind, I shall select my next Pokémon." He removes his third Poké Ball from his belt, and upon opening I find myself facing a familiar adversary. It's the same giant Scrafty that Brandon's son, Grant, defeated in Creation Mountain with his unevolved Houndour.
With this in mind, I decide to go with my Fire-type Pokémon next. "Come on out, Flareon!" I call as I send his Poké Ball forward. As he emerges I realise that Flareon also has some experience in dealing with Scrafty after saving me from them in Creation Mountain, so I feel confident in his ability to win here.
"Scrafty, Hi Jump Kick!" Brandon calls. Scrafty leaps up into the air towards the ceiling, which he pushes off to give him even more momentum before coming down and striking Flareon square in the face with its kick attack. Flareon cries out in pain and Scrafty jumps backwards, looking smug with itself. "Do it again, Scrafty!" Brandon orders.
"Flareon, Sand-Attack!" I cry, and Flareon manages to recuperate in time to kick a lump of sand into Scrafty's face just before it springs into the air. The distraction causes Scrafty to misjudge its leap and crash into the ceiling of the room, before falling painfully down to the floor.
"Trap it there, Flareon! Use your Fire Spin!" Flareon breathes out a vortex of flames that encircle Scrafty. The Pokémon begins to get back to its feet, wincing every now and then as bursts of flame emanate from the ring and strike it.
"You may be trapped, but you can still use your duplicate to attack. Scrafty, Faint Attack," Brandon orders. Scrafty hunkers down and unleashes its shadowy duplicate, which charges straight through the ring of fire and through Flareon, causing more damage to my Pokémon.
"You can run through that fire as well, Flareon!" I remind him. "Give it a shot of your Take Down attack!" Flareon gives a cry and charges forward straight through the flames and into Scrafty, knocking it to its knees. "Good work! Now use your Fire Fang!" I cry. Through the distorted air from the flames' heat I just about see Flareon open his fiery jaws wide and clamp them onto Scrafty, who gives a cry of pain and struggles to fling Flareon off of it. Eventually it staggers backwards and into the fire itself, where it gives another cry and collapses backwards, defeated. The fire begins to die down and still Scrafty shows no signs of getting back up. I grin in satisfaction. The third round is mine.
"Nice going, Flareon," I compliment. "Return for now." I call back Flareon as Brandon recalls his Scrafty, unsurprisingly without a word of thanks. "Only one more round to go," I remind Brandon with a savage satisfaction.
"I highly doubt that," Brandon says, and I can tell by his tone that he is seething with rage at the fact that he is now on the back foot again. "I have absolute confidence in my final two Pokémon. I have no doubt that they will destroy you utterly."
"And I have absolute confidence in my next Pokémon," I say, readying his Poké Ball. "Come on, Azumarill, let's see how you fare against your fourth Elite Four member!" I unleash my aqua rabbit who stands opposite Brandon, his battle stance adopted.
"Well, you have made my decision somewhat easier," Brandon says with a smirk. "I think I'll have Absol take care of this one." He throws down his Poké Ball and out of it comes a rather majestic looking quadruped Pokémon with white fur, glowing red eyes and a single, black horn on the right side of its head that bears the appearance of a sickle or scythe blade.
"That's still a Dark Pokémon, right?" I ask Reo.
"It must be," Reo answers. "I wonder why he prefers to use this one against Azumarill rather than his other Pokémon…"
"It doesn't really matter. All we need to focus on is beating Absol and then we won't need to take this battle to a final round," I say confidently. "OK Azumarill, start by making it rain to boost your water power."
Azumarill nods and starts to perform its Rain Dance, hopping from one foot to the other in a rhythmic pattern. As though the room's sprinklers have been turned on, a torrential rainstorm suddenly strikes up inside the chamber. Azumarill stops dancing and grins in satisfaction, letting the water wash over it.
"Absol, Future Sight attack," Brandon commands. Absol closes its eyes for a moment and there is a mysterious humming sound, but when it opens its eyes again everything appears normal, and no ill seems to have befallen my Pokémon.
"What does that one do?" I ask Reo.
"Future Sight? Absol just foresaw one of Azumarill's moves. If Azumarill uses that move later in the battle, it will be hit by the full force of the attack." I ponder this for a moment. Absol must be expecting me to use a Water-type move to make the most of Rain Dance. Perhaps I should hang back from using Surf just now…
"Absol, Night Slash," Brandon instructs. Absol begins to run toward Azumarill, preparing to strike with its sharp claws.
"Azumarill, Defense Curl," I call, and Azumarill stops enjoying the rain and instantly snaps into its protective ball shape. Absol charges past it, slashing it with its claws in an almost drive-by style before cantering back over in front of Brandon and watching carefully to see what happens next.
"All right, now use your Rollout attack!" I call to Azumarill, who begins to roll towards its opponent, gathering speed as he goes. Before he can hit Absol, however, a horrible whistling sound fills the room and a strange rippling effect occurs in the air around Azumarill, who snaps open and crashes to the floor in front of Absol, who looks down at it savagely.
"Oh, no," Reo says worriedly. "Future Sight must have predicted that Azumarill would use Rollout after Defense Curl. Now he's defenceless!"
Clearly Brandon has realised this too, and wastes no time taking advantage. "Finish it, Absol! Night Slash!"
"Look out, Azumarill!" I call, but to no avail. Absol raises its front right claw and brings it swishing down through the air like a guillotine, raking it across Azumarill's chest. Azumarill cries out in pain and tries to roll away from the attack, but it's too late, and after a moment his body becomes limp. His energy is sapped and he is unable to continue the match.
"Dammit," I curse under my breath. "Good try, Azumarill. Come on back." I call Azumarill back and feel the rain in the chamber begin to die down. I push my wet hair off my face and stand opposite Brandon, whose Absol is now back in its Poké Ball. He watches me silently, his hands once again clasped in front of him, and his dark glasses speckled with drops of rainwater.
"This is it," I say quietly. "It all comes down to this final round…"
"Lose here and your League challenge is over," Brandon reminds me with a sick pleasure in his voice. "I'm looking forward to being the one who finally ended the streak of the great Luke Norton."
"I'd sooner quit as a Trainer than lose to you," I respond determinedly.
Brandon laughs. "As I recall, you said the same thing in Creation Mountain," he says.
"Yeah, and what happened that time? You went and lost," I remind him.
"But not to you," Brandon retaliates. "As far as battles between you and I go, I am undefeated."
"So are we," I challenge, indicating Reo and myself.
"Well, for one of us, that is about to end," Brandon says. "And I guarantee that it won't be me."
I turn to my partner. "Are you ready for battle, Reo?" I ask him.
"I am," he confirms. "And I will not accept defeat against a human with an aura as dark as yours," he adds, talking to Brandon this time.
"So you will face me as this boy's final Pokémon?" Brandon asks, and Reo and I both nod. "I see… In that case, perhaps it is a good thing that I saved my strongest Pokémon for last. You, Reo, are about to experience the true terror of Brandon of the Elite Four." His left hand lowers to his belt, he unclips his final Poké Ball and throws it down to the ground.
There is a bright flash of light, as usual, and when it clears, I see Reo facing an all-too-familiar adversary. His opponent is a black dog Pokémon with bone-like ridges across its back, a forked tail and two curved horns like those of a ram on its head.
"Houndoom…" Reo murmurs. "Of course. Now it all makes sense."
"What makes sense, Reo?" I ask my partner.
"Everything. Brandon wanted Grant to make his Houndour evolve, remember? No doubt he thought that having his son gain a Houndoom of his own would make him a natural successor to Brandon himself."
"That sounds a lot like…why dad wanted to have kids in the first place," I say slowly. "So that they could be the heirs to his ambitions."
"And what Pokémon did your father use in the final battle against Ben? It was a Houndoom, too," Reo reminds me. "Those two are so alike in their evil that it makes me uneasy."
I look at the two Pokémon standing opposite one another. Reo versus Houndoom. Fighting and Steel versus Dark and Fire. Both Pokémon have both a major advantage and disadvantage against the other. As far as final round battles go, this is about as even a match as it could possibly be.
Then, quite suddenly, the battle begins.
"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Brandon cries.
"Reo, Force Palm!" I call.
Both Pokémon ready their attacks, with Reo rushing towards Houndoom, who blasts him backward with a shadowy pulse from its body. Reo is downed for a moment but quickly gets back up and continues to charge towards Houndoom, making to strike with his paw. But Houndoom deftly dodges out of the way and snaps at Reo with his jaws. Reo dodges this and aims another palm strike, and for a few moments the two Pokémon jostle for position, with Reo aiming his Force Palm attacks while Houndoom attempts to Bite him back.
Then, in a clever move, Reo decoys with his left arm, luring out Houndoom, before striking with his right to the side of Houndoom's face. Houndoom gives a short howl as it is thrown backwards a foot or so but then turns round to face Reo once more, still with plenty of gas left in the tank.
"Houndoom, knock it back with another Dark Pulse!" Houndoom lets out another shadowy wave and sends Reo skidding backwards again, putting some distance between the two. "Now, let rip with your finishing move! Inferno attack, now!"
Houndoom lets out an ear-splitting howl, and I recall with alarm the devastating power of an Inferno attack as I witnessed in Brandon's battle with his son Grant. There's no way Reo can survive such an attack, unless…
"Reo, Endure it!" I call in desperation, and seeing the fiery crack open up beneath him is enough to spur my partner into action. He wraps his arms tightly around his body and braces himself, and a moment later he disappears under a plume of flame erupting from the ground below him, and dousing him in fire. For what feels like an eternity the attack continues, before finally the endless flames relent and all that is left is Reo, his body almost completely blackened by heat, who collapses onto his knees, panting hard.
"It's over," Brandon tells me triumphantly. "Houndoom and I are the winners. That fact was never in any doubt."
"Don't be so sure," I tell him, indicating Reo. Brandon looks over towards him and a look of horror crosses his face as he sees Reo slowly but surely getting back up to his feet, where he stands, quivering, against Houndoom.
"What?! Impossible…" Brandon seethes.
"Reo, give it your best shot! Aura Sphere attack!" I call. Using up almost all his remaining energy, Reo draws in the power of the aura inside him, building up the orb of force between his palms. With a final grunt of effort he fires the Aura Sphere, which collides with Houndoom, launching the big dog off its feet and sending it flying through the air towards the other side of the room. It lands on the floor and we all watch with bated breath, wondering if it will get up. But it doesn't.
"We won…" I say quietly.
"Impossible…" Brandon says again, equally quietly.
"We did it. We actually won!" I say, much louder this time, jumping and punching the air with delight. I race across to Reo and throw myself on my partner, knocking both of us down to the floor. I embrace Reo and once he has regained sufficient strength he hugs me back, knowing how proud I am of him. "I can't believe it…" I manage to whisper to him.
"There's no reason not to believe," Reo tells me. "You won because you were the better Trainer. Anyone watching your verbal exchanges with Brandon could have told you that."
After a moment Reo and I get up and turn to Brandon to see that he has finally admitted defeat and called back his Houndoom. He, too, is looking at us, and though it is difficult to tell behind his dark glasses, his expression appears to be one of disgust.
"We won," I remind him. "You know what that means. What you have to do next."
"This is preposterous," Brandon fumes. "I should never lose to someone with such sentimental ideals as you! That's the second time this has happened to me now! It's ridiculous!"
"Ridiculous or not, it still happened," I tell him firmly. "Now, you're a member of the Elite Four, right? It's your job to get my Pokémon healed and send me off to do battle with the Champion."
Brandon growls at me. "That is a burden which I unfortunately must bear," he confirms. "But only while that simpering Norah is President of the Pokémon League council. One day, when I am President, things will be different. Very different."
"Then I am glad that you don't stand a chance of being elected as President," Reo says. "No Pokémon Trainer in their right mind would ever vote for you."
Brandon scowls and holds out his hand for my Poké Balls. I recall Reo and hand them over, and he stalks across to the far side of the room to heal my party of Pokémon. After a few moments he returns, and without so much as a second glance back I retrieve my Pokémon, turn on my heel and head back into the elevator for the final time.
Once inside, I release Reo again, and once more we both behold the collection of buttons. Now the four outer buttons are all dimmed, and the only button that remains lit is the centre rainbow button. The button that leads to the Champion's room.
"Are you ready, Reo?" I ask my partner.
"You know I am, Luke," Reo tells me with a smile. He takes hold of my hand and places it over the rainbow button, with his own paw still on top of mine. I look at him for a moment and we exchange a brief smile, before pressing down on the button simultaneously.
The elevator shudders into life and begins to ascend once more. After a few moments it stops, gives a ping to announce its arrival, and the doors slide open once more.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I was expecting this to be empty," says the man in front of me. I get a look at him, feeling my eyebrows raise in surprise. Standing in front of me is a man who I last saw on a Gym Leader trading card way back in Busell Town at the very beginning of my journey. He wears a white jacket with buckles hanging off it and his hair is styled into a huge, rainbow-coloured spiral. He has a black stripe across each of his eyes, and his expression is a mixture of surprise and dejection.
"Arko…" I say quietly. "Just the man I wanted to see. My name's Luke Norton. I've come to challenge you, the Champion of the Silvari region."
Arko looks at me blankly for a moment. "Champion of Silvari?" he repeats, and I nod. "Oh. I guess you haven't heard the news then."
"What news?" I ask. "You…are still Champion, right?"
Arko gives a sad smile. "Ask me that an hour ago, and my answer would have been yes. Unfortunately, within the last few minutes, my reign as Champion has come to an end. Someone defeated me, and now he is the Silvari region's new Champion."
"Who?" I ask, intrigued. "Who was it? They must have gotten through the Elite Four just before me."
Arko stands to the side. "He awaits you on the battlefield through those doors," he says, indicating. I take a look and see that Arko is standing in what looks like a small antechamber. There is a set of gold-panelled doors on the opposite wall, which presumably lead into the final battlefield where the new Champion awaits.
"Oh… Well, I'm sorry to hear that," I say. "But I guess I have a mystery final opponent to face. Come on, Reo. It's time to see whether we've got what it takes to become Champions after all."
"Good luck," Arko says as I step out of the elevator and he into it. There is a ping as the doors slide closed, but I do not turn around to see the elevator descend once more. My eyes are fixed on the golden doors ahead, and upon reaching them Reo and I each push on one door, opening the way to our final challenge.
This room is right at the top of the Pokémon League tower building, and has a great glass ceiling through which I can see the orange sunset sky above. The walls are painted white with a rainbow stripe going all the way around the edge, and the floor is white and covered in sparkles, with the battlefield lines drawn in the centre. I take a few steps into the room and let the doors swing closed behind me, looking around the room. Where is the new Champion?
Then a voice sounds from far ahead of me, coming from deeper in the room. It is a voice I recognise very, very well, and though I am initially surprised to hear it, it only takes me a few moments to realise that my final battle in the Silvari Pokémon League could never have been against anyone else:
"Welcome, Luke Norton of Tranila Town. I've been expecting you."