Pokemon Legacy

This was it, the final battle of the quarter-finals. Nathan was to go up against the man in the business suit, and the crowd was once again full. Dana and Jack were especially focused on this, Dana really wanting her friend to win and Jack wanting his battle with Nathan.

Yae once again took a seat, all going quiet as everyone once again expected her to tap her mic, the professor smiling happily before announcing, "Alright, everyone, this is it! After all these battles, we're finally down to the last one of the day!" before pointing and shouting, "On the Western side, having just trounced Cassie and truly made a name for himself, Nathan!" the black-haired boy entering the arena, the crowd going wild.

"And on the Eastern side..." Pep stated, pointing enthusiastically, "We have Nathan's opponent, a man just trying to get through life by any means necessary, Edgar!"

The crowd didn't even know how to react when the businessman entered, breathing heavily and letting down sweat at an alarming rate, wiping some off of his forehead. Edgar was really nervous especially with all these people watching him, judging him.

"Nathan's on easy street," Jason whispered, "This guy's an emotional wreck," Jacob replying, "I learned the hard way that you can't always judge trainers off of how they look or act. He had to have made it this far for a reason."

However, this reason wasn't really clear to anyone as the man tripped over his own two feet, falling flat on his face, still clinging to his briefcase. But rather than laughing, as one would have expected, the crowd just started talking amongst themselves and pointing. There was nothing Edgar hated more than having people talk about him when he couldn't hear it. It always gave across the impression that everyone hated him.

The man took a deep breath, choosing to ignore this as he slowly pushed himself up, Nathan staring at the man with concern as he stepped forward, forcing a serious look and stating in a fake tough voice, "Don't give me your pity, little boy! You should be worrying about yourself!" before laughing and covering his mouth with his hand, whispering to himself, "That was so cool."

Nathan simply shrugged his shoulders, taking the man's advice mostly out of pity. Sure, there had to be a good reason someone this emotionally challenged could have possibly made it to the Ultimate Pokemon Challenge, let alone the battle portion, but the boy just couldn't see it. Edgar looked too honest to have stolen his badges but he looked too frightened to have actually earned them. Nathan was about to assume that maybe Edgar had bought them, but figured the gym leaders didn't take bribes and wiped the thought from his mind.

With that, the roulette was spun as it soon landed on Nathan's face, Nathan blinking before trying to decide who to send in. After a few seconds, he decided to send in Sammy, the crowd cheering for the mole as she grinned, waving at the crowd with sparkling eyes, even clasping her hands together and shaking them up and down as if she was giving herself an upward handshake.

Seeing this, Edgar simply grinned and said, "Oh, you may think that your Excadrill can beat me, but you're wrong!" everyone sensing the falseness in his tone, "And I'll see to it that your mole thing falls to the mighty mightiness of... um..."

Then digging into his briefcase, he pulled out a set of balls, dropping one particular Pokeball as an Escavalier came out, taking form. This was a strange choice, but not exactly a bad one as Escavalier had very few weaknesses and a lot of advantages, especially with his steel attributes.

"Yes, my trusty Escavalier," Edgar said with a forced triumphant laugh, "That's exactly who I was planning to go with," Nathan nodding his head, Dana and Jack trying to contain their laughter.

With that, the battle began as Sammy didn't even hesitate to charge at the knight bug, sending his claws forward. But just as she was about to land a hit, Escavalier held one up his lance arms and blocked the incoming blow, Sammy caught off guard, Edgar amazed that had worked.

The bug then sent his free arm forward and downward, sending a slash to Sammy's face, the mole crying out in pain as she was now bleeding a little bit. The Escavalier didn't stop there as he proceeded to unleash a sound wave called Bug Buzz, Sammy covering the sides of her head and taking in pain from this.

"Wow, you're doing really well!" Edgar exclaimed with a smile before clearing his throat, grinning with pride and saying in a forced tough voice, "Not that I would expect anything less from my most trusted ally, hah-hah!"

"Oh, come on!" Jason spat, "This guy's a poser, Nathan! You can beat him easily!" Anna sporting a neutral look as she said, "Actually, this Edgar guy's tougher than he looks. He's just not fully aware of it himself yet."

Jason stared as Jacob laughed nervously saying, "Anna used to be able to predict the outcomes of some battles. She can still detect a few things about trainers, though," Jason's eyes wide with shock, Izy adding, "Oh yeah, she's descended from a tribe of ancients who helped seal Giratina away years ago," Janette replying, "That I didn't know."

Escavalier went in, preparing an X-Scissor as Sammy finally got her head in the game, Nathan giving her a command as the mole held up her claws together in a shield formation, blocking the incoming strike. The knight bug was caught off guard as Sammy proceeded to strike Escavalier with Metal Claw, the bug cringing in pain. Since his mid-section wasn't protected by armour and that was the spot Sammy had struck, he had a bit of blood trickling down his body.

But just as the mole was ready to do more, the knight bug quickly recovered from the damage, jabbing his lances forward into the mole's chest, using Twineedle. This caused the Excadrill to bleed even more as she backed up, breathing heavily.

"Oh wow, this is really intense," Yae stated, "And to imagine, neither have even fallen victim to one of this arena's traps yet!" Pep asking, "Speaking of which, what are the traps this time around?"

At that moment, Sammy backed up a little too far as a big boot attached to an extender machine rose up, kicking Sammy in between her legs. If she wasn't female this would have hurt a lot more than it had, Sammy wincing in minor pain.

"Those are the traps," Yae said with a smile as Nathan asked, "You okay, buddy?" Sammy turning and giving him thumbs up with a grin on her face. However, Nathan had to be careful now. Clearly, Edgar's Pokemon were more powerful than the businessman had let on. However, it was starting to seem like less of a trick when Nathan noticed Edgar was equally impressed, if not more. It was as if the man hadn't even expected Escavalier to be this good.

However, before the knight bug could do more, Nathan quickly returned Sammy, figuring he needed someone better for the job as Escavalier stopped in his tracks, Edgar blinking before smiling and saying, "Ah-hah, now you see just how intimidating I can be!" forcing more heroic laughter as Nathan sighed, pulling out another Pokeball and sending in Celeste, the bird flying high as Edgar gulped.

Sure, Escavalier may have been a steel type, but he was also a bug type meaning he still took in regular damage from flying type moves. It wasn't long before the bug was already on the receiving end of Air Cutter, the Tranquill then using Leer before sending an Air Slash toward the knight.

Escavalier narrowly dodged the second attack, but was feeling kind of nervous now as Edgar bit his lip, saying, "Come on, boy, are you really gonna let this get to you?"

Before the bug could even respond, Celeste flew in over him, summoning up a huge Gust of wind, causing Escavalier to lose his balance, rolling across the ground a little bit. But as Celeste turned around for another, Escavalier proceeded to leap high into the air, managing to miraculously reach the bird's height, wrapping his blades around her neck.

The crowd stared in shock at this, Nathan also quite impressed as Escavalier lifted himself up so his head was facing Celeste's back. He then proceeded to use Iron Head, ramming the top of his helmet hard into the Tranquill and forcing her down into the ground before leaping off of her, holding his lances against his hips with pride.

"Excellent work!" Edgar exclaimed, clapping with a big smile on his face, Jason gritting his teeth and muttering, "Look at that! He didn't even plan for his Escavalier to do that!" Izy nodding and saying, "I guess it was his Pokemon who got him this far and not him."

This wasn't too far from the truth, either. Edgar didn't even know most of the names of his Pokemon's attacks. But they were so loyal to him, that they didn't even wait for his orders. They took matters into their own hands because they wanted the man to succeed. But how could such a loser gain such respect?

However, just as all seemed lost, Celeste slowly rose to her feet, snapping her back bone back into place before soaring toward Escavalier, Edgar shouting, "LOOK OUT!" but it was too late as the bug took in a Quick Attack to the back of his neck, the bug finally knocked out as the crowd cheered for Celeste, the bird breathing heavily as Nathan returned her with a light smile saying, "Alright, save your strength for later."

Edgar gulped nervously, pulling on his collar with a nervous smile as he proceeded to open up his briefcase again, one of his Pokeballs rolling forward as a pancake-flat fish came out. The fish had brown scales and a yellow tail that looked kind of like a crown atop a head, his fins kind of like elf ears.

Everyone stared at this, not sure what to make of it as Edgar forced another proud laughed, saying, "Oh yes, if it isn't my trusty Stunfisk. Yes, a very good ally, this Stunfisk is," laughing more as Dana shook her head, sighing, "There goes his credibility," Jack remarking, "He had credibility?"

Luckily for Nathan, though, he had something with an advantage over this as he sent in Zelda, the snake standing tall and proud with a smile on her face, Nathan saying, "Alright, Zelda, it's time to show the people just what you're made of."

"Oh my god, it's the Snivy I gave him!" Yae squealed, Pep nodding and smiling before stating, "That's pretty cool," Yae then adding, "I'm disappointing he hasn't managed to evolve her to her final form yet, though."

Edgar was now more nervous than before as he knew his Stunfisk wouldn't have an advantage over a grass type, not in the slightest. However, he still had to try as he said, "Uh... Stunfisk... use Mud Sport..."

However, rather than actually using the attack his master had told him to use, Stunfisk instead dug up a pile of dirt with his tail and hurled it hard into Zelda's face, using Mud Slap. After all, Mud Sport would be pretty much useless in this situation.

However, Zelda ignored the pain to her face as she turned one of her leaf arms into a blade, striking the fish with it and using Leaf Blade. This was really bad for Stunfisk as the fish was really weak against grass type moves and Zelda had a high resistance to almost all of his attacks.

Nevertheless, Stunfisk ignored the pain dealt to him as he knew of that one attack he could use, the fish then proceeding to bounce high into the air, everyone staring along with Edgar who didn't get it either, the fish then proceeding to drop his weight hard atop the Servine's head.

Zelda stood there still, her eyes wide open with shock as she fell forward into the ground, groaning in pain as Nathan stared in shock. Pep then pointed as Yae explained to the nurse that Bounce was a flying type move.

Stunfisk smiled with pride until Zelda managed to recover, the snake striking back with Leaf Tornado as the fish flew into the air, covered in cuts and landing hard atop his head, a boot rising up out of the ground and adding to the damage, the fish now out cold.

Edgar sighed and returned the fish saying, "You did a good job," before gulping nervously. Now he knew he had to pick something really good, something that could defeat all three of Nathan's Pokemon... but who?

He then remembered someone, someone who had been there from the beginning. This was the one ally in his arsenal he knew how to work with properly. As such, the man put on a serious expression, pulling the ball out without hesitation and sent in the Accelgor that had earned him his spot in the battle portion.

Seeing how Edgar wasn't trying to act all tough like before, the sincerity in his expression, Nathan knew he was now in for a truly serious battle as he said, "Zelda, keep your guard up," Jack sighing, "There's no point, this guy's a loser..."

At that moment, Edgar shouted, "Start things up with Quick Attack!" everyone in the crowd disappointed to see such a simple move, however, they failed to notice Edgar winking when he said that, Accelgor charging toward Zelda at an alarming speed.

Zelda sent out her Vine Whip to counter the bug only to see him stop his Quick Attack, leaping over the vines and releasing Acid Spray, raining the acid down upon Zelda, the snake crying out in pain. The bug added to the damage by spinning around and unleashing stars while descending, using an attack called Swift and hitting Zelda repeatedly in the face.

"Excellent!" Edgar spat, "Just as we practised!" Jason sighing, "There he goes again, pretending this was his plan all along," Anna shaking her head and replying, "No, I think he really meant for Accelgor to do that."

However, the Servine wasn't going to take this as she recovered from the damage, sending out her whips again, this time striking Accelgor in the face and wrapping her vines around him, pulling him in. With that, she held onto him, leaping into the air and flipping her body around, Nathan's eyes sparkling.

"I taught him that," Jason said, nudging Janette as the woman rolled her eyes and rubbed his head, but just as the attack was about to hit, Edgar spat, "GET OUT OF THAT WITH STRUGGLE BUG!" Accelgor spinning out of the hold and dealing just enough to damage to knock Zelda out, Nathan's eyes wide with shock, everyone else staring in amazement. They couldn't believe Edgar of all people had come up with that on his own.

With that, Nathan returned Zelda and realized how serious this had gotten before sending in Celeste saying, "You can finish this for sure," the bird nodding as Edgar gulped a bit, but remained serious, and he had all the reason to be nervous as Accelgor was weak against flying types.

However, just as Celeste was about to attack, Edgar grinned with confidence and said, "Alright, Accelgor, step a little over that way," pointing toward a certain spot as the bug ran over to the spot, everyone confused by this only to be more confused when a boot sprang up, sending Accelgor high into the air.

Nathan remembered that Sammy had been hit by that same boot, and by the look of Edgar's face, he hadn't forgotten either. But why would he have his own ally fall into an obvious trap?

The answer soon became clear as Accelgor landed on the Tranquill's back, Edgar smiling with pride as Jack said, "My god, he actually came up with a good idea..." Accelgor proceeding to spit acid into the back of the bird's head, Celeste taking in too much pain to focus as she fell hard and fast into the ground, Accelgor leaping off just in time to avoid taking in damage from the collision himself.

"Yes!" Edgar shouted with joy, "We're actually gonna win!"

But just as he said that, Celeste's body started to change, the bird growing taller, her lower body feathers becoming brown. Her tail also became longer and striped as she slowly rose to her talons, which were now grey and taller. Her pink feathers were now replaced by grey ones as she had become an Unfezant.

Before Accelgor could even respond to this, Celeste flew hard into him, using Sky attack thus knocking the bug out for good, all going silent as Edgar slowly held up his Pokeball, returning the bug and looking down. Nathan let out a sigh and returned Celeste as his victory was announced, everyone cheering as Jack grinned with anticipation, glad to see his battle with Nathan would finally happen.

Just as Edgar was about to pack up and leave, Nathan said, "You know, you were really impressive back there. Your Pokemon must really like you to be so loyal," Edgar saying, "Oh, that, it's nothing..." exiting the arena. The truth was, though, there was a reason his Pokemon had stuck by him despite his incompetence as a trainer.

See, back when Edgar first met Accelgor, he was a Shelmet, a small clam-like creature with a shell resembling a knight's helmet. Edgar saw that the creature was hurt and took him in as a pet. Eventually, he decided to start training Shelmet to fight, soon catching other Pokemon with him. Shelmet must have told them of Edgar's nice act of helping him in his time of dire need, because they all seemed to take an immediate shining to the businessman.

As Edgar left the area, Yae shouted, "And that concludes the quarter-finals! Join us tomorrow for even more excitement as the semi-finals begin!" everyone cheering as Jack got up and left, off to train for his battle with Nathan.