Well it's been about two months and I've been working hard to maintain my 'A' average here at SCAD, but I'm back Bitches! And instead of just one chapter, I've got three! Over the course of this week, I'm going to release three new chapters. One will be Today, the next will be on Tuesday Nov 4th, and the final one be on Thursday Nov 6th. So I hope you enjoy and leave a review if you've liked it.


Chapter 52: Flicker of the Eye

I was so excited to see Gold challenge a Gym Leader again. It wasn't just because I loved to watch Gold fight, but because it finally felt like Gold and I were finally returning to normalcy. After everything that happened on Cianwood Island, the Tyranitar, Team Rocket . . . and those shadowy Pokémon. Jeez, just thinking about Stalingrad and Alcatraz makes my skin crawl. That dreaded feeling I had when I looked at those horrible shadows was unbearable. But now I'm comforted to know that I'll never have to see it again, and that Gold and I can continue on with our lives.

Taking my seat along the sidelines, I sat next to Teeka—who was curled up next to me—and stroked the fleece-like fur on her head. Excitement filled my mind, making me jittery and anxious. Laid out before me was one of the largest Pokémon arenas I'd seen yet, and littered across it were mighty gashes in the ground from previous battles the Gym had witnessed. At either end stood a powerful Trainer: to my right was Jasmine the Steel-type master, and to my left stood Gold, the bravest boy I'll ever know.

I could feel my anticipation practically bursting at the seams, with thoughts over what Jasmine was going to let loose on the battlefield and how Gold was going to retaliate. Last time Gold took on a Steel-type, he only pulled through by sheer luck when Nile evolved into a Croconaw. But that was just a freshly evolved Scizor—now Gold was going to face a Steel-type master!

Standing tall on his end of the field, Gold had his hand ready to choose a Pokémon at a moment's notice.

With an air of confidence that I rarely got see about him, Gold looked to Jasmine and said, "I'll be honest, I haven't had a Gym battle in a while, so I might be a bit rusty."

"You don't have to be modest, Gold," Jasmine replied. "I'm well aware of what you're capable of. Now, I'm no Tyranitar, but I can hold my own. So let's skip the chitchat and have some fun."

"Hmm, fine by me. I'll go first then," Gold jeered, quickly snatching a Poké Ball from his bag and letting it fly with such a great execution that it almost looked professional.

His first choice was quite a surprise: rather than go with something he's used to, he went straight to his new toy, Ray. Unlike most Pokémon, Ray likes to come out of his capsule with a flashy light show of electrical sparks. I found this to be rather odd, considering Ray used to be so quiet and reserved, but ever since he evolved he seemed more eccentric. Though now that I think about it, I was not as surprised as I thought I would be when I saw Ray act so differently. I'd heard lots of stories about Pokémon changing their behavior after they evolved. Sometimes the nicest ones became complete jerks, while others went from shy to openly charming.

"You sure about that, Gold? You do know I've been spending the last week with your Electivire—I know all of his moves," Jasmine pointed out, a hint of mockery in her voice.

"Well, I like a good challenge," Gold replied with his newly adopted, devilish smirk.

Seeing that smirk on Gold's face accelerated my excitement, and I thought back to the time when Gold showed up that pompous jerk back at the Safari Zone. I had seen Gold wear that smirk for the first time, and ever since I always looked forward to when he'd flash it again.

"Well, if that's what you want. . . . Let's go, Forretress!" Jasmine let loose a Poké Ball and the capsule opened in midair.

A quick blot of light shot out of the ball and formed a giant sphere-like creature. It looked almost like it was some sort of clam thing fashioned out of two three-inch thick metal shells. It had two round eyes and what looked like four little cannons along the side.

Gold and I shared the same expression upon looking at the new Pokémon.

"What the heck is that thing?" I asked.

"It's my Forretress—he's a Bug- and Steel-type, and his shell is almost impervious."

"Almost,huh?" Gold inquired. "So it can break, then. Good enough for me. Ray, let's not keep her waiting—go and use Karate Chop!" He issued his command confidently, and Ray kicked off into a sprint at the sound of his Trainer's order.

With one hand on the rim of his straw hat to keep it from flying off, Ray bolted across the room at a speed that would make Nile, the former fastest, blush.

"Go, Ray!" I cheered as the Electric-type closed in on his target.

"Forretress, throw down some Spikes and follow up with Mirror Shot!" Jasmine ordered with a quick flick of her hand.

Spikes? What kind of attack is that? I asked myself as I watched the Steel-type start to spin in place.

"Ray, be careful!" Gold tried to warn his Electivire just as the true nature of the Forretress's attacks showed itself.

Launching all across the room from its cannon-like appendages, the Forretress shot out what looked like a hundred or so tiny four-pronged road spikes. Alarmed, I nearly jumped in my seat when I saw Ray step on one of the spikes and tumble to the floor.

"Ray!" Gold called out frantically. The Forretress began to circle the Electric-type and shot what looked like blasts of concentrated silvery powder.

"Ray, brace yourself!" Gold commanded, and his orders were quickly followed.

Getting up as quickly as he could, Ray threw up his arms like a boxer on the defense and took several of the Mirror Shot blasts. As Ray shrugged off the blasts, the air filled with metallic powder, distorting the light all around Ray.

"What the heck is going on?! I can't see anything!" Ray exclaimed as he attempted to see out of the cloud of dust he was trapped in.

"You can't see?!" Gold repeated, looking alarmed.

"I warned you, Gold. I know full well how mobile of a fighter your Electivire is. But with all those spikes he's not going anywhere, and with Mirror Shot he won't be able to see where my Forretress is." Jasmine flashed a cute smile before commanding, "Now, Forretress, begin your Flash Cannon barrage!"

Following his Trainer's order, the bug fortress began to circle the blinded Electivire and fired round after round of concentrated metallic light.

Clenching tightly to my Ampharos's arm, I tensed up when I heard the loud sounds of the Flash Cannon exploding around Ray.

"Ray, get out of there!" Gold called out frantically.

Doing his best, Ray dived out of the cloud of metallic dust and rolled into the other spikes that were scattered across the room. He cringed as the iron thorns dug into his skin. Coming around for another attack, the Forretress charged up for another onslaught of Flash Cannons.

"Ray, use Thunderbolt, now!"

Leaning up, Ray made a gun shape with his fingers and shot a bolt of lightning toward the armored bug. The attack collided with a Flash Cannon and erupted with a loud bang. Blinded for a moment, I looked away and blinked my eyes several times to try and get my vision back. When I returned my gaze back to the battlefield, Ray was already playing defense again, being hammered by another round of Mirror Shots.

"Shit!" I heard Gold curse as he watched his Pokémon become trapped in the same setup from before.

From the looks of things, Ray wasn't going to survive another round of Flash Cannons.

"Sorry, Gold, but it looks like this first matchup goes to me," Jasmine chirped. "Forretress, Flash Cannon!"

Acting swiftly, Gold declared, "No, you don't! Ray, use Magnet Rise!"

"Magnet Rise?" I muttered. My thoughts were cut short when the Forretress let loose a volley of silver beams that exploded inside the sparkling cloud of dust that ensnared Ray.

After flinching from the initial bang, I looked back at the battlefield to see a cloud of dirt where Ray once stood. At first I was clueless to what happened, but I was bewildered when I saw Ray emerge from the dust cloud—this time he was floating in midair!

"Whoa, he can fly!" I shouted in disbelief.

"More like he can hover, if you want to be exact," Gold explained, pointing out the thin disc made of static around Ray's feet.

"Wow, very clever, Gold," Jasmine said, admiring my boyfriend's intelligent thinking. "Using Magnet Rise to avoid the spikes was a smart move."

"I know," Gold replied with a confident, almost impish smirk.

As I sat there waiting to see what Gold was going to do next, I abruptly felt a slight discomfort in my head. As Gold issued a few orders and Ray began to let loose crackling bolts of lightning, I held my hand up to my forehead to put pressure on the spot of the mild aching.

Taking a second to look away from the fight, Teeka looked at me and asked, "Headache?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I lifted my fingers off my forehead. "Don't worry about it. I guess I'm just a little lightheaded."

"Okay. If you want some water, I can get you some," Teeka offered as she sat up.

"No, I'm good," I declined as I motioned for Teeka to relax and lie back down. "I'll get something to eat later; let's just watch for now." We both looked back to see what was going on.

We caught the end of one of Ray's attacks: The powerful Pokémon was defenseless as Ray used Magnet Rise to propel himself across the room and sock the iron bug with a powerful Thunder Punch.

But the bug was tough as hell, shrugging off the attack before retaliating with Flash Cannon point-blank to Ray's chest. The force of the attack knocked the Electivire off his magnetic disc. I cringed as he tumbled along the spikes on the ground.

"Ray, Thunderbolt!" Gold commanded, his voice more agitated than before.

When I heard Gold issue his command I saw Ray stand up and fire off a bolt, but I also felt a tiny surge of discomfort in my head again. As Ray struck the iron bug with his attack, I placed my hand on forehead again and groaned slightly.

I probably should've eaten more, I thought to myself, thinking I was just having some lightheadedness from low blood sugar or something like that. If this keeps up for long I may just take Teeka up on her offer for some water, or maybe even food.

Looking back, I noticed the Forretress fall to the ground and pass out. I was going to cheer, but Ray also toppled over, and I gasped.

"Come on, Ray, get up!" Gold demanded, forming a scowl when Ray proved incapable. "Damn, stupid spikes," Gold cursed as he returned his Electric-type.

Jasmine grinned. "Well, I'm impressed. I was almost certain I had you with that strategy."

"Well, you pretty much did," Gold admitted, grabbing another Poké Ball and letting it fly. "Go, Nile—use Surf and clear away the spikes!"

Bursting forth from his capsule in an array of light, Nile landed with a loud thud. Carrying out Gold's instructions, Nile waved his hands laterally in front of him to create a shallow wave that swept aside the dangerous barbs to the corners of the room. Some of the water spilled out of the arena and down toward Teeka and me, which prompted us to lift our legs to avoid getting our feet wet. With the arena devoid of hazard, Nile smirked toothily in anticipation.

"Go, Nile!" I cheered from the sideline as Jasmine got out another Poké Ball.

"All right then, let's go, Magneton!" Jasmine let loose a Pokémon that looked like it was a combination of three Magnemite.

"Shit, an Electric-type! Nile, be careful!" Gold warned.

Nile snorted cockily and smirked again. "I always am."

"Sounds like someone is confident," Jasmine replied in response to Nile's grin. "That's good to see, but my Magneton is very strong too—isn't that right?" She looked to the floating machine.

The magnetic Pokémon replied with some form of electronic beeps and buzzes, which even with my gift of understanding Pokémon was hard to make out. Guess Magneton don't really talk that much.

"Well then, let's go!" Jasmine exclaimed as she shifted her position, pointing forward. "Magneton, they've made a mistake in wetting the ground! Use Electric Terrain!"

"Electric what—?" Nile, Gold, and I simultaneously asked before the Magneton's six magnets began to spin rapidly.

A loud electronic whirring sound filled the air as sparks of power flew from the magnets. Then the mechanical Pokémon pointed all its magnets toward the ground and fired a pulse of static into it. What followed was a spectacular display of power as electrical currents filled the room; streams of electricity jumped and arced across the area as the very surface of the building began to give off tiny sparks of static.

I was in quite literal shock of what was occurring around me—the whole room had come alive with electricity to the point where I could feel the hairs on my body stand on end. Gold looked confused, not sure what was going on as well.

"This is Electric Terrain—as long it's active, all my Pokémon's electric attacks are twice as powerful!" Jasmine explained.

Gold gasped. "Twice as powerful?!"

"Well, actually, in this case it's four times as strong thanks to you providing a better conductor by soaking the room with your Feraligatr's Surf," Jasmine chirped.

Both Gold's and Nile's eyes shot wide open when they heard this dreadful news. I myself squeezed my Ampharos's hand out of concern.

"Now, Magneton, use Thunderbolt!" the Gym Leader ordered.

Panicked, Gold ordered frantically, "Nile, use Aqua Jet and dodge!"

Shooting a jet of water behind him, Nile hastily tried to avoid the impending attack. When the Magneton fired the bolt of energy, I was horrified to see chaotic streams of electricity leap from all corners of the room and converge onto the bolt, energizing the attack and creating a massive Thunderbolt! Nile was barely able to avoid the attack as it whizzed by and struck the ground behind him, creating a thunderous clap when it hit. The resulting explosion scared the shit out of me and knocked Nile off balance.

"Holy shit!" Nile exclaimed as he tumbled along the electrified ground.

"Thunderbolt again!" Jasmine ordered.

"Nile, retreat with Aqua Jet!"

Blasting even more powerful jets of water, Nile withdrew toward Gold as another crackling bolt exploded in front of him.

"Don't let up, Magneton—let him have it!" Jasmine commanded, excitement swirling in her usually tame brown eyes.

"Gold, if there ever was a time to pull one of your brilliant strategies out of your ass, now would be it!" Nile hollered as he narrowly avoided another devastating Thunderbolt.

"Hold on, gimme a sec! I—" Gold panicked as he tried to think of something before he was stunned when one of the Thunderbolts hit their mark.

Shouting in pain, Nile spazzed out as a tremendous amount of current surged through him, ending with a loud bang! Blown off his feet, Nile tumbled backward; I cringed at the sight.

Gold was in a state of shock as he looked down at his badly damaged Water-type, and it looked like he didn't know what to do.

"Hurry, before he gets back up—Thunderbolt one more time!" Jasmine ordered.

Gold gasped and snapped his head toward the mechanical Pokémon. He looked distressed and unable to formulate a plan, and I was convinced that Nile was doomed. But it was then that I observed something odd in Gold's eyes, like a flicker of some kind. It was very brief, but for a moment I thought I saw his eyes darken, almost like they were . . . black. But it was so fast I wasn't sure if it was just him blinking or something with the way the light hit his eye. Even more bizarre, I felt another slight surge of discomfort in my head, but it ended just as quickly as it arrived.

By the time I processed any of it, Gold cried out, "Nile, get up and use Surf to make a wall with Ice Punch!"

Gold's voice caught me off guard and made me flinch, for it was bold, loud, and commanding. Whatever he did, it worked, and in a mere fraction of a second Nile was coaxed up to his feet and let loose a swell of water in front of him. The speed with which Nile responded to Gold's command was unbelievable, almost like something in Gold's voice drove him to move faster.

But Nile's Surf wasn't fully formed when I saw the Magneton release a supercharged Thunderbolt toward Nile. Scared that Nile was going to be fried, I squeezed my Ampharos's arm and closed my eyes just as I heard the crackling thunderclap of the Magneton's powerful attack. When I heard Teeka gasp, I was brave enough to open my eyes and was baffled at what I saw.

Positioned near the center of the Steel Gym's arena was a tall wall of ice in the shape of a rolling wave. In the center of the wall there was large crater where Thunderbolt struck it. Behind the mass of ice was an exhausted Feraligatr, who had ice clinging to both his fists.

"Whoo! That's what I'm talking about! You can't touch this" Nile boasted as he slammed his ice-encased knuckles together. He glanced back to Gold and said, "Nice thinking."

"No problem," Gold replied, but his voice wasn't nearly as commanding as it was before.

Clapping her hands, Jasmine took a moment to admire the miraculous feat my boyfriend and his gator pulled off.

"You are just full of surprises, aren't you? You know, most Trainers who face me never think of a way to trump my setups. You didn't just do that—the speed with which you think your way out of these situations astounds me."

Gold shrugged. "What can I say? Sometimes I just see the world in slow motion."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was true. But this isn't over yet, and that wall won't last forever."

"I know, but it certainly bought me enough time to do this." Gold pulled out Nile's Poké Ball, along with Merlin's. "Nile, return! And Merlin, set up Reflect and Light Screen!"

It was then that I pieced together Gold's plan and gasped. That's brilliant! With that ice wall up, Gold would have enough time to have Merlin create his mental shields so that Nile could switch back in and stand a chance against the Magneton's super Thunderbolts! But when I came to that realization, I asked myself how the hell Gold thought of all that in what felt like ten seconds. I know Gold can be clever in his strategies, but even for him the speed with which he thought of the ice wall along with the other strategy just didn't seem possible.

But I didn't dwell much on it, and my focus quickly went back to the battle as Gold returned Nile and tossed his Noctowl's Poké Ball.

"Magneton, stop him before he brings up those shields! Tear down that wall!" Jasmine ordered, pointing intently at the wall of ice that protected Merlin.

Instantly the mechanical Pokémon revved up its motors and let loose a terrifying volley of Thunderbolts. The chaotic streams of pure voltage screamed across the arena and chipped away at the massive hunk of ice. Shards flew everywhere as the Thunderbolts laid waste to the frozen wave.

"Merlin, hurry!" Gold instructed.

"I know, I know!" Merlin shouted as he focused his mental energy to form the psychic wall of protection around him.

When the Reflect and Light Screen were formed, Gold hurriedly recalled Merlin and sent Nile back out, exclaiming, "Nile, hurry and use Dragon Dance!"

"Hell yeah—let's do it!" Nile roared as he materialized inside Merlin's psychic shields.

Over a chorus of sparking Thunderbolts and Nile's frozen barrier on the verge of collapse, the giant gator tensed his body and focused all his inner strength. Conjuring up an aura of pulsating draconic energy, Nile bellowed out a challenging roar as he launched into an overcharged Aqua Jet toward what little remained of his ice wall. Using the frozen mass like a ramp, Nile propelled himself through the air toward the Magneton.

Frightened by the powerhouse headed toward her, Jasmine shouted, "Magneton, stop him!"

Immediately her Pokémon tried to shoot down the Feraligatr rocketing over. Candescent bolts of electricity flew through the air and pattered off of Nile's numerous shields, causing the mechanical Pokémon to look panicked.

"Take him out with Crunch!" Gold ordered, and I cheered, "Yeah! Go, Nile!"

Listening to Gold's instruction, Nile opened his imposing jaws and tried to snatch the floating Pokémon out of the air.

"Magneton, dodge and use Thunderbolt!"

With surprising speed, the mechanical Pokémon shifted in midair and avoided the giant croc's jaws as they slammed shut with a hideous crunch. As Nile zoomed past the Electric-type and touched base with the ground once more, the magnet Pokémon turned its magnets back onto Nile and let loose several bolts. Skidding along the ground, Nile snapped his head back toward his opponent and watched several Thunderbolts explode as they made contact with his shields.

"Nile, use Aqua Jet and follow with a Crunch!"

"Magneton, counter it!"

His powers amped up with Dragon Dance, Nile rocketed toward the hovering Pokémon as his opponent tried desperately to break Nile's shields. Explosions of light filled the room as Nile slammed into the Electric-type. Seeing his chance, the valiant Water-type snatched up the mechanical creature with his powerful hands and opened his jaws.

"Now give it everything you've got! This is your only chance!" Gold cheered as Nile used the awesome strength in his jaws to clamp down on the electric fiend.

"Magneton, don't give up! You're inside his shield now! Fry him with Thunderbolt!" Jasmine shouted in a panic.

It was coming down to the wire: Nile was using every ounce of strength he had to put a dent in the metal Pokémon's armor as it retaliated with highly dangerous outputs of pure electricity. In the end, it was the Magneton that gave in and fainted under Nile's powerful jaws, but the victory came at a cost. Just as I was about to cheer for Nile, his shields shattered and he collapsed to the ground.

"Incredible, another draw! I haven't had this much fun in a Gym battle in months!" Jasmine applauded, returning her Magneton, who deserved a long, well-earned rest.

"Whoo, I did it . . . I'm the best—around—nuthing's evah gonna—kep meh down—" Nile tried to cheer from the ground, but it merely came out as an exhausted last breath before he passed out.

I giggled a little at Nile's attempt at a song as Gold quickly returned his starter.

"Come on, Gold, all that's left is her Steelix! You can do it!" I cheered.

"Huh, if only it were that easy." Gold chuckled, but some of his anxiety was showing on his expression.

He had every right to be stressed, too: Jasmine's Steelix was famous for being nearly unbeatable, even when Jasmine used to be a Rock-type Gym Leader and her Steelix was only an Onix. Gold had only one chance to beat the Steelix, and it was Duke. Well, Duke always wanted to get stronger. . . .

"All right, Gold, I hope you're ready for this one—he may not be a Tyranitar, but he's a damn close second. Come on out, Steelix!" Jasmine proclaimed, prompting the ground to shake and tremble as something gigantic burrowed its way up from below the arena.

Exploding out of the ground was Jasmines infamous Steelix. With its body rotating around like a giant drill, the iron python snaked its enormous body out of the ground, flinging dirt and dust everywhere in the process. Once completely out of the ground, Jasmine's Steelix reared up to a towering twenty feet off the ground and let loose a deafening roar that scared the shit out of Teeka and me.

Gold too was a bit shaken, but he quickly got over it and tossed Duke's Poké Ball into the fray, exclaiming, "We've fought worse together! Let's do this, Duke!"

Coming forth in a display of flashing lights, the poison tyrant Duke wasted no time and materialized already in full sprint. I was completely caught off guard by this, for I've never seen a Pokémon come out of its Poké Ball already on the attack. Perhaps Duke was tired of being second best and finally wanted to show that he could be stronger Nile. I had almost forgotten about Duke's dream to be stronger than his brother Tsar, but with him long-gone the closest thing to that became Nile, who's always been a step ahead of him.

"Finally, you saved the biggest for me!" Duke hollered, charging headfirst to attack the iron behemoth that utterly dwarfed him.

Not expecting the Nidoking to be on the attack so soon, the Steelix barely had time to react to Duke's initial charge.

Seeing that her slow Steel-type wasn't reacting fast enough, Jasmine ordered, "Steelix, stop him with Iron Tail!"

"Duke, look out—" Gold tried to warn his Nidoking, but he was cut off when Duke roared, "Hit me with your best shot!"

Responding to the challenge, Steelix's tail glowed bright silver, and he whipped it across the battlefield. The powerful attack slammed right into Duke. With a thunderous thud, Duke was clotheslined by the gigantic tail and sent tumbling back toward Gold.

"Duke!" Gold cried out, moving to run to his Pokémon, but he stopped when he realized that Duke was burrowing his claws in the ground.

Digging deep gashes in the dirt, Duke skidded to a halt and immediately kicked off into another full-on charge.

"Duke, stop! That won't work!" Gold tried to warn him, but Duke wouldn't listen.

Reacting to the same tactic, Jasmine ordered, "He's coming back—use Iron Tail again!"

Growling with anticipation, Steelix lashed out its tail again. Then, just like before, Duke didn't even try to dodge. But this time something spectacular happened: Just before the Iron Tail hit, Duke slammed his feet into the ground and threw his clawed hands forward. Sweeping through the air, the Iron Tail crashed into Duke's left side with a tremendous impact, kicking up dust from the resulting shockwave. But rather than Duke being swept aside like before, the attack was stopped dead in its tracks!

"What the hell?!" Jasmine exclaimed when the dust settled and we all saw Duke standing strong, holding the giant's tail in place.

"Oh my God, Duke, how did you do that?!" Gold exclaimed, and I was too shocked to say a word.

"I'm stronger than I look, Gold. Ever since Cianwood I've been working tirelessly—now let me show you what I can do!"

Taking a moment to soak in his Pokémon's new found strength, Gold smirked and said, "All right then, Duke, but let's do this together!"


Stay tuned for Tuesday, the next chapter will be released then.