Chapter 69:

Road to Victory

It was an early get up. I mean, why wouldn't it be? Victory Road was lying between me and my destiny, and that destiny could be seen clearly, even through the fog. Towering above the Victory Road cave was another large waterfall. On top of the waterfall was a massive palace, the same structure I peered at through the binoculars at the Lighthouse; that was the Pokémon League.

Never in a million years did I think I would see myself here. I was always known as that one kid. Not that one kid known for anything, just that one average kid from Twinleaf Town. But with the help of Barry, Dawn, Professor Rowan, the Gym Leaders, Cynthia, Ethan, Lyra, Stig, Florence, Ruben, Bea and many others, I was going to be fighting for my role as Champion. This is not an everyday occurrence. I was going to conquer Victory Road, conquer the Elite Four and, of course, conquer the Champion, whoever it may be.


Victory Road wasn't dark like any other caves; it was relatively light as it had holes in the ceiling to let sunlight through. However, strong Pokémon were plentiful. What was this, Route 201?

I walked across the wooden bridge and saw the exit at the other end of the cave. It wasn't simple; I had to go up and down different floors of the cave and go through different areas of those floors to reach the end. A singular path was not what I was hoping for, or expecting for that matter.

My first encounter was a strong one; a Rhydon. It was large, grey, had a massive tail and a sharp horn.


Rhydon

187

Ground/Rock Type

Drill Pokémon

Region of origin: Kanto

6'03" (1.9 m)

246.6 lbs (120 kg)

Standing on its hind legs freed its forelegs and made it smarter. It is very forgetful, however.

Rhyhorn -Lv 42- Rhydon


"Empoleon, you're up!" I yelled. "Use Surf!" Empoleon created a large wave. Due to Rhydon's Type, the Super Effective Water Type move washed it away in one.


So that one may have been easy, but there was another thing that I needed to be wary of; the Trainers. Many have also gained 8 Badges but lost the League, so now they wait about here in hopes of training anyone else making progress through Victory Road.

However, I felt battling them would be a good idea, for my benefit and theirs to. I need training after all and waiting around wasn't going to help at all.


The first Ace Trainer I came across was named Stuart. Just like many Ace Trainers, he work a red shirt and dark green trousers. He also had dark green hair.

"Ah, Lucas. I've been waiting for you" he said. "Yeah yeah, here comes the usual oh thank you for taking down Team Galactic and whatnot. However, I am not going to start a monologue; let's get into the match!"


"Go Empoleon!" I yelled.

"I choose Rampardos!" Stuart replied. Out came a Pokémon that looked like Cranidos, but bigger and spikier.


Rampardos

037

Rock Type

Head Butt Pokémon

Region of origin: Sinnoh

5'03" (1.6 m)

226 lbs (102.5 kg)

Its powerful head butt has enough power to shatter even the most durable things upon impact.

Cranidos -Lv 30- Rampardos


I chose Empoleon. If it could do well against Cranidos as a Piplup, could it fair well against its evolved form? As I was about to learn, not very well.

"Empoleon, use Surf!" Empoleon summoned a wave, but unfortunately it missed. Brilliant.

"Rampardos, Earthquake!" Rampardos stomped on the ground making it shake. Empoleon couldn't take it; the Earthquake was a Critical Hit and finished Empoleon.

Well, this was a cracking start. "Mamoswine, take over! Use Earthquake!" Mamoswine made the ground shake itself. Thankfully, this was doing a lot of damage. Rampardos was down.

"Impressive" Stuart said. "But let's see how you do against Gengar!" Out came the purple grinning Pocket Monster. "Gengar, use Dark Pulse!" Gengar fired a set of black energy at Mamoswine; it did quite a lot.

"Mamoswine, Earthquake!" I thought that would do a lot, but to my horror, it didn't do anything. I completely forgot; Gengar had the Levitate Ability. Ground Type moves wouldn't do anything.

This wasn't working so I brought in Luxray. "Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Gengar fired a shadowy blob at Luxray who took it well enough.

"Luxray, Crunch!" Luxray chomped down on the ectoplasmic being for an almost knock out.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Just my luck, it missed!

"Crunch it one last time!" Luxray sunk its teeth into Gengar and finished it.


That was only Trainer no.1, and already I could see the challenge I was going to face. I had stocked up on Revives, so I brought Empoleon back and continue to progress through Victory Road.

I made my up to the next floor. I just needed to go south then down the stairs. Progress was going well; maybe I should have brought Blissey though. Oh well, I decided that I would give it the Exp. Share during the battle with Barry.


It was on the next floor I met the next Trainer. Or should I say, someone I already know.

"Lucas!" Dragon Tamer Patrick yelled.

"Hi!" I told him. "My goodness, nice to see you again. The last time we saw each other was, my first trip to Celestic Town!"

Patrick smiled. "Indeed. Cynthia told me about your 8 Badges, so she told me to come to Victory Road to give you another match. Are you up for that?"

"You bet I am!" I said.

"Great! Our match will soar higher than the mighty Rayquaza!"


"Go Mamoswine!" I yelled.

"I choose Swablu!" Patrick replied, sending out a small blue Pokémon with a white beak and cloud like wings.


Swablu

171

Normal/Flying Type

Cotton Bird Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

1'04" (0.4 m)

2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)

It can't relax if it or its surroundings are not clean. It wipes off dirt with its wings.


"Oh dear. I had no idea you caught an Ice Type."

"Mamoswine, Ice Shard!" Mamoswine shot a chunk of ice at Swablu, downing it in one. Well this was easy.

"Oookay then. Go Altaria!" Out came essentially a bigger Swablu, but it wasn't as round and had a long neck.


Altaria

172

Dragon/Flying Type

Humming Pokémon

Region of origin: Hoenn

3'07" (1.1 m)

45.4 lbs (20.6 kg)

If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wing, then hum.

Swablu -Lv 35- Altaria


"Mamoswine, Ice Shard!" This should have done a lot. Shame it can't do anything if it misses amiright? Because that's what it did.

"Altaria, Flamethrower!" Altaria shot flames at Mamoswine for lots of damage. Mamoswine was hanging by a thread.

"Use another Ice Shard!" This one hit, but Altaria wasn't knocked out despite how effective Ice Type moves are on it.

"Another Flamethrower!" Let's just say Mamoswine was sizzled.

I recalled Mamoswine and sent out Drifblim. Air on air combat would do the trick. Plus, an Aftermath will give me the victory.

"Now watch this. Altaria, Draco Meteor!" From the roof of the cave came multiple meteorites. They all hit Drifblim to the point of knocking it out. Thankfully, my strategy worked and Altaria went down from the Aftermath.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Draco Meteor. The strongest Dragon Type move with a devastating power of 130. However, it also lowers the Sp. Attack of the user. Good job Altaria. Time for my final Pokémon, Gabite!" Out came a blue Pokémon with sharp fins, red belly and large fangs. Could it be?


Gabite

110

Dragon/Ground Type

Cave Pokémon

Region of origin: Sinnoh

4'07" (1.4 m)

123.5 lbs (56 kg)

There is a long-held belief that medicine made from its scales will heal even incurable diseases.

Gible -Lv 24- Gabite


"Is that… Gible?" I asked.

"That's right!" Simon replied. "Since we last met, Gible evolved into Gabite! It takes a lot of effort to train a Pokémon this strong!"

"I'll still beat it though. Empoleon, go!" Out came Empoleon, who immediately remembered Gabite from its last match. "No fog to use to your advantage this time! Aqua Jet!" Empoleon darted forward and smashed into Gabite.

"Gabite, Dig!" Gabite burrowed its way underground. I knew that Empoleon was weak to Ground Type moves, so I told it to stay put. Gabite resurfaced and punched Empoleon for lots of damage.

"Empoleon, Drill Peck!" Empoleon spun into Gabite beak first. It was almost down. "Now finish it with Aqua Jet!" Empoleon charged into Gabite one more time giving me the victory.


"Great job Gabite" Patrick said, recalling it. "Well, I have to say that was a great match. I have a feeling if that Ice Shard didn't miss, you would have lost less Pokémon."

I revived my Pokémon and gave Patrick a salute. "Good luck with your training!"


I was about ¾ of the way done; it was clear that I needed to rest the night. After going down to the previous floor, battling more Pokémon, and making it to the other side and down another floor, I found a room with a giant waterfall. This would be my rest place for now, though it would be another early rise.

First things first though, I wanted to get up the waterfall. It was crashing down hard. I had only use Waterfall once, but I was still scared about becoming a pancake if it went wrong. At least I had the sea to crush me last time; this had jagged rocks at the bottom. No. I needed to be brave.

"Mantine, go!" I yelled. Mantine stuck its head out from the water. I jumped from Empoleon after using Surf over to the waterfall then jumped into Mantine, recalling Empoleon in the process. "Mantine, Waterfall!" Mantine scaled the waterfall quickly. Upon reaching the top, it flew off and then into the lake that the waterfall was coming from.

"Heck yeah!" I said. I got Empoleon back out, jumped onto it and used Surf to shore, which is where I took a rest.