Chapter 83:
A Battle to Rival Others
To recap; today would be my final battle with Barry before he becomes the Tower Tycoon. I didn't have time for training, neither did he.
So, the Survival Area. It was surrounded by a thick forest, thicker than Eterna that's for sure. All the houses were made of a white marble with flat roofs. The only architecture that was different was the Center and Mart, which had the same design as everywhere else. There was also a giant cliff overlooking the small settlement.
There was something I did want to do. I had a lot of Shards that were given to me by Elijah yesterday after I read his story. Byron gave them to him for his help, but he said I had better use for them. They can be given to Move Tutors to learn new moves, and I knew just what I wanted.
Inside the house at the top of the cliff that needed to be scaled with Rock Climb was a Collector, like the ones from the Cabin.
"Well hello Champ" he said. "Here to teach a new move?"
From my Bag, I got out 8 Red Shards. "Do it" I mentioned. So, what was this move? Well, I'll demonstrate.
Barry was waiting outside the Pokémon Center for me. This was the most patient I had ever seen him. That might not seem like much, and granted he was tapping his foot quickly, but clearly, he was calm about the upcoming battle.
"So" he said. "This is it. Our final battle for a while." He looked up at the sky. It was blue and dotted with clouds. "Hey Lucas, thanks. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have got this far. Heck, I'd even say we'd have been Starly food back in the day if you hadn't shown your battling skills." He got out a Pokéball. "But it's time to show them off one last time!"
"Bring it on!" I said.
"Staraptor, go!" Barry shouted.
"I choose Mamoswine!" I replied. "Start with Ice Shard!" Going first, Mamoswine fired an icy block at Staraptor. It took away at least 1/3 of its health.
"Staraptor, Close Combat!" Staraptor started attacking Mamoswine wildly. A lot of damage was done; I had to switch.
"Mamoswine, come back. Drifblim, you're up!"
"Staraptor, Steel Wing!" Staraptor bashed its now metal wing into Drifblim. "And again!" Staraptor used another Steel Wing.
"Drifblim, Payback!" Drifblim turned black and charged into Staraptor. It was almost down.
"Staraptor, take Drifblim down with you. Brave Bird!" Staraptor became covered in fire like energy. It then charged full pelt into Drifblim. Staraptor took so much recoil that it fell, but it also took Drifblim down with it to. "Aftermath won't help you this time!" Barry said.
He clearly knew all my tricks. I was impressed.
"Okay, go Snorlax!" Barry yelled. The sleeping giant was sent onto the grassy battlefield.
"I choose Luxray!" I yelled. "Start with Thunder Fang!" Luxray chomped down on Snorlax with sparking jaws.
"Snorlax, Giga Impact!" Snorlax got up and, with all its strength, slammed into Luxray. Luxray was blown back. It took quite a blow to its health.
"Okay, use another Thunder Fang!" This didn't do much, but it was time to try the move I had taught Luxray. "Okay, ready? Superpower!" Luxray started to get covered in a mysterious energy. Then, it pounced into Snorlax. The damage was massive. It was a strong Fighting Type move, and Snorlax was down. This was at Luxray's expense of Attack and Defense, but I would be switching anyway.
"Go Floatzel!" Barry shouted.
"I choose Empoleon!" I replied.
"Oh no. Okay Floatzel, use Surf!" Floatzel created a huge wave that swamped Empoleon. It didn't do much.
"Empoleon, Drill Peck!" Empoleon span into Floatzel. None of Floatzel's moves were effective, so I knew I had it.
"Use Surf again!" This also didn't do much.
"Another Drill Peck!" One more and Floatzel was finished.
"I choose Rapidash!" Barry yelled. The flaming steed was summoned. "Use Flare Blitz!" Rapidash galloped at such speed that flames engulfed it. Empoleon was hit so hard it went down, though Rapidash took lots of recoil.
"Blissey, come out!" It was time for my cheery pink friend to show her stuff.
"Rapidash, Flare Blitz!" Rapidash once again charged into Blissey with a flaming gallop. Blissey was hit for a lot, but Rapidash felt the effects to.
"Blissey, Focus Blast!" Blissey threw a ball of energy at Rapidash. One hit and it was finished.
"Go Heracross!" Barry yelled next as his muscly Bug Type entered the scene.
"Luxray, go!" I shouted. I wasn't gonna have Luxray take on Torterra, so might as well have it show its stuff here. "Use Discharge!" Luxray sent multiple shock waves everywhere that zapped Heracross. As a bonus, it was paralyzed.
"Heracross, Megahorn!" Heracross stabbed Luxray with its giant horn. This finished it off. "Oh yeah, my Heracross has the Guts Ability. If it has a status condition, its powers increase tenfold."
I had Toxicroak come out to use Poison Jab. It was a Critical Hit and took down Heracross.
"Come out Torterra!" Barry yelled as the giant Grass Type entered the scene.
"Okay Toxicroak, Poison Jab!" Toxicroak jabbed Torterra swiftly. However, its hard shell helped nullify some damage.
"Torterra, Earthquake!" Torterra stomped down one its front two legs, making everything around us shake. Even some leaves fell off the trees from the magnitude. Toxicroak was finished.
"Mamoswine, go!" I yelled. "Use Ice Shard!" The chunk of ice was a hard hitter on Torterra. It's really weak to Ice Type moves after all.
"Torterra, use Frenzy Plant!" Torterra once again stomped down. Then, multiple plants came from the ground and attacked Mamoswine. That was the final blow for it.
I had Blissey left. But I also had an opening. Like Giga Impact, Frenzy Plant requires the user to recharge a turn after usage.
"Blissey, Grass Knot!" Blissey made Torterra trip up. It's very heavy, so a lot was done. "One more time!" Blissey used another Grass Knot. Torterra was finished.
The crowd that we didn't even realise had gathered around us to watch cheered.
"Thanks" Barry said. In the distance over the trees, we could see the back of the Battle Tower. "I can't contain my excitement, but I think I'll do a bit more training. Maybe over at… Stark Mountain."
Looking in the opposite direction, we saw a large volcano. There was no lava coming out, but it was smoking. "You coming to?"
"I suggest it."
From the cliff, we saw someone in a brown hood. Like, we couldn't see the eyes. The voice was clearly male though. He jumped down to us. He had a hunched back that seemed to move on its own. We decided not to comment on it. "Ah, Champion Lucas. We finally meet. No need for handshakes, I don't want to reveal myself."
"Who is this?" I asked Barry.
"He just likes to be called Master" Barry mentioned. "I don't know his real name."
We told him about our plan to go to Stark Mountain.
"Good plan" he said. "Lucas, Barry. I will meet both of you on Route 230, west of the Resort Area. You two should travel together for a bit. It might be the last time for you Barry."
Barry knew that perfectly.
"Then its settled. Tomorrow, we head for Stark Mountain!"
As we walked to the Center, I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity from Master. Like, not someone I had met before, but rather someone that everyone knows. Who could it be? I wasn't sure. Was I to sleep on it? Heck yeah.
