Chapter 47
"Welcome to Blackthorn – home of the Wataru Clan. I trust you had a pleasant journey?"
A man dressed in exquisite robes bowed before me. He had a well-trimmed black beard that came to a point beneath his chin, long black hair that touched his shoulders, piercing gray eyes, and a hooked nose. He distinctly resembled my imagination of a wizard. If his demeanor had not been serious, I would have found him quite comical.
The man had entered the lobby a few minutes after I had been asked to wait, and he greeted me with a foreign flourish that I inferred to be a formal, respectful greeting.
"Thank you," I replied. "My travels were as uneventful as could be expected."
"That is good to hear," he commented sincerely. His accent was thick and did not sound specifically Johtan. "My name is Aloran Strongarm Wataru and I am a spokesman of the Wataru Clan. I am also a scholar of sorts – but that is not as important right now. Should the Wataru Clan grant you an audience and allow you to join, then I will serve as your guide and Clan liaison."
"Join your clan?" I asked, somewhat confused. I did not necessarily want to join a clan – only take utilize their resources and gain information that only they possessed… When I thought of it that way, I guess it did not seem so reasonable for me to expect.
"Well of course," he responded nonchalantly. "Only Wataru Clan members may access our secrets. Even if you would only be an honorary member. Now, please join me for a walk."
The Wataru spokesman motioned for me to follow him through the door from which he had entered, but did not move until I stood up to follow. When I did, he led me through the door and we passed through a hallway next to a large training room. The entire left-side wall was glass that had a fair amount of condensation built up over the lower half on the inside.
Through the window I could see pools of water scattered over mossy dirt, large boulders, and even a couple of small waterfalls. The more I looked, I started seeing pokemon. A pair of beautiful Dragonair were resting on a rock at the base of a waterfall, wrapped around each other, and a Seadra was floating in one of the pools. I halted when I saw a trainer working with a Gible.
It was the first time I had seen one aside from Azrael when we first met, and simply seeing the small creature brought waves of memories coursing through my mind. Despite the fact that Azrael had been many times larger as a Gible, I could see so many similarities. The aggressive piranha-like dragon tore up a small fish that the trainer had rewarded it and pleasant memories of Azrael tearing apart Pidgey flitted through my mind.
One main difference, though, was Azrael had attempted to murder me multiple times as a baby. Instead of seeing those memories as unpleasant, I could not help but chuckle with the thought of how far we had come. Not to mention, I found the Gible before me to be much cuter than my memories of Azrael due to its size, and the thought of Azrael as such was vastly amusing.
My chuckle reached the Wataru man, who realized that I had stopped, and he cleared his voice to grab my attention. When I looked to him, he motioned me forward with a hint of impatience. I reluctantly tore myself from the nostalgia and rejoined the robed Wataru. He led me to a rather large and immaculate office with a lounging area, where he gestured for me to sit.
I sat on a firm couch and curiously took in the pictures the Wataru man had hung on the walls. There were pictures of him, a woman, and a little girl. There were a couple photos showing him shaking hands with people who I did not recognize. And there were pictures of him next to a large green Salamence and a deep blue Seadra.
The man sat down in a chair in front of me and followed my gaze to the picture of his dragon. "My Salamence, Vazyra – that was taken back when I was a gym trainer. Nowadays, she rarely gets to see combat for fun. Not unexpected though; this is the hardest gym in the Johto Pokemon League, and hardly anyone challenges the Gym Leader's elite team at the strongest gym."
Realization clicked and I felt foolish for not having made the connection earlier. Aloran Wataru was the Gym Leader of Blackthorn Gym. It explained his office and his status as a Wataru Clan spokesman.
"I need to ask you some questions before the clan can decide whether or not you'd be compatible with our values," he told me, draping one leg over the other and clasping his hands in his lap. I leaned in as he continued. "As you know, and is more-than-likely the reason you're here, the Wataru Clan 'specializes' in dragons. Our reputation is far-reaching – even your Champion, Bruce Volker, is from our Clan. However, that reputation is distorted and shallow.
"The Wataru Clan has a rich history and culture, and our relationship with dragons is not necessarily what you'd expect. We would certainly hope that people would appreciate these qualities, but they tend to be overlooked when people see the majesty of the creatures we employ in battle, and they only see a reflection of their own ambition. As a result, much of our history and culture are unknown.
"So, Mr. McAfee, we understand that our reputation precedes us. Please tell me why you've come here." His eyes were piercing.
"Knowledge, Leader Wataru," I told him simply.
"Please, call me Aloran," he said congenially. "Knowledge?" he then asked.
"Yes," I nodded. "I have two primary research goals. The first is to research Seadra evolution. The second is to research dragon energy. I have a few dragons on my team, and while I have mastered one 'spiritual' element in my pokemon, I would like to understand dragon energy and my means of attaining that understanding are extremely limited."
"Have you heard of the term 'Shifted' before?" he asked, to which I nodded. "Then it would be safe to assume you've shifted."
I nodded again and added, "But the specifics are personal."
"Fair enough," he replied. "So, this desire of yours to understand dragon energy is rooted in the desire to master the dragon typing in your team?"
"To the best of my ability," I told him honestly. "I understand that I will never fully and truly understand it, but if I can help the dragons on my team do so, then I will be satisfied." Aoro's teachings were the impetus for my second research goal, but he was right – and the knowledge I could gain could be instrumental in helping my team become masters of their own natural elements.
"Understandable," he remarked. "Now, I noticed you had stopped to gaze upon one of our hatchlings on our way over here."
"Yes, the Gible reminded me of my starter when we first met," I told him. "I was savoring some of the memories."
"We understand that your Garchomp is the offspring of Kira, former Champion Lorelei's starter. How did you come by her hatchling?"
"I found him starving in Kira's burrow after she'd been killed by the League. He actually tried to kill me. Multiple times over the course of some months, in fact," I told the Gym Leader.
"Why didn't you contact the League when you found him?" the Gym Leader asked. "Surely you understood how dangerous he was."
"I wanted to catch him," I explained. "Without going too far into it, my family had been through a lot, and I wanted to become a trainer. I thought if I could catch and train him, then I would know I was cut out to be a great trainer."
"I see. Did you have any knowledge of the contracts drawn between Ray MacAfee and Gregory Sturdivant – the late Champion's husband?" he asked, his gaze intense.
"I did not," I answered. "I was a teenager; my uncle didn't talk to me about his business contracts." I started feeling like the line of questioning had strayed from a compatibility test, and it made me nervous.
"I see," he responded, looking at me critically. "So, you were never privy to Ray MacAfee's contractual obligations."
"I was not," I told him resolutely. "The subject of Kira and my uncle has become somewhat taboo in my household after the incident in which they both died. If he had any obligations, he kept them to himself. And, if my parents knew about any obligations, they did not tell me about them." My discomfort continued to grow, so I added, "Excuse me, but this doesn't feel like a compatibility test anymore. It feels like an interrogation."
"My apologies, Mr. MacAfee. I'm simply trying to ascertain your morals and your intentions – and if they differ from what I've learned about you. Furthermore, you may not have known about Ray MacAfee's contract, but he had obligations to the Wataru Clan. Fear not," he told me, seeing my trepidation reach a palpable level. "We will not hold you accountable for his debts."
"Alright…" I responded, not know whether or not to trust him.
"But yes, my curiosity has strayed a bit; my apologies. Can you tell me about your time catching and training your Garchomp, Azrael?"
I mulled it over for a few seconds and determined that the information could not be used against me. Then I recounted the months of caring for him despite his attempts to eat me, catching him, and training him. I added in some of the cuter details such as various milestones in our relationship – like when Azrael had triumphed over a Pidgey and came to me excitedly, only to turn away and act as if my approval was not important.
When I finished, Aloran had pressed his fingertips together and said, "Given what you've told me, I feel comfortable with the kind of relationships you foster with your pokemon. It makes me believe that it will not be difficult for you to respect the traditions of the Wataru Clan, as you already seem to have an appropriately genuine appreciation and respect for dragons."
"So… You'll allow me to use the Wataru Clan's resources?" I asked hopefully.
"Not so fast," he said with a chuckle. "With my approval, you will get an audience with my Clan's Council of Elders, who will ultimately decide whether or not you are extended an honorary restricted membership, and what the terms of our relationship will be. But fear not, I feel comfortable with the kind of person you are; you don't seem like the type to exploit our knowledge against us.
"But that being said, we have some rules that we expect you to know, respect, and follow. I will convene the Council of Elders tomorrow, and before then you are expected to memorize a few important rules." Aloran pullout a piece of paper and handed it to me. "If you break any of these rules, you will immediately be expelled from our facilities, assuming you survive the wrath of the dragons. Please commit them to memory- there aren't very many of them. You may stay in the Pokemon Center, or you may stay in one of the Wataru-sponsored hotels free of charge."
I looked at the paper. The few rules were underlined and bolded for emphasis. The import and seriousness of the words seemed comically dramatic. Then I looked back at Aloran and asked, "What is going to happen at this Council of Elders? You said that it would lay out the terms of our relationship, but that implies there will be expectations of me."
"Correct," Aloran replied. "We don't simply allow anyone access to our privileges and private histories. You will be expected to give something in return."
A wave of trepidation washed over me, which did not go unnoticed.
"Don't fret; we aren't going to bind you into servitude," Aloran said sardonically.
"That's of little comfort," I told him.
"Regardless," he replied. "I think you'll find the terms both acceptable and fair. This conversation has been very eye-opening and the information you provided will most likely aid the Council of Elders in setting the terms."
"So, there isn't some standard contract?" I asked. "I get held to a different standard than other prospective members?"
"Everyone is different," he responded matter-of-factly. "Everyone has something special to offer. And if they don't, then they don't get offered a membership. Membership is not offered very often, so take comfort in and appreciate the fact that this process isn't going to take very long. We'll be having the Council meeting tomorrow, after all. A day's wait is very quick given our track record.
"Look, we aren't going to force you to do anything," the Blackthorn Gym Leader told me when my expression did not change. "Your uncle's past debts are not your own. You will have the ability to say no if the terms do not appeal to you. I hope they do, and we make a habit of treating our own – honorary or otherwise – with respect. Be here at 9:00 tomorrow morning, and you can judge that for yourself."
That was a bit more comforting. But I dreaded the meeting because I was afraid of what they would ask of me. With his final words, Aloran rose from his seat and beckoned me towards the door. "My apologies, but I do have other business to tend to, now, so I must bring this meeting to an end. I do hope to see you tomorrow morning." I remained quiet and followed him as he led me back through the gym to the front door. There, Aloran gracefully took his leave of me.
I elected to stay at the Pokemon Center that night and immediately went over the sheet that the gym leader had given me upon arriving in my room.
You will not attempt to approach dragons in the Sanctuary unless accompanied by a Wataru Clan trainer or unless expressed permission has been granted by a Wataru Clan trainer.
You will not attempt to catch any dragons in the Sanctuary.
You will treat all denizens of the Sanctuary with the utmost respect.
You may not disseminate any information gained from our libraries.
You may not bring any electronic device with you into our archives.
You will abide by the authority of any and all Wataru Clan administrators and trainers at all times within the Sanctuary.
Any violation of these rules will result in immediate revocation of privileges given by the Wataru Clan. Any violation within the Sanctuary risks retaliation by the dragons therein, who, by the Sanctuary's purpose, are free of ownership. The Wataru Clan will not be held liable for any injury or death sustained by the dragons born from breaking the rules, which by signing, you agree to have read and understood.
The rules actually seemed reasonable. However, I spent the remainder of the day blowing off steam in the Pokemon Center basement. I meant what I had said about wanting to learn about draconic energy mastery, even if it was a secondary priority. Champion Volker was from the Wataru Clan and he had the only living Kingdra, so this was my best chance of uncovering the mystery behind a Seadra's evolution.
Knowing how tightly people keep important secrets, there was still a chance that I would not attain my main goal. However, my secondary goal was much more realistic for me to achieve, and almost equally as valuable.
The next morning, I arrived promptly 15 minutes before I was instructed to. After a formal greeting, Aloran led me away from the gym and to a luxury car, which then transported us north towards the mountains. After roughly half an hour passed, we reached a security checkpoint at a tall razor wire-topped chain-link fence. Then we drove another 10 minutes to a large compound nestled on the mountainside.
It took a little time, but I was checked in and taken to a waiting room and told to wait. Aloran left and 30 minutes later I was told to enter a separate door by an administrative assistant. The room I entered was two-tiered. The first tier had a podium surrounded by a wall, atop which sat the second tier of seats in a semi-circle around the podium.
Six people sat around me from above, one of whom was Aloran. "Welcome to the Wataru Clan headquarters," one of them – an elderly woman – announced. "We are here to discuss the terms of your induction to honorary membership of our clan. Membership carries a responsibility to learn about our history and traditions, and to respect our customs. Mr. MacAfee, you carry with you the progeny of our oldest wyrm. This gives you an opportunity to proposition us for membership. As protectors of the oldest dragon sanctuary in the world, we have strict guidelines on who we allow to enter into a contractual relationship with us."
Another council member – a middle-aged man – added, "In fact, the only reason you have been granted an audience is because your Garchomp was sired by our eldest. You should appreciate that fact."
Aloran held up the list of rules and liability that I had signed and given to him prior to my hearing, and then passed it along. "By signing this," he spoke. "You have attested to the rules governing your behavior in our Sanctuary. Now, as for the terms of our relationship… Will you please release your Garchomp here for us?" I nodded and released Azrael onto the large floor around me.
Azrael was tall enough that he stood nearly at eye-level with the Council leaders. "Magnificent…!" the man at the far end of the semi-circle gasped. The others likewise gazed at Azrael as if he was a beautiful work of art. They all bowed their heads towards Azrael, who did not know quite what to make of the situation, other than that he was being paid respect.
"Accounts of his size and majesty, of course, do not do him justice," Aloran said aloud. He then motioned to the middle-aged woman sitting at the center of the council.
"Our terms are thus: two-fold," she announced. "You must attend a short class on our history. This way, you honor our traditions by learning what they are, how they came about, and why they are important. If you accept our terms, this must be done before you can access our resources.
Second, after some discussion, we have concluded that there is a special price for your admission."
My stomach sank. That never boded well to hear.
"You see, the owner of the late Champion's Garchomp, Kira, entered into a similar contract with us, which was never honored. Her first egg was to be gifted to the Wataru Clan. Ironically, the contents thereof are who you currently train."
I stiffened at hearing this and Azrael's lip curled at my emotional change. I certainly did not like where this was going.
"Please relax, Mr. MacAfee," the old lady who had welcomed me there interjected. "We are not going to claim your pokemon."
"However," the center council leader continued. "If you want to become an honorary member of the Wataru Clan, our price is two eggs from a joining between your Garchomp and one of our females. One for the commitment given by his mother. The second for yours. Should you agree, this term is to be consummated immediately upon conclusion of our council. If only one egg is shown to be fertilized, then we will require a second pairing."
The sheer value of Azrael's offspring would be jaw-dropping, let alone multiple, but for the information we would learn… It took me no time to determine that it was worth it. The information could lead to Ceto's evolution, and would definitely lead to us realizing Azrael's potential, as well as all other dragons on my team. Essentially, their price was for me to breed Azrael with one of theirs, which was something I had been doing with Rufus now for years. However, part of me thought I was pimping him out, which left a bad taste in my mouth.
Regardless, Azrael did not send me any negative reactions, so I agreed.
"Wonderful!" the council leader responded. "As soon as we are finished here, we will organize an expedition into the Sanctuary. As for your membership, we will recognize your status as an honorary member. As such, after your orientation, you will have access to certain areas and resources, but you will need to be accompanied by a clansman in some of them. We have various reasons depending on the area, and unfortunately there are some resources and areas you will not be permitted to access. There are some things that the Wataru Clan holds very close.
"Now, since we are in agreement, you understand our expectations, and you've signed the rules, we can conclude the meeting. Are there any objections?"
There were none.
"Then this meeting is adjourned," the leader said, standing up. "We most sincerely welcome you to the Wataru Clan."
The council members all took their leave while I returned Azrael to his ball. I then left the meeting room. All in all, I did not feel like the terms were unfair. And for once, I actually felt like the terms of an agreement presented to me were appropriate. And, since Azrael is male, the toll was very light. He would not need to carry a developing egg or give birth.
That gave me pause, though, as the Wataru Clan must have believed it to be a fair price for the knowledge that they knew I wanted. Their resources were either objectively very valuable, or they were scamming me. But it was worth the risk for me.
Aloran met me soon thereafter in the waiting room. "I am sincerely pleased that you agreed to our terms," he told me, shaking my hand.
"Thank you, Gym Leader Wataru," I replied. "How long until we get started on fulfilling my end of the deal?"
"Impatient, are we?" Aloran said with a chuckle and a raised eyebrow.
"I would like to see what I gained from this deal as soon as possible," I said matter-of-factly.
"Fair enough," Aloran replied. "Please follow me."
The Blackthorn gym leader led me through the compound, deeper and deeper into the mountain. We even took a short tram at one point until we eventually reached another security checkpoint. Beyond it was a large metal door which opened electronically when we approached, and a gathering of people inside bowed to us.
The room itself had windows reaching from one side to the other. On the other side of the windows was an expansive cavern. Light bared down from far above through a hole on the cave ceiling. The cave stretched farther back than I could see, streams flowing and waterfalls crashing. It was like a much larger version of the training area at the Blackthorn gym.
The most impressive feature, however, was the sight of scales and leathery wings. I saw Dragonite of varying sizes, Salamence, Garchomp, and Aerodactyl, as well as their former evolutionary stages. It was magnificent to behold; so much so that I lost track of time as I stood in awe at the window.
"This is our Sanctuary," Aloran's voice said to my right. "Dragons seek shelter here, or even establish a permanent residence."
"How does their territorial instincts allow for this?" I asked, mouth agape.
"Those instincts don't always dictate a dragon's actions," replied a voice I did not recognize. One of the people in the room had walked up behind me. He had a glittering vest of scale and black hair similar to Aloran. "They also have instincts driving the desire to nest and congregate around a matriarch or patriarch."
I was already learning something new.
"I believe everyone is here and ready to begin. Mr. MacAfee, please accompany us inside and release your Garchomp." The man gestured to a door around which everyone was congregating.
I stepped into the cavern and immediately noticed the increase in humidity. Then I released Azrael, who quickly took in his surroundings and recoiled at the presence of the multitude of foreign dragons. His reaction was immediately defensive, but I reassured him through our link that we were in no danger, despite not knowing if that was actually the case. All of the dragons in the immediate vicinity were eyeing us curiously.
He then caught sight of the group of Wataru clansmen gathered behind us. They were all bowing reverently towards him. One man raised his head and arms and addressed Azrael. "Mighty Azrael, will you accompany us and your partner-trainer to receive the blessing of our patriarch – your father – Buliwyf?"
I received a mixture of emotions ranging from defensiveness to shock, and for the first time since I had developed the link, fear. His fear was minor, however, to his other emotions. This confused and shocked me, which only added to the rough circumstances of his release in the Sanctuary.
I put a hand on Azrael's giant leg, as he had stood taller in his defensive reaction. "Calm down. I'm here, and we're both alright. Let's go meet him and get his blessing."
Azrael responded by calming down significantly, though he was still guarded and protective of me in the midst of the throngs of dragons ahead. "We're good," I told Aloran, who then nodded to the man who had originally spoken to me in the previous room.
A procession began with Aloran and the man at the very front, and Azrael and I in the middle. We were led deep into the caves, past many tens of dragons. Most notably, we passed a couple of Garchomp, who looked at Azrael with reverence due to his size. We walked for over an hour, going deeper and deeper into the cave. Multiple times, the path branched off into deeper caverns, until we reached a natural opening into a small, lush crater in the mountainside.
The path angled upwards, where there were more scatterings of dragons. These were much larger than any other dragon we had passed on our way. But at the peak of the hill sat an exceptionally massive Dragonite. It dwarfed Azrael and probably would have out-sized Azrael's mother. I imagined it was roughly short of 30 feet tall as it stood up to take in the sight of the procession entering its presence. The massive dragon's scales were a deep reddish-gold and sunlight reflected off of them like twinkling stars.
"Do not look him in the eyes," a clansman told me. "Or any of the dragons here for that matter." I took his advice. All of the dragons in this area were around Azrael's size or larger, and I did not want to estimate our chances of survival if I incited their wrath.
The procession continued to approach the mammoth Buliwyf until it reached a distance of 100 feet, whereupon we stopped and the lead clansman stepped forward and spoke loudly. "Greetings, Brood father Buliwyf, please accept this offering of our covenant."
One of the Wataru clansmen stepped forward and released a Miltank halfway between them. The Miltank shuddered in fear as the great wyrm gazed upon it and then to the side. Two enormous Dragonite pounced on the cow and violently tore it in half before devouring their halves while the Wataru Clansmen and the other dragons looked on.
Once the savage feeding was complete, the lead clansman continued. "We have come to you to present a new member of our clan, and to seek your blessing for the mating of his bonded with two of your brood." The procession parted down the middle to give the behemoth an unobstructed view of Azrael and I.
The elder wyrm's neck shifted and it rose to its hind legs. Its attention focused on us and I could feel a palpable weight bearing down upon me. Aloran and the lead clansman then looked upon us and motioned us forward. I recoiled inwardly as I noticed the two clansmen's appearance had changed. Aloran's eyes had vertical slits down their centers, his hair had become spiked backwards, and his skin had become rough – almost as if scales were pressing up from beneath it. His nails had grown into sharp claws, and he gave a single beckoning motion with an uncompromising expression.
Azrael and I complied and moved forward cautiously, whereupon the lead clansman proclaimed, "This Garchomp, Azrael, is your progeny. He is the hatchling of Kira – bonded to Indigo Champion Lorelei."
I saw no visible signs of emotion from the titanic dragon, but he fell to his fore-legs and took one step towards us, the weight of his movements causing shockwaves to ripple through the ground.
"Move aside, MacAfee!" Aloran ordered crisply. Not wanting to find out what would happen if I did not, I hurried away from Azrael, who moved towards Buliwyf. Confidence and defiance reached through out link, which made me worry. Buliwyf let out a roar so deep and loud that I cannot describe it. The sheer force of his roar pushed me to my knee. I could only look on as Azrael roared back and leapt forward, only to be intercepted by the titan. The earth trembled as Buliwyf's enormous claw caught Azrael by the lower neck and violently pinned him to the ground under his immense weight.
My adrenaline and fear for Azrael spiked as I watched, and I attempted to stand up to do something – though I had not thought exactly of what – but a clawed hand pressed my shoulder down. "Do not interfere!" Aloran looked down at me with serious reptilian eyes.
"But-" I struggled to say as I looked at my starter pinned to the ground, thrashing.
"If you want your Garchomp to live, and yourself for that matter, then do NOT interfere!" Aloran repeated.
Buliwyf roared again, this time in Azrael's face, and the walls behind us shook. Azrael cringed under the force of the challenge and was forced to look away in submission. When he stopped struggling, Buliwyf huffed confidently – as if there was ever a question of his dominance.
The patriarch's colossal arm receded from Azrael's neck and Azrael slowly rose from the ground, feelings of humility and sheepishness seeping through our link. Buliwyf gazed upon Azrael intensely as Azrael stood on all fours and backed away with his head lowered.
"Buliwyf has given his blessing," Aloran told me quietly. "I will explain later."
"Great Brood Father," the lead clansman proclaimed. "We thank you for your generosity. May our sacred covenant continue to flourish!" The colossal Dragonite merely yawned apathetically and returned to his place at the top of the crater.
Gym Leader Wataru and the lead clansman turned and walked through the middle of the congregation, and the procession started anew in the opposite direction. When Aloran passed by me, he said, "Azrael will stay. He will return to you in a day's time, but we need to leave now."
I did not like the idea of leaving Azrael alone, but it was apparent that the gym leader knew what was going on. I looked at Azrael and sent him some positive thoughts before reluctantly following the procession when the clansmen who had brought up the rear on our way in beckoned me forwards.
The caves were silent on our way back, unlike before. It was impossible that they had not heard Buliwyf's roar. The entire time I was walking, I was reflecting on what I had witnessed.
It was one thing to hear of pokemon of that size, and another to see one in person. Azrael was larger than life for me, but all of the dragons in that crater were his size or larger. If the Wataru Clan had any control over those dragons, then I could hardly think of a more dangerous organization. I had no knowledge of their political or league influence, but I'm sure it was significant. It made me very worried about the possibility of a conflict between Kanto and Johto.
When we arrived back at the small structure at the edge of the Sanctuary, the procession erupted in applause. "That's the first time I've seen him agree to an outsider mating with one from his harem!" one man exclaimed.
Aloran clapped me on the back and I noticed his visage no longer resembled a reptile. "This is the second time in my lifetime that he has allowed this. We are very fortunate."
"Wait!" I exclaimed angrily. "Are you saying there was a chance that this all might have gone badly!?" I knew enough by how the Wataru Clan treated the patriarch, how the patriarch responded to any thought of a challenge, and from my general knowledge of pokemon alpha behavior that if it had gone badly, Azrael's life could have been threatened.
Aloran lowered his hand from my back and replied, "There was a chance, yes. But in that case, your Garchomp would not have sustained any life-threatening injuries… probably. Buliwyf would have asserted his dominance more aggressively and ejected us from the Grotto."
"Probably!? You never told me any of that!" I yelled at him, my anger boiling over.
"Mr. MacAfee," the gym leader told me placatingly. "We've studied the dragons' behaviors and cultivated a relationship with our patriarch for generations. Never once has he killed a potential suitor to his harem that we've presented to him. We would not expose your dragon – or any dragon for that matter – to deadly harm if the chance was too great. The lineage of your Garchomp alone gave him a good chance of being accepted. We cannot be one hundred percent positive in all situations, but our history and relationship with the Patriarch gives us a fairly good idea of how he will act. It was an educated decision, but this is a great honor nonetheless!"
My anger diminished. It made sense, but if there was one thing that would piss me off faster than anything else, it was being manipulated. "Let me make something very clear," I told him icily. "Honor or no honor, I do NOT condone being manipulated and my pokemons' lives or health being put into jeopardy without understanding the situation."
The gym leader's expression turned from joyous to sheepish. "That is fair and reasonable. I sincerely apologize for taking that liberty. It will not happen again."
"Thank you," I replied. "Now explain to me what will happen with Azrael."
Aloran clasped his hands in front of himself and said, "Right. Buliwyf gave his blessing, and the show of dominance was to establish that he was allowing his harem members to breed with your Garchomp as a gift, but that ultimately they were still his harem. The fact that Azrael is his progeny made it all the more important for Buliwyf to assert his dominance so as to discourage the thought of his rule being threatened and him being seen as weak.
"We would not have needed his blessing to mate your Garchomp with any of the dragons outside of Buliwyf's grotto, where his harem nests, but his harem consists of the strongest females in the Sanctuary. They were the most ideal pairings. Over the course of today and tonight, Buliwyf will choose two from his harem to mate with your Garchomp and allow them to do so. Before that happens, they will all feed."
I sighed. In relief, though I still worried about him. I never needed to worry about Azrael, so this was uncomfortable in the extreme. "Thank you," I replied. "And now that Azrael is fulfilling our end of the deal, can we get started with the history lesson so I can start my research?"
"Absolutely, please follow me," he said and motioned me towards the door to the facility. I noticed that most of the Wataru Clansmen had gone silent at witnessing my outrage, but once we left the room, I heard their merriment begin anew.
Aloran led me to a small conference room and pulled out his PokeDex. It connected to a smart screen on the wall and he pulled up a slideshow presentation. Thus began my short education on Wataru Clan history.
That day, I learned about the Wataru Clan founders. In the early 400s, they were opponents of dragon trappers who captured wild dragons to harvest their body parts and organs, as they were believed to have magical qualities. The founding fathers of the clan were brothers who established the Sanctuary as a hidden place for dragons that were wounded by trappers to rest and recover. The Wataru brothers and their following would regularly sabotage trapping expeditions and would regularly free captured dragons, sometimes resorting to violence in the process. They claimed it was in response to the trappers' violence, but the fact is that freeing dragons from trappers was an inherently dangerous undertaking.
As the clan grew more successful in their efforts to subvert the dragon trade, their sanctuary grew more populated. And not only by injured dragons, but also wild dragons seeking mates. At first it was no problem, but by the time the Wataru Brothers' sons and daughters were alive, the cave system had grown and the number of wild dragons had grown to an unmanageable level. Dragons aggressively vied for dominance over the smorgasbord of female mating partners, which led the clan to adopt and train a group of Dragonite to keep the peace, which they aptly named the Peacekeepers.
A hundred years passed, and with it two more generations of Watarus. The founding brothers had since passed away but their family held onto power and leadership of the clan. Their sons and daughters procreated and before long, more Wataru-family members made up the ranks of the Wataru Clan than non-family members. This trend continued until the number of non-Wataru family-members were virtually zero.
In the meantime, the Peacekeepers, raised and trained by the second generation of Watarus, matured, grew powerful, and established order within the Sanctuary. However, over those 100 years, a few very strong and aggressive dragons visited the Sanctuary and attempted to establish dominance, which resulted in the numbers of the Peacekeepers dwindling. By year 600, there were only three Peacekeepers remaining, but they had grown very powerful.
In the year 654, after the Wataru Clan had started to engage in broader regional politics, there was a neighboring warlord who had control of a large geographic area that includes modern-time Goldenrod City, Azalea City, and Violet City. The warlord wanted to establish dominance on the greater now-Johto region and attacked the Sanctuary, killing one of the remaining three Peacekeepers during the battle. However, that battle marked the decline of the warlord's quest for domination as his forces were crippled by the dragons that swarmed them.
It is argued that that battle marked the beginning of the Wataru Clan's geopolitical power. Of the remaining Peacekeepers, one was female and the other was male. Both were considered Matriarch and Patriarch respectively until the Matriarch died from disease in the year 833. Thus, the last remaining Peacekeeper became the first sole Patriarch of the sanctuary. His progeny, Buliwyf, became the second when the final Peacekeeper passed away in 1315. He assumed control after a bloody struggle between him and two siblings.
Throughout it all, though, the Wataru Clan did not view the dragons as their property. They trained some of the dragons and offered sanctuary, but treated them as powerful, beautiful beings worthy of respect and independence. Over the many hundreds of years, the Wataru Clan became partnered with the dragons on a fundamental level.
I also learned that the first champion of the Indigo League, Magnus Borallis, was from the Wataru Clan – back long ago before Johto and Kanto split into two nations from the great Indigo country that Magnus had united from the warring tribes. Although, like me he was only an honorary member. His Dragonite, Adrammelech, was the last Peacekeeper's progeny. Before Magnus had been extended an honorary membership, he had come across a Dragonair that had been smuggled out of the Sanctuary, along with a few other dragons, and had freed them.
The Dragonair and Magnus bonded during the process and became partners. Later on, during the long years that Magnus had spent uniting the Indigo Provinces to create the Pokemon League, he visited the Wataru Clan. They were powerful and wary of him, but they allowed Magnus and Adrammelech, who at that point was a fully grown Dragonite, to visit the sanctuary. There, Adrammelech recognized where he had grown up and his mother recognized him as well. Magnus was extended an honorary membership shortly thereafter.
With the Wataru Clan's support, Magnus steamrolled any of his political opposition. Adrammelech was fearsome, but the Wataru Clan gave him vastly more intimidation power. And in year 900, Magnus became the first Champion of the Pokemon League with its creation. Since the League was established, the Wataru Clan has always had one of their members in the top echelons of the Johto League, and even had members of the Clan become ranking members of other country leagues – as was demonstrated by Kanto's current Champion.
After the history portion of the educational course, Aloran wanted to take a break and reconvene the following day. However, I managed to convince him to get started with the next segment immediately instead.
The second portion of the course dealt with the relationship between the dragons and the clan. Throughout their history of sabotaging dragon-trapping operations, many of the freed dragons developed bonds with members of the Wataru Clan and assisted in furthering the efforts of the clan.
The dragons that bonded with the Wataru Clan made their homes in the sanctuary, but not all permanent residents of the sanctuary were bonded dragons. The sanctuary had become a place for wild dragons to seek refuge with no questions asked, as long as they did not create any trouble with the hierarchy. Because of this, many residents of the sanctuary are pure wild dragons.
Hundreds of years of observation and partnership have given the clan wisdom in how to treat the dragons so that a mutual benign relationship can be maintained. They know of and respect that dragons have natural rituals and ways of life, and they help preserve them in the Sanctuary.
One way they show respect and honor draconic traditions is the through gift-giving, which I had seen when they offered a Miltank to Buliwyf. Dragons will offer gifts – usually of food – as signs of good faith to one another. Also, simple things such as not looking defensive, injured, aggressive, or imperial dragons in the eye shows them that you are not trying to disrespect them.
All in all, the second portion of my education was much shorter than the first, but it was still very late when we finished. And since we were still at the Sanctuary facility, Aloran gave me a short tour of the places I was interested in.
Based on what I had told him of my goals, Aloran showed me the library which housed their archives. He told me that I could find anything I was looking for in the form of biographical accounts, training manuals, and history books. Then, he showed me to the barracks, which I was allowed to use. Lastly, he showed me the cafeteria and training areas.
Before he left, Aloran gave me a phone number for Wataru Clan members who could authorize and escort me to certain areas of the facility where I was not authorized to go alone. He also told me to stop by the sanctuary in the morning where a Wataru Clan member would be waiting to reunite me with Azrael. Then, he bade me a final welcome before departing.
The barracks in the facility resembled a Pokemon Center in that there were private rooms and a nearby cafeteria, which was good because I intended to utilize the knowledge gained from research immediately through training.
I did not waste any time. I immediately headed to the library. There, I deposited my electronics in a locker and passed through a detector. When the clansman was satisfied that I was not bringing any foreign electronic items into the library, he let me go on alone. He seemed a tad annoyed as it was around 10:30 and I imagine he would have to stay until I left since I was a new honorary member.
The library was not awfully large, but there were still too many books for me to effectively look through and find what I was looking for. And since I was aware that during the day there was a librarian, I simply utilized the electronic database to search potential books that I wanted to look through.
I first searched for Seadra-specific books, those on Kingdra, and any and all first-hand accounts by Champion Bruce Volker. Unfortunately, there were no biographies by the Indigo Champion, but there were many books on Seadra and Kingdra. So, I started making a list.
Then, I searched for dragon-shifted accounts on training, actual dragon training manuals, and since I could not find any biographies of Champion Volker, I looked for history books involving Kindgra and Champions who had trained Kingdra.
It was well past 1:00 A.M. when I decided to leave for the night. I returned to the barracks, receiving a dirty look from the clansman who had been waiting at the library for me to leave, holding my list of books and ready to hit the ground running in the morning.
- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -
I walked into the Sanctuary viewing room at 8:00 the next morning to find Azrael waiting for me out in the cave with many of the Wataru Clan members. He looked perfectly fine, and sent waves of relief through our link upon seeing me, which I returned.
Along with the emotional waves, I detected hints of satisfaction indicating he had enjoyed himself the previous night. That was further relief for me as I had spent a lot of our time apart worrying about him. "Everything went well, I take it?" I asked him.
Azrael only huffed sheepishly in reply, to which I chuckled, both in amusement and out of further relief. Then I returned him to his greatball.
The Wataru clansmen all bowed to me and thanked me for gracing their clan with Azrael's addition. I only responded with a short thank you before heading to the library. I had work to do and pleasantries were not important enough to delay me, courtesy be damned.
The librarian helped me gather the books on my list, and even recommended a few extras. I started with a book detailing the observations of the Wataru Clan of a former clan member's Kingdra. It detailed the hardness and abrasiveness of the Kingdra's scales, behavioral trends, diet, water storage capacity, social interactions, and general capabilities. I read some of the more interesting sections such as behavioral trends and general capabilities but ultimately did not find anything pertaining to the method of its evolution.
The second book was on Seadra and Horsea physiology. I skimmed through and found little of use. I followed that up with an autobiography by a past Johtoan Champion who had owned a Kingdra. I flipped through the book and found that the first mention of a Kingdra – which had followed a particularly large gap in information where the champion had been visiting Hoenn – appeared when the bio resumed after he had already returned to Johto and mentioned that it was newly evolved. I found that particularly interesting – he had been visiting Hoenn, and though the bio did not reveal where he had been when his Kingdra had evolved, I felt that it was important.
So, I started looking back to the reason he was visiting Hoenn in the first place. He was Champion at the time, having defeated the previous champion with a team that included a Seadra. His trip to Hoenn had allegedly been a family visit, but people saw him at the Ever Grande League Headquarters at one point. Nothing more was written on the subject. Those details reinforced my theory that the evolution may have happened when the Champion visited Hoenn, and not after he had returned to Johto.
So, I delved into another book on a general history of Hoenn during the time the Champion had visited to see if anything had been going on of historical significance that could explain why he had visited - and there was nothing fruitful to that end.
Finding no traction there, I moved to the only other autobiography of someone who had owned a Kingdra – a past Elite from Hoenn. The Elite's autobiography was the first record of a Kingdra trainer. It was very old and had been copied to preserve the contents. The autobiography had a lot of religious musings and tended to ramble a lot. The Elite was among the 3rd generation of Elites in the League, and had written an actual account of the Seadra's evolution, though with little detail of the technical method.
The account detailed his journey across Hoenn in the time during his apprenticeship as a water type pokemon master. He wrote,
"During my travels, I came to find myself at a place of great spiritual energy. I could feel it in my very bones, calling to me. After hours of prayer in different areas of this place, I came to a particular spot where I felt compelled to immediately fall to my knees in supplication at the images I beheld, which I interpreted as directions for a ritual giving homage to the spiritual beings lingering in the ether around me.
After performing this ritual, I felt a stirring in my very skin, causing bewilderment to befall me as my commendations shown a bright luminescence about me. Such a fright was followed by such a sublime sense of peace that I sat down and brought my team about me. Marlin, who would experience the greatest transformation at my side, shared with me a divine vision that rendered myself truly humble and drove Old Marlin to evolve.
Such a grand spiritual experience can not be recounted, as it would do injustice to the legendary spirits of this earth, but it gifted Old Marlin with a power unmatched by any of his species. I was truly beset with awe as Old Marlin summoned a whirlpool of such magnitude that I believed the ocean itself would be drained. Overcome by gratitude, I resigned myself to prayer for the remainder of the day and night.
Our return to civilization was met with celebration and reverence as Marlin joined the ranks of our country's most esteemed and celebrated pokemon."
I laid the book down on the table in front of me with unmatched excitement. This was it! Not a whole lot of information was there, but I could feel the importance of it. It reinforced my theory that location was key – and that the location was in Hoenn. There was not much else to go on, except for two other key conclusions that I reached after I spent some time in thought.
One, "Old Marlin summoned a whirlpool of such magnitude that I believed the ocean itself would be drained" indicated that the Elite experienced this event adjacent to the ocean. Now, Hoenn is a large island with many smaller island chains, so even though the information narrowed down the possible area, the focal area was still very big.
Two, the Elite made no mystery of the divine feeling he experienced in the place he visited, which gave me a potential lead in starting my search.
While mulling it over, I also recalled Champion Bruce Volker's words about Kingdra – "They are not made; they are chosen." It was another element that I was having trouble fitting into the equation. I spent the rest of the day researching other second-hand accounts of two Kingdra-owners, but gleaned no further information.
Later that night, I performed some more research on the general internet in a training room. I spoke much of my thoughts aloud to my team, but I made sure that Ceto in particular heard what I was saying. After a search of holy sites yielded hundreds of individual sites across Hoenn, I narrowed the results to religious sites older than 1000 years – since the Elite's autobiography happened in the early generations of the League. This search yielded around 50 and many of them were spread out around the network of islands surrounding Sootopolis City, which was a very old city and home of the culturally sacred Cave of Origin.
It was certainly a good start. There were many obstacles at the moment to continuing my search, however. Hoenn was currently in a post-war mess, so I could foresee many problems with trying to visit. Additionally, we had limited time before boot camp and I had to be ready to travel back to Kanto if the League miraculously granted me my battle.
So, I switched my focus to dragon-type energy research. The next day I delved into dragon mastery, starting with a dragon training manual. Many of the chapters dealt with general dragon behavior and earning their respect – which was not what I was looking for. The chapters dealing with dragon energy outlined very rudimentary steps for fostering the development of techniques that use dragon energy. I then moved on to several other manuals and spent some time finding little more information. What I did learn was that dragon energy was much different than most other pokemon types.
By the end of the day, I had become engrossed in an autobiography by a past Blackthorn Gym Leader. I was mostly interested in the training accounts that occurred after he shifted – which was only alluded to. It seems even in the Wataru Clan, knowledge of the Shift was restricted. But that only began in the later chapters of the book, and the training he spoke of was imparted to him by the Blackthorn City Gym.
The next day yielded more or less the same. During a long portion of the day, when I was reading an account of a gym leader instructing pokemon trainers on dragon types, it occurred to me that books may not be the only resources at my disposal. I was so focused on figuring it out for myself that it had not occurred to me to use other people as resources. So, I immediately sent Gym Leader Wataru a message asking if he would have time to offer any instruction, or if there was anyone at the gym to whom he could point me to teach me dragon energy.
Aloran messaged me back in the affirmative, to my delight. I remembered then that gyms were not originally meant solely for battle. They were also sources of knowledge for particular pokemon elements, which were open to seekers of that knowledge. And, the purpose of many gym trainers was to become subject matter experts on their particular element.
This late-coming revelation opened the door to learning all of the other elements at my team's disposal, to be utilized at a later date. Thus, the next day I returned to Blackthorn City proper by method of teleportation and visited the gym to begin my education on dragon energy.
"Hm, I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask for instruction. Took you a little longer than I expected," Aloran told me with a smirk, standing in the waiting room of his gym.
"Honestly, I've been so focused on uncovering it all myself that it didn't occur to me to ask," I replied.
"Well then, you're in luck!" he responded energetically. "We don't get many visitors – this being the last gym in the circuit and all – so I have some free time to spare. We can begin immediately if you'd like."
"I absolutely would!" I responded with an enthusiastic nod.
"Great! It gets quite boring, you know?" He said. "And since you're past a certain point as a pokemon trainer," he said with a wink, "I'll be instructing you directly. None of my apprentices have experienced that shift in mastery."
"Even better," I replied.
Aloran led me to one of the large eco-training areas and released a beautiful dark blue Dragonair. He also had me release the dragons and pseudo-dragons in my lineup, which consisted of Azrael, Ceto, and Saraph.
"So, of this group, your Garchomp is the only true dragon type. But that doesn't mean the rest don't have inner draconic energy. Pseudo-dragons like Charizard and pokemon that have dragon type in their blood, like Seadra, have access to dragon energy. In my experience, dragon type is different than most others in multiple ways, but none so significant as its likeness to an energy, which is why it is so aptly named dragon energy. It's similar to psychic energy but only in particular ways. Draconic energy comes from the dragon itself. The dragon exudes this energy and projects it around itself to affect its surroundings.
"Let's look at a simple dragon technique – the Dragon Tail. It's a very basic technique that allows the dragon to tap into that energy and shape it. Specifically, it shapes the energy into a sharp, energized shell around their own tail. That energy interacts with world like psychic energy, but it is not the same. The energy in that technique is hardened to cut through other objects."
To demonstrate, the gym leader's Dragonair encased its tail with draconic energy and sliced a boulder clean in half.
"Additionally, dragon energy can be less concrete. A dragon can channel the energy through its body using the Dragon Dance technique to increase muscle reflexes and density. As a non-dragon type trainer, you can't see so much of the energy or feel it, but you can cultivate it in your pokemon. Once you understand how to train your dragon to tap into that energy, you can work on growing it within them and strengthening their control over it."
The Dragonair then concentrated and I could see its body shimmer as it used the Dragon Dance technique.
The gym leader nodded to the dragon respectfully. "I'm sure you felt the weight of Buliwyf's gaze, did you not?" he asked me rhetorically. "That was just the dragon energy being projected through his gaze. A strong-enough dragon does so subconsciously, and the stronger a dragon's inner energy, the more palpable it can be felt – even to non-dragon types."
"Now, for training methods. Without being able to truly understand it yourself, you'll need to be patient. Your dragons probably have some idea of the energy they have but probably haven't been able to tap into it and focus it. The objective of this training technique is to simply get them in touch with their inner pool of energy. Can you please tell me what dragon techniques they each know?"
I relayed their move-sets and he took out a pair of TMs from a stack. "This is Dragon Breath and this is Dragon Tail. Breath for your Seadra and Tail for your Charizard. Your Garchomp already knows the techniques required by this method. The purpose of this training method is diversity – using two to three separate dragon-type moves back-to-back to center the dragon's mind on the source of its power. For your Charizard and Garchomp, it will be using Dragon Claw, then Dragon Tail, then Dragon Claw, etc. They will not use these moves on anything, but use them to coat their claws and tails alternatingly in dragon energy.
"Moving that energy from claws to tail and back again will familiarize them with where that energy is coming from. Your Seadra will move from Dragon Breath to Dragon Pulse and back again for the same effect. This will take patience as they will need to do this for a long time until they can start manipulating the energy with precision."
I quickly administered the TMs to my PokeDex, and Ceto and Saraph tested out their new abilities before Aloran had them start drilling.
"You'll know they have it more under control when you can see the shimmer of dragon energy moving from their claws to their tails without disappearing between moves," Aloran told me as I watched my dragons train. I could faintly make out the shimmer on Azrael's claws and then on his tail, as well as on Saraph.
"I'll demonstrate for you," Aloran told me as he saw me squinting. He released a Dragonite, a 12 foot-tall beautiful golden giant. "Show our guests a Dragon Tail to Dragon Claw. Seamless." I was able to make out a faint shimmer of energy travel from the Dragonite's large claws to its tail.
"And it will be a little more difficult to see with your Seadra since both techniques manifest at her mouth," Aloran continued. "But Dragon Breath billows out like a flamethrower and Dragon Pulse comes out like a wide beam. When she is able to transition from one to the other seamlessly, you'll know she's getting in touch with her intrinsic energy."
The Dragonite demonstrated this as well, changing the billowing purple and black fire to a concentrated beam without closing its mouth. Watching Ceto, I saw that there was a very visible and obvious transition between moves, like she was taking a breath between each.
"Getting in touch with their inner energy is the hardest part. After they can tap into that pool, we'll move on to switching between different types of energy manifestations. For example, your Seadra will move from Dragon Breath to Dragon Dance, and so on. Eventually, when they have a solid hold on their inner energy, you can start working with them to shape that energy with more precision, making their Dragon Claws longer, sharper, or denser, and their Dragon Pulses more concentrated."
"How long do you think it generally takes for a dragon to reach that point?" I asked. It honestly felt familiar to my own process of manipulating my extrasensory muscle during Juliette's training. That process had been a slow multi-month process.
"It really depends on the dragon. Some pick up on it much faster than others. Yours are very strong and matured dragons so in some cases it could be faster. But, it could be the exact opposite as they may have trouble redefining how they perceive their abilities. I really can't give you an accurate approximation.
"But, your job as a non-dragon type trainer is to help them realize their own potential, even if you don't fully understand it, and even if they don't fully understand it at first," Aloran said as he watched my pokemon diligently. "A basic understanding of dragon energy will take you a long way, which I can give you."
"I hope so," replied. "I can only stay here for maybe a month and a half before I need to get back for boot camp. And if I'm lucky, I'll need to leave before then."
"Why's that?" Aloran asked.
"Well, Ace boot camp starts in about two months, and if the League actually respects my challenge for the second elite then I'll need to return for that."
"Why wouldn't they?" Aloran asked with a frown.
"Because they canceled the first time on the day of my challenge," I replied bitterly. "Because I made a bet with the League President that if I beat the second elite before boot camp, I would not be obligated to serve the League indefinitely."
"Ah, good old League tactics," Aloran said with a scoff. "It doesn't surprise me. That pompous prick has done worse."
I did not have a response. "If they do give you your challenge, I may have a way to get you back to Kanto quickly. You'll just need to let me know."
"That would be great!" I responded with surprise. "But I'm losing hope that it will even happen, so I doubt you'll need to worry about it."
"We'll see," he replied curtly. "And who knows, in a month and a half, your dragons may have made leaps and strides towards mastering their fundamental energy."
"I hope so…" I replied.
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A month went by fast for me, but not so much for Azrael, Ceto, and Saraph. It did not take long for them to grow frustrated as their routines grew tedious and redundant with little progress. I thought Azrael was going to collapse the gym after slamming a Dragon Tail into the wall when he grew frustrated that I wanted him to keep doing the same thing over and over.
But regardless, my team was making steady progress unknowingly. I could see the shimmer of energy traveling down Azrael's arm towards his tail, but disappear once it reached his stomach, and vice versa. The same went for Saraph. Ceto was still struggling to seamlessly transition from one technique to the other, but instead of an obvious pause between attacks, it was more like a cough.
It did not seem like much, but it was progress. And in the meantime, my other pokemon trained with me. At the end of October, though, I transferred Rufus to my parents so that we would not miss the mating season. I did not like being so far away from him, but I trusted my parents to keep good care of him until all of the designated females had been impregnated. Boot camp only being roughly four weeks away did not help my nerves either. And as the first of December grew closer, my hope that my challenge would be honored dwindled.
In the first week of November, less than a month from boot camp, Azrael made a breakthrough and was able to transition his energy from his tail to his claws and back again without losing his hold on the energy. We immediately added Dragon Rage to the mix, which added another dimension to his dragon energy training.
Aloran told me that it was very fortunate since he could then help Ceto and Saraph train when we returned to Kanto. And, since it was getting close to my deadline to return, Aloran started giving me more pointers to develop my dragons' mastery of energy.
The first week of November passed and my parents returned Rufus to me. He returned energetic and full of hubris, which aided in general training. To my delight, Ceto was also able to the bridge the gap between techniques at the end of the first week of November, and added Dragon Rage to her training mix. Saraph, after seeing the other two succeed, could not help but double her efforts to succeed. True to form, she did after only three days.
And another three days after that, I received that which I had lost hope to receive before boot camp. An official message from the Indigo League arrived at about 6:00 at night summoning me to the Indigo Plateau the next day at noon for my challenge. The message ended with a warning that failure to show up promptly at the designated time would forfeit my challenge.
My soul soared immediately, but then my mood soured and my anxiety kicked in. I had 18 hours to get back to Kanto. I immediately notified Aloran in a panic, as all flights to Kanto were fully booked. But, true to his word, Aloran managed to obtain for me a seat on a 10:00 overnight flight. All I had to do was teleport back and quickly fill out the customs forms for a returning Kantoan.
I quickly thanked Aloran for everything he had taught me, and for everything he had done to help me become an honorary Wataru Clan member, and then left for the Cherrygrove City airport. A few teleports later and I was standing in the teleportation zone of the airport, and I rushed inside. Check-in was painless and I arrived at my gate with time to spare, being notified that most of my customs forms could be completed during the flight. I did, however, need to get my ID and PokeDex scanned, and have my bags checked for any restricted items.
The flight would take just under 6 hours, so I planned to sleep as much as I could on the plane. I did not foresee sleeping much after I landed due to needing to get to the Indigo Plateau and prepare my team for the fight.
As uncomfortable as I was with flying, I was able to get some sleep, even if it was of low quality. I was not able to stay asleep for more than about 45 minutes at a time, and as soon as we were an hour out, I could not fall asleep again. So, I completed my customs forms and took out my PokeDex to review my notes on the 2nd Elite's team.
We disembarked the plane at around 4:00 in the morning, but I did not get out of the airport until 5:30 as long lines plagued customs and the process for a returning ranger took more time than for a civilian. But when I finally left the airport, I immediately called a teleportation service to the Plateau, and had to wait until 7:00 when their business opened. In the hour and a half before then, I ate breakfast, sent a message to my parents that I was back in Kanto and would contact them later that day, and sent a message to Aoro notifying him that my battle was on.
He sent back a message not long after,
That's great, Zachariah! I gotta be honest, I didn't think they would give you a match, but I guess you found a way to twist their arm! Good on you!
Listen now, you need to keep a level head and be careful. I don't know if the all the hubbub from a couple of our senators about you getting a challenge was the reason you got this match, but you need to be prepared in case they play dirty. There is still a bet in play and they have no intention of letting you win it. Be extra mindful of where the 2nd Elite is targeting on your pokemon. And don't be afraid to back off or return a pokemon- it is much preferable to getting them killed.
Best of luck. In my opinion, you should be ready, and jokes on them: they gave you an extra couple of months to get ready when they cancelled your first match! Go stick it to them!
His message vindicated my wariness towards this fight. I was already worried that the Elite would do everything he could to win in order to make sure I lost the bet, but Aoro's message reinforced that possibility.
Rufus's company helped keep my mind pacified until 7:00 when I purchased a teleport onto the Indigo Plateau. There, I checked into the Pokemon Center and released all of my pokemon in the underground activity room.
"Everyone, I didn't think this would happen, but the League is honoring our challenge today!" My excitement spread through our links like a wildfire. "This is probably the most important fight we've had as a team. Winning this fight will free us from indefinite servitude to the League. We can't lose it, but I fear they may play dirty. Mind your weak spots during this fight. Keep you neck covered, and watch your eyes. In five hours, you will be fighting the most difficult fight we've had, so prepare yourselves however you need to. You've got three hours."
My pokemon went about preparing in their own ways for the impending fight. As they did, I approached Titus. "Titus, you're sitting this one out." I could feel the bitterness form at the knowledge.
"You're sitting this one out because the 2nd Elite's team is Steel type. You're steel type as well so you won't be playing to many of their weaknesses. Don't worry though, you'll definitely be on the team for the 3rd Elite since he's psychic and you're extra effective against all of his pokemon."
That did little to placate him, but at least he understood my decision had nothing to do with his skill level.
Three hours later, I visited the Indigo Plateau PokeMart and bought a Full Restore canister. They were expensive, but it would be wise to bring battle medicine and I had a feeling I would need a strong one. Then I made my way to the reserved stadium and checked in.
- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -
2nd Elite Jean Barnes faced me at a distance. His gargantuan stature, even at that distance, was intimidating. I could hardly believe that he showed, given my last experience at the arena.
The Elite's light brown hair glistened in the sun as if he'd just showered, and he seemed to be impervious to the cold bite in the air. He only wore a gray tank top, and black and white jogging pants. Five pokeballs lined his belt. His expression was serious, which was truthfully not out of character given my previous experiences with him. However, there was a mark of solemnity to his expression, which highlighted a tension on the battlefield that I had not felt before.
I spared a glance at the distant spectator's booth and found myself surprised to make out the forms of the League President and the Champion himself. I couldn't make out their expressions from their distance, but they were still and facing the arena, indicating that they were watching avidly. There were also many other people in the booth, just like during my last Elite battle.
One switch-out; One potion. On my mark, release your first pokemon. Then, on my subsequent signal, you may begin battling, announced a referee through the loudspeaker.
I had already made up my mind about who I would start with. I wanted to start fast and hard, and Elite Barnes usually led with either a Lucario or Magnezone. Therefore, I had Dante's ball in my hand.
Release your pokemon!
Dante appeared in front of me with raised blades. But I gasped in surprise when the Elite's Metagross – his starter of great repute by the name of Arcturus– appeared before him.
Dante knew his orders before the signal was given. But, as soon as it was given, the enormous metal psychic released a bright beam that was difficult to look at, right to Dante's gut. He still teleported away, as per his orders, but the Flash Cannon was a fast move that showed 2nd Elite Barnes was going to give us no quarter.
As soon as Dante reappeared, he separated into four images and spread out, but Arcturus's midsection hit the ground hard. Everything across the arena ground lurched, including myself, as gravity increased. Dante fell to a knee at first, along with all of his images.
From my own knees, I saw that this was going to be very difficult for Dante to win, as his fighting style was primarily physical, and this gravity attack hampered such a fighting style. So, I relayed a message for him to use Swords Dance. He focused his psychic power to extend the edge of his blades and the aura around his fists, just as Arcturus teleported to him and delivered a Bullet Punch to his side.
The size difference between them alone made Arcturus's attacks that much more effective. The Metagross had to be half Dante's height taller, and at least ten feet wide. The second attack threw Dante back, but he luckily blocked it with his blade. And, as the Metagross teleported to attack once more, Dante evaded by teleporting himself into his Team Teleport attack.
Dante and his images appeared in the air around the gargantuan metal pokemon, and fell with increased momentum due to the increased gravity. Arcturus fired off a bullet punch before Dante delivered an augmented Brick Break, but it hit one of the false images. Dante's Swords Dance technique, coupled with the increased momentum of the super effective move drove the enormous pokemon into the ground. Dante followed up with another Brick Break, but the Metagross teleported away before it landed.
The ground suddenly burst into the air as a sandstorm picked up, in spite of the intense gravity. The edge of the sandstorm was directly in front of me, and completely obscured my vision. This was bad.
This was not going to be Dante's fight, but I gave him one more order before I exchanged him. A swirl of rainclouds formed and dispersed the sandstorm as Dante teleported next to me to allow me to switch him for Gilles. My counter to the psychic behemoth appeared with a malicious cackle, and I caught a look of surprise from the Elite as the sandstorm dissipated. But, the gravity of the arena suddenly returned to normal and Arcturus disappeared into his ball while Gilles split his shadow into multiple moving parts.
The Elite's Magnezone appeared and I realized with dismay that the Elite's tactic had been to get rid of my switch-out. Now I did not have the luxury of switching my ideal pokemon in to fight Arcturus. The loss of my switch-out and the realization that the Elite really was playing dirty narrowed my focus as I took in the gravity of the situation. The sandstorm may have been a legitimate battle technique, but the positioning of the dense edge of the storm was an attack directed at me – for if I could not see the battle, then I could not direct my pokemon as effectively. They had no intention of letting me win. The Elite was not treating me like a League challenger; he was treating me like an enemy.
And now, an electric-type non-physical powerhouse was facing off against my non-physical pokemon in a rain storm. It was not looking good, and Gilles was no longer my viable counter to Arcturus.
The nature of this fight was now apparent, so I had to adapt. I couldn't let the Magnezone "walk" over us. Luckily, I did my research beforehand and knew that Magnezone generally have higher physical defenses than non-physical, unlike Metagross.
"Hypnosis!" I commanded.
The Magnezone shimmered with electricity but my Gengar was faster. The floating metal pokemon drifted downwards, hypnotized. "Confuse Ray and Cripple Will," I followed up.
Gilles' eyes focused in on his opponent, adding a layer of status ailments. Then, despite the rain, the Magnezone lit up in a ghostly blue fire. This had been our plan for Arcturus, but it was a good all-around strategy. The fire, however, shook the Magnezone out of its hypnosis and it immediately started sparking as it dealt damage to itself in its confusion. Gilles followed up his attack with Hex, lashing out violently at the electric-type pokemon. "Again!" I yelled, and Gilles' eyes grew in attempt to hypnotize it again.
The hypnotism failed, and the confusion wore off. The large metal saucer then lit up in an electrical aura while I ordered Gilles to try to hypnotize his opponent again. It failed again, though, and the electric aura expanded outward across the arena, electrifying the very air. My hair stood on end as I told Gilles to alternate between maintaining his Cripple-Will and using Shadow Balls.
The clouds cast shadows on the ground, allowing Gilles' circular shadows to move around while hidden. He jumped out of one and sent another stream of violent shadows lashing out into the side of the Magnezone, and then receded back into his shadow. The Magnezone responded by drawing up a protective light screen around itself.
Gilles jumped out of another hidden shadow and sent a Shadow Ball straight at his opponent, but it tilted and deflected the ball off of its light screen. The ball sped away, only to be redirected by Gilles – who had jumped out of a nearby shadow - back towards his opponent. It slammed into the Magnezone, but was weakened by the screen.
In response, the Magnezone unleashed possibly the most powerful thunderstrike I had ever seen. My protective screen lit up white as the wave of electricity from the bolt of lightning washed over the arena. I could not see through it, and I realized that, no matter how close we were to knocking the Magnezone out, Gilles was in danger. And I could not allow that kind of firepower to continue through the rest of my pokemon.
"Destiny Bond!" I yelled, and hoped that he had survived the large area of effect attack. The shield protecting me cleared up and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Gilles' health on his pokeball at 20%. It was bittersweet though. Destiny Bond was very useful, but it was a double-edged sword. It would knock out the Magnezone if the electric pokemon eliminated Gilles, but the effect was reciprocal. If Gilles happened to pull through and kill/render the Magnezone unconscious, he would also be knocked out.
It was a last resort of mutually-assured destruction, but I did not want the Magnezone to continue using its electrically catastrophic techniques on the rest of my team. As if on cue, the Magnezone sent a ray directly into the shadowy ground and hit Gilles. That only reassured me that the Destiny Bond was the proper decision. The Swift technique would never miss its target, rendering Gilles' hiding-based techniques useless. It was immediately followed up with a Thunder Wave.
Gilles was hit within his shadow, but he still sent another Hex at the Magnezone. The Magnezone sank towards the ground as it grew weak, but it sent another salvo at Gilles. Its Swift technique arched in a different direction as it followed Gilles to another shadow. And with Gilles' location determined, the Magnezone projected a ball of electricity towards him with such speed that it crashed into the ground with a blast like that of a cannon.
As soon as the Zap Cannon landed, the Magnezone itself crashed to the ground. Both pokemon had been knocked out. Both were returned.
The Elite and I stared each other down. Rufus was no longer an option since, now that Gilles had fallen, he was my next best counter to Arcturus. As it was, rain was gently hitting the ground while static hung in the air.
Intending to take advantage of the terrain conditions, I chose to release Ceto. And, it appeared that the Elite had similar intentions, for he released his Empoleon. The blade-winged penguin stood taller than me, and I could not help but notice its brilliantly shiny golden crown that resembled a trident. It looked regal, and I knew how dangerous the bladed edge of its wings could be based on footage I had seen during my research.
Lastly, and most importantly, I knew that Ceto's moveset was heavily disadvantaged. So, I needed to play this carefully and smart.
The start of this round began quickly. The Emploleon shot forward, driving itself faster and faster with the Agility Technique while Ceto, too, used Agility to quickly strafe around the arena. She followed up by focusing her energy.
The Empoleon followed up by forming a blizzard around itself and unleashing it at… me. I flinched and backed up, but instead of washing over me in a deadly blanket of ice shards, the blizzard formed a wall of ice and snow between us roughly 10 feet high and 40 feet wide. It was close enough to me that I once again lost sight of the battle.
I could not see if Ceto's follow-up Scald landed, but I immediately entered the Phantom State so that I could somewhat see what was going on behind the wall via the Noxmiasma. What I saw first was the Empoleon using the Waterfall technique to fling itself at Ceto, whereupon it used Metal Wing aimed at Ceto's throat. Luckily, Ceto lowered her head at the last second and blocked the attack with her crest. However, the force of the attack still flung her back several yards.
Ceto's custom techniques were useless against an Empoleon, which is resistant to both water and ice, so I had to improvise. "Strafe and use Scald. Protect yourself if it gets close. Waterfall away if it gets too close," I told her through the Noxmiasma.
Through the dark fog, I saw her do just that. She moved in a circular pattern and released jet after jet of scalding water. The Empoleon shot towards her, evading all but one of the attacks. The one attack that landed, the Empoleon seemed to purposefully allow. As it approached Ceto, she had sprayed water at it in attempt to redirect its course, but it blasted right through the scalding water and slammed into her, catching her by surprise. I saw the blade hit right below her vital spot on her neck and my heart leaped into my throat.
Ceto reacted immediately, flinging herself into the air above her opponent. She released a Scalding attack that hit the Empoleon from above as she flew, but when she landed, the Empoleon was already on her. Luckily, she used Protect just as its blades started landing. It was truly going for blood as each attack seemed to be aimed at her throat.
This pissed me off. If the Elite could erect barriers and interfere with my ability to coach my team, then I would do the same. However, I could not attack him directly. He had sneakily used a loophole that allowed him to attack my personal battle efficacy by using normal battle techniques and I was going to exploit a loophole as well.
Using the Noxmiasma, I told Ceto to get ready for an opening. Then, I directed my voice and amplified it. Right next to the Elite, my voice boomed, "CETO USE BRITTLE-BREAK! AVOID HIM AND BRITTLE-BREAK!"
To my delight, my action had the desired effect. I saw through the miasma the Elite aggressively cringe and hold his ears. The Empoleon felt it through its bond with its trainer, and gave it a moment of pause. In that moment, Ceto dropped her Protective barrier and sprayed her opponent in the face with scalding water. She followed up with and Ice Beam, which struck the Empoleon off-target as it evaded despite the surprise attack. However, the Ice Beam still hit the Empoleon in the shoulder.
The Empoleon reacted by jumping back. In the process, ice swirled around it and the falling rain turned to knives, which were all directed at her. Multiple blades of ice impaled Ceto on various parts of her body. The attack caused her to flinch in pain, which I felt through our link, and the Empoleon immediately launched itself at her with its bladed wing at aimed at her briefly unprotected neck.
I returned her with no hesitation. That last attack had done a number on her and I honestly think the Empoleon would have killed her. Despite the fact I was down another pokemon, I breathed a sigh of relief at knowing Ceto was safe. I would have a moment now to decide on the best counter to that vicious Empoleon. However, there really was only one choice. Everyone on my team with his exception was weak to water or ice.
I released Dante once again. In that time, the Empoleon dispersed the rain cloud, nearly eliminating my sight entirely from behind the glacial wall, as well as my ability to screw with the Elite. I allowed myself to exit the Phantom State.
In my mind, I instructed Dante. He immediately separated into false images and teleported to the far sides of the arena. His real body was behind the glacial wall where neither the Empoleon nor its trainer could see him. He then started healing himself. The Empoleon summoned another blizzard and flung frosty icicles at every image, hitting all of them. None of them flinched, yet the icicles pierced the shields and hung in the air for a few moments before Dante teleported them around again.
Dante immediately summoned another rainstorm, while the Empoleon once again launched icicles at every image. Due to their spread-out locations, I could see some of the images taking the icicles from behind the wall.
Then, Dante broke through the wall to give me an unimpeded view of the arena once more. As soon as the wall fell, the Empoleon was upon him. It had been waiting for him. As soon as the wall blew inward, the Empoleon was blasting through, hidden by the debris. A winged blade speared right towards Dante's armpit, but his light shield, exceptional reflexes, and precognition allowed him to evade the worst of the attack. He still sustained a gash across his ribs as he twisted away.
Both pokemon were directly in front of me now, which was dangerous just by virtue of that fact, despite the protective shields. Dante teleported away, leaving two images just behind the Empoleon in aggressive stances. The Empoleon rounded on them, slashing through each with its deadly wings. The Empoleon was then yanked forward by Dante's Psychic technique, and before it could regain its balance in midair, Dante appeared right in front of it to deliver a powerful Brick Break to its stomach.
The attack staggered the Empoleon, forcing it to stumble on the ground as it landed. Dante took that opportunity to use Swords Dance. The Empoleon recovered quickly, though. It sent a briny blast of water directly at the true image of Dante. The attack splashed against him with minimal damage, as the light screen kept away most of the toxic water.
Dante took that moment to unleash a Thunderwave into the steel and water pokemon. It washed over the Empoleon, and Dante did not give it a chance to react. He quickly yanked the penguin across the arena once more, and as he appeared to deliver another devastating brick break, the Empoleon threw its blade in front of itself to counter. Dante managed to redirect his attack just in time to nullify the counter. Both landed unharmed by the attack, but the Empoleon faltered as the electricity paralyzed it.
Dante did not hesitate. He added to the electricity with a Thunderbolt, which brought the Empoleon to its knees despite the electric terrain having faded. As he moved to finish his opponent with Leaf Blade, the Empoleon's wounds healed and the electricity dispersed. It whipped around and its blade took on a shadowy hue as it ripped through Dante's shield. Both Pokemon took hits, but Dante was flung backwards.
I looked in outrage as I realized the Elite used his full restore on the Empoleon. Dante teleported away and then teleported once again in anticipation of the Empoleon's pursuit. Indeed, the Empoleon immediately launched ice daggers at each image, but the second teleport allowed Dante to avoid damage. He then started healing.
Before he could fully heal his wounds, the Empoleon whipped up a blizzard and turned towards me. I ordered him to cancel his healing with hurried desperation and ordered him to disrupt the Empoleon. Dante sent a Thunderbolt directly into its back, but the Empoleon did not stop. The wall was up again. I immediately entered the Phantom State once again so that I could see.
"Thunder Wave" I ordered through the Noxmiasma. "Then fake a Hit and Run. Use Close Combat if he falls for it."
The Elite and his pokemon learned during the battle. I hoped that it would fall for this, as we had already used Hit and Run once already.
I watched then as Dante unleashed a Thunder Wave at the Empoleon. The Empoleon was able to respond with an Ice Beam at the same time. Despite Dante's shield, the icy spear penetrated his defenses and impacted his side. The spear did not impale him, but it left a bloody gash.
Dante then teleported all of his images above and around the Empoleon, but he hanged back briefly. I inwardly rejoiced as the Empoleon swiftly brought its wings around in a circle, slicing through each image. A split-second later, Dante appeared behind the large pokemon, and unleashed the furious Close Combat technique. The Empoleon was taken by surprise, and fell forward beneath Dante's onslaught.
Before Dante's attack ended, the Empoleon encased itself in Protect. "Get back and destroy this wall," I ordered him. And while the Empoleon took shelter, Dante destroyed the wall once again. Before Dante could re-engage, he was hit by a powerful Hydro Pump. He was thrown back as the Empoleon shot itself across the arena towards him, intent to deliver a final blow with a ghostly blade.
Since I could now see the battlefield, I exited the Phantom State as Dante teleported away, while the Empoleon landed in a finisher pose. As it landed, I saw it twitch as its muscles spasmed from the Thunder Wave, and ordered Dante to strike through our mental link. He teleported behind the Empoleon, prepared to deliver a powerful Brick Break, but he jumped back just in time for the Empoleon to turn around and throw a metal wing.
It had been bluffing, but then in its failed counter, it truly did have a paralyzing spasm. Dante did not need to teleport, as he was already right in front of his opponent. He unleashed another Close Combat while the Empoleon spasmed uncontrollably. The paralysis would not allow the Elite's pokemon to use Protect. And, before Dante could finish his opponent off, his opponent vanished into its pokeball.
I could not help but clench my fist to my side in celebration. We had managed to get rid of the Elite's only full restore. The knowledge that the Elite used his Full Restore on the Empoleon showed that he valued the Employeon against my team, and its defeat gave me cause to celebrate. But then the Elite released his Lucario, and I spared a glance at Dante's pokeball and nearly choked. He was at 4%. I had not realized how much the Empoleon's Hydro Pump had injured him.
I recalled Dante without hesitation as the incredibly fast Lucario sped towards its opponent to keep him from healing. I had seen how fast that pokemon was and Dante would not be able to heal in time. Besides, I had a great counter to the fighting type. I released Saraph, who appeared with the satisfied roar of someone who was beyond eager to prove herself in battle on the highest stage. She did not get a chance to take off.
The Lucario shot forward and Saraph cut her battlecry short to send a ball of fire directly in front of it. The fireball exploded on the ground, forcing the Lucario to divert its course as some of the fire washed over it. The Lucario responded by sending a Focus Blast directly into Saraph's left wing.
Fire swirled around Saraph as I commanded her to use Fire Shield. Then I told her to take flight. As she spread her wings, the Lucario vaulted over the circling fire and delivered a crackling electric punch straight to Saraph's ribcage. She roared again with fire coating her mouth and lunged at the speedy steel-type. The Lucario slid under her Fire Fang and propelled itself up with a Sky Uppercut, catching the bone where Saraph's wing met her shoulder.
Saraph's roar suddenly became higher in pitch as the bone shifted and caused its owner pain. I heard the pop, but luckily it did not sound like a break; more like a dislocation. However, it was still a very bad thing for her. One of her main advantages was her air capability. Now she was forced to remain on the ground with a wounded wing.
"Fire Storm!" I ordered as she rose to her back legs and unleashed a torrent of fire at her attacker. The Lucario juked to the side and took minimal damage from the fire, and then vaulted over the ring of fire before the Flamethrower enveloped the entire area inside of the Fire Spin.
I could feel her anger overflowing and for a second, my gaze flickered as I felt the unwelcomed touch of the shadow frenzy. Remembering my training with Juliette, I quickly reined in my emotions to keep the frenzy from taking hold. "SARAPH!" I yelled, entering the Phantom State and using as much of the nonexistent Noxmiasma as I could to grab her attention. "FOCUS! Use your good wing and make a Fire Storm!"
Saraph's fury ebbed and she halted her Flamethrower while using her one functioning wing to whip up an air storm. It was not nearly as strong as one she could brew with both wings, but it was still effective. The ring of fire began to spread in the wind, heightening and stretching to envelope her in a fiery windstorm.
In the process, Saraph was hit with another Focus Blast, this time in the same place as her dislocation, causing her to roar in pain once more. I was ready for the increased emotional reaction and did not allow the shadow frenzy to return. "Get into the current and put your dislocated wing to the wind!" I told her through the Noxmiasma. She backed up in to the wind and swung around. "Now jump straight up and turn to the side!"
As I instructed her, a series of stone spikes jutted out of the mud in front of me, limiting my view. However, I saw Saraph leap upwards, turn, and as she fell back to the ground, the momentum of her wing naturally carried it up. From there, the wind caught her wing and filled it with air, jerking it up and away from her. She roared in pain, but I could hear the joint reset itself.
"Strengthen that storm!" I ordered as she landed. With both wings, she picked up the speed of the winds and the fire spread over the entire field. It washed over both me and Elite Barnes, but our psychic shields protected us. Another Focus Blast impacted Saraph, this time in the other wing's joint, but she shrugged it off.
"Get in the air!" I told her, and she jumped straight up, letting the wind currents aid her ascent. The Lucario surged forward as she did and sent a large rock flying at her from the ground. She blocked the rock with her back leg, but I could tell the impact hurt. It was fine for now though; the battlefield was covered in fire and the Lucario was being gradually weakened by it.
"Fire Blasts!" I sent her, though it was so weak that she could hardly hear it. I chose then to exit the Phantom State and watch from below as she started raining down fireballs that exploded on impact. The Lucario was fast though. It managed to avoid all the main impacts, but occasionally sustained some collateral damage.
"Sunny Day!" I yelled. "Draco Meteor!"
Due to the roiling flames around the arena, it was difficult to see the sun shine brighter, but it caused the fire in the air to intensify. I heard a series of whistles coming from the Elite. As Saraph circled in the air above about 60 feet high, she started forming a large blue orb of draconic energy above her head.
Saraph released the ball of destruction and before it impacted the ground below, the Lucario brought a protective barrier up around itself. The attack impacted the ground and sent a wave of energy washing over the battlefield, shattering the Stone Edge shards in front of me, but the Lucario had negated any damage. "Again!" I yelled. But as soon as the energy dispersed, the Lucario dropped its shield and ran forward. The ground beneath it surged underneath its feet in a Bulldoze, and at its zenith, the Lucario leaped upwards, carried by the momentum.
The Lucario was flung high into the air just as Saraph's path intersected, and grabbed onto her tail. "Fire Shield Corkscrew!" I yelled. Saraph stopped her Draco Meteor, which dispersed above her violently. The energy washed over both her and the Lucario. The amount of damage she sustained during the fight started to catch up to her with the influx of damage by her own canceled meteor, and she began dip downwards, but that did not stop her from bringing the flames in the air around her and spiraling.
In the process before she started spiraling, the Lucario had climbed up to her back leg – the one injured by the Rock Slide. And as she started to corkscrew, the fire washing over both combatants, the Lucario slammed a palm into her leg before being flung downwards to the ground washed in flames.
The Lucario impacted hard and I started inwardly rejoicing. However, my mental celebration was premature. It slowly lifted itself off the ground as Saraph landed, and let out a healing pulse – the same kind Dante was capable of – and its wounds began to heal.
"Flamethrower! Keep up the pressure!" I yelled.
The fire washed over the Lucario but with a jolt of renewed energy, it surged forward and vaulted through the fire, sustaining burns but bringing itself within striking distance. It slammed a fist into Saraph's jaw, whipping her head to the side, and then unleashed a flurry of attacks with its Close Combat skill.
Saraph crumpled under the onslaught, but I returned her before any permanent damage was done. Knowing that the Lucario was capable of healing itself, I quickly released my next pokemon: Azrael. I did not want to get into a contest of speed with the Lucario and Rufus, so I determined that I would make it impossible for the Lucario to use its speed.
As soon as Azrael appeared, I yelled, "Sandbox!" The fire in the windstorm remained, but the strength of both began to wane.
The ground rippled around Azrael and started to churn. Instead of healing and allowing itself to fall into the quicksand, the Lucario started running… very fast. It ran so fast that it managed to remain on top of the churning earth. Starting to feel frustrated, I yelled for Azrael to dive.
As he did so, the Lucario sent a blast of Swift energy straight down, which I knew was able to hit Azrael. I slid my foot forward on its side and then I slid it forward straight. My frustration must have translated through our link, and Azrael was strong enough with his earth skills to feel my directions outside of the Sandbox.
Azrael surfaced with a Bulldoze that the Lucario simply rode upwards and jumped into the air. However, with my last command, Azrael rose out of the mud with his mouth open, directly below the trajectory of the falling Lucario.
Azrael's size in comparison to the Lucario would have surely meant death for the small fighting/steel pokemon, as he would have fit entirely in Azrael's mouth. Knowing that, the Elite returned his pokemon before it could meet such a fate.
In a flash of red light, Arcturus appeared on the field once again. Unfortunately, this messed up my plans. Rufus was to take on Arcturus while Azrael easily took on the Elite's final pokemon – which I knew to be an Aggron. Now it was switched, and I knew if Azrael did not win this fight, that Rufus would have a very difficult time against the Elite's Rock/Steel behemoth.
Knowing its ability to intensify gravity, which could probably pull the earth down in sandstorms as well as negate flying, I chose to take a ground-based approach to this fight. I slid my foot forward sideways, ordering him to appear with a Bulldoze.
Arcturus immediately rose off of the ground via levitation. It was a good tactic, negating much of its natural weakness and enabling it to remain above the quicksand. Then it brought up a Light Screen to protect itself from the residual firestorm, but not before it was pounded from the side by a large Bulldoze. I repeated my command multiple times in an attempt to bury the hulking steel type.
Once the Light Screen covered Arcturus, he started moving faster and faster with Agility. Azrael continued to pummel him with Bulldozes but he just tanked the attacks until he was able to start avoiding them. Then Arcturus began hardening his metal skin with Iron Defense. Azrael's Bulldozes started doing less damage, but they were still affecting the metal behemoth.
Of all the pokemon in the Elite's arsenal thus far, this was the first for which he was bothering to bolster combat skills. This showed me that he was going to try to hammer us hard without fancy battle tactics. He was not using his gravity attack, but I believed he would only do so when necessary – for instance if Azrael took to the sky.
I stomped twice, indicating that he should resurface. When he did so, I entered the Phantom State and told him weakly through the thin miasma, "Crunch. Pull him under!" As soon as he heard his orders, he submerged like a shark and re-emerged under Arcturus. As soon as his head breached the surface of the quicksand, Arcturus slammed a Bullet Punch into his face. Azrael took the hit and clamped down on Arcturus's foot with dark energy.
Before Azrael could drag him under, Arcturus sent out a powerful Psychic blast shoving Azrael and a sizeable portion of quicksand back about ten feet. Azrael could not hold on, so he was flung backwards in his own quicksand. As soon as Azrael was away, Arcturus started to send a flurry psychic blades cutting into him.
"Protect!" I yelled, and Azrael halted the incoming damage with a protective shield. This gave me a second to think, and during that time, I considered the fact that the Metagross had not yet used Gravity may not have had anything to do with convenience.
I slid my foot on the ground in a rotating pattern, and Azrael sunk into the quicksand. He appeared further away from the Metagross and pulled much of the ground into the air. Arcturus responded with a quick psychic blade cutting through the scales on Azrael's neck.
Azrael's sandstorm quickly gathered strength, and before we knew it, the entire field was no longer visible. I phased in long enough to send a quick message through the now denser Noxmiasma within the darker storm. There was a blue glow for a second before the Sandstorm blew outwards under the force of his Draco Meteor. The attack struck Arcturus dead-on, but he still stood defiant.
The sandstorm was dissipated, and Arcturus pulled Azrael towards itself with its powerful psychic abilities. Azrael struggled but could not escape, and as soon as he was within striking range, I yelled through the miasma, "Protect!" Azrael was enveloped by his shield and Arcturus raised a metal appendage, but halted its attack and waited.
"Shit," I muttered. Then I slid my foot forward sideways.
Azrael dropped his barrier and brought a surge of earth straight into his opponent. However, as soon as Azrael was no longer protected, Arcturus's claw was enveloped by a gravitational energy that attracted the fire-dried dirt, and he slammed it into Azrael's throat.
The wave of dirt pummeled Arcturus, but Azrael was rocked by the attack. He quickly dived and slammed his tail, which was coated in draconic energy, into the steel behemoth on his way down. I looked at Azrael's greatball and saw his health at 18%. I was unsure if he could take another hit like that, and as quick as the Metagross was, I knew that any attack by Azrael would be met with a counter.
My remaining pokemon was the only one that could negate the behemoth's psychic energy. So, I sent a final command. Azrael erupted out of the ground and released a quick Hyper Beam. The beam of energy slammed into Arcturus, but the Metagross unleashed several psychic blades. Before they hit Azrael, he was returned to his ball.
Rufus was on the field soon after. "Blackout," I told him. Keep your distance and use Shadow Ball. I phased in as well in order to see.
More than half of the area became dark, but Rufus was hit by a Bulldoze before he could fade into the darkness. The Metagross then began to move quickly while floating, firing Bulldoze after Bulldoze into the blackness. Every so often a Shadow Ball would fly out of the darkness and slam into Arcturus. But he kept moving. I noticed Rufus's health had not taken a hit since the first – and his health now rested at 70% because of it – and I was confused as to why Elite Barnes was keeping Arcturus in the fight, taking the beating.
The ground, which Azrael had turned into quicksand, then solidified. I realized that he was only biding his time until then, for he returned Arcturus and released his final pokemon. The 14-foot-tall metal-coated dinosaur appeared with a bellow of challenge and its trainer looked on with an almost unnoticeable smug expression.
We were down to our last pokemon. And his rock/steel type pokemon had the upper edge with typing. On top of that, Rufus had already sustained damage. But Rufus was our last hope, and I had faith in him - not to mention I would not let them win without a fight.
At least I knew that Aggron was not particularly strong against fire or dark, or even grass which I had as a card up my sleeve. I would need to play this smart and fast - literally. Aggron were enormous, but they were slow. I had to use that to our advantage.
"Fire Shield," I said through the miasma. "Keep it inside of the blackout."
Fire swirled inside of the blackout, and while that happened, the Aggron sent an earthquake into the blackness. I kept Rufus's ball on hand to monitor his health, so when his health did not change, I assumed that he had evaded the attack.
"Center the blackout on him and keep your Fire Shield on you. Use Fire Blast when you can." I followed up. "If he takes down the blackout, use Solar Beam twice. Collapse the Fire Shield on the second and repeat the whole thing." Rufus was already sending the blackout over to his opponent as I finished his orders.
As soon as the blackout reached Rufus's opponent, a wave of electricity washed over the arena. It hit Rufus as he concentrated on centering his blackout on the Aggron. It made his muscles seize, but he kept his techniques active. Rufus then kept to the edge of the blackout, at a distance to the Aggron. His fire kept doing gradual damage to the Aggron while he shot balls of fire into him. From outside, it looked like the Aggron was unfazed by the fire blasts, which repeatedly hit it in the chest.
"Nasty Plot. Keep blasting him," I told Rufus. I took out my full restore and held it at the ready.
There was a pause before another earthquake rocked the arena, this time hitting Rufus and taking him down a third of his health. Another Fire Blast hit the Aggron, this time making it flinch. Then, suddenly the sun shone much brighter and the blackout faded.
Immediately, Rufus used the sun's brightness to unleash a quick Solar Beam, which struck the Aggron in the face, knocking it back. The flames surrounding Rufus then collapsed into himself and formed into another Solar Beam which struck the Aggron in the ribs, knocking it down with a rumble.
As the Aggron stood up from the ground, the Blackout was once again brought up, centered on the Aggron. I caught a glimpse of Elite Barnes and his expression had turned angry. This gave me hope. It meant that we were being effective.
Unfortunately, a series of Stone Edges started emerging from the ground. One hit Rufus who was struggling to keep his muscles from spasming, knocking him down and injuring him. The others shot up in front of me. It seemed that the Elite did not know I was capable of seeing through Noxmiasma.
I used Rufus's full restore then and said, "Hyper Beam!" Rufus was on his feet and running in an instant. He released the beam at his opponent, which hit the Aggron in the chest, but it shielded itself with a Protect barrier to negate most of the damage.
At this point, the Aggron roared and started running on all fours towards Rufus, despite him reviving his Fire Shield. "Meld into the shadows!" I commanded him, and he disappeared into the Noxmiasma. An earthquake rocked outwards from the charging behemoth, and Rufus managed to avoid it. "Switch to Dark Pulses," I told him, and he started sending powerful blasts of Noxmiasma into his opponent.
The sun bore down once again, dissipating the blackout and rendering me blind behind the jutting rocks. When Rufus sent a Solar Beam, I heard the sound of rocks moving. Before he sent another, I yelled, "Switch to Fire Blasts!" But I heard him yelp and saw his health move down a quarter.
Fiery blasts echoed in the arena as Rufus shot the Aggron twice more, but in the process, another electric wave passed over and struck him once more. There was a pause, during which time I yelled for another blackout, and his health dropped a third. Then I saw the fire ring raise into the air as Rufus was flung off of the Aggron's horn.
The air around him turned black once again before Rufus hit the ground, but he was now at 22%. The ground rumbled and I watched through the Noxmiasma as several more stone teeth shot out of the ground, one hitting Rufus, but he blocked with his horns, dispersing much of the damage.
A quick Rock Slide then hit Rufus in the ribs, knocking him down to 7%. I held his ball in a death grip, desperately debating on whether to return him. The sun then began to brighten and I yelled through the miasma, "DARKFIRE CHARGE!"
As the Noxmiasma dimmed, Rufus merged with the shadows. As he sped towards the Aggron, the blackout was dissipated. The last I saw through the Noxmiasma was Rufus dropping out of the nonexistent shadows cloaked in roaring flames now intensified by glaring sun. The wall of flames around Rufus collapsed. It burst forward and up into the air, and I recognized that the hit had landed. But the collision had brought Rufus to below 0%.
I pressed the return button…
And heaved a sigh of relief as Rufus was returned to his ball. My relief was almost dwarfed by the rising dread of realized failure. We had lost, and the realization that I had just subjected my team to an endless future of servitude rapidly took over my thoughts. A horn sounded as the match ended, but there was a deafening silence that permeated the air afterwards. The shield fell around me and I ran around the rocky wall to take a look at the field.
The Aggron was laying on the ground motionless while Elite Barnes was standing next to him. He was ordering the Aggron to get up. When it did not budge, Elite Barnes hung his head and took out a pokeball, returning the Aggron. That confused me. Why was he ordering the Aggron to its feet so aggressively when my pokemon had fainted? I had lost… unless I was missing something.
The silence persisted as he walked over to me, though I swear I could hear a distant booming laugh.
"Mr. MacAfee," the Elite declared as he reached me. "…By the rules established by the Pokemon League, you have won this fight."
I looked at him in disbelief, but I certainly did not argue.
"The rules clearly state that in an official League challenge, if the challenger incapacitates every League official's pokemon, he will be determined the victor. You have defeated all of my pokemon, and therefore are the winner of this match."
The Elite held out a silver bar with a star emblazoned upon it. I took it from him with incredulity, the reality not yet setting in.
"Mr. MacAfee, no doubt this will not win you any friends in the League leadership, but as an Elite I give you my honest congratulations. You are a good trainer. Perhaps great. And I am deeply sorry for the circumstances you find yourself in. Please make your way to Room 1."
I nodded, still in disbelief. Then I turned to walk back towards the entrance of the arena.
"And Mr. MacAfee," I heard the Elite say. I turned my head to look at him and he said, "I know the League has its issues. And I know that they will no doubt affect you more than most, but I would implore you to bear with it. The League needs great trainers like you."
"You don't get it, do you?" I said, turning fully to regard him once more. "Before I shifted, I was going to give the League my service. I believed in the morality of its function, and the idea that gaining power was a way to help those without power. I was wrong. The League only wants control and to subjugate its members for its own purposes. The League's needs no longer matter to me, and as far as I can tell, will only lead to its own destruction."
With that said, I turned and left. The Elite had nothing more to say.
As I walked away, I muttered under my breath, "…if I have anything to say about it."
From that moment, I started developing the mindset that I carry to this day. The League was wrong. It was evil. And, it needed to change.
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Current PokeDex Update
One-Star Trainer: Zachariah MacAfee; KA523VI979E; Sergeant, Ranger Corps.
Active Pokemon:
Azrael – Garchomp
Gilles – Gengar
Rufus – Houndoom
Ceto – Seadra
Dante – Gallade
Titus – Bisharp
Pokemon in Preparation:
Saraph – Charizard
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Author's Note: Hello everyone. Once again, apologies for the wait. This last year held better things for me in my personal life, but beyond that the realities of living in the US have generally left me feeling numb and unmotivated. It has definitely affected my motivation to write. That being said, I plan to keep on keeping on, and seize any motivation I get to write when I get it. In the meantime, I'm keeping sane by gaming. Nowadays it's Apex Legends and Genshin Impact. Shoot me a PM if you want to game.
So, this chapter had a bunch of stuff in it. I was stuck on the battle for a while as I was having trouble giving it the gravity that I felt it deserved. The League isn't above killing a pokemon to send a message – especially since pokemon are replaceable; but not a Dark-shifted. On that note, I'm thinking of starting to call shifted trainers "Adept or Adeptus" since I think "steel Adeptus" or "the steel adept" rolls off the tongue better than "steel-shifted trainer." Let me know what you think. Outside of the battle, our MC has begun learning the art of mastering other elements for this team that he doesn't fully comprehend. And now he maybe has a solid lead on evolving Ceto, even if he needs to put it off until later.
To answer a couple questions that I've seen popping up occasionally, I'll say that I'm fairly old school when it comes to pokemon. I only played up to gen 4 which did not include fairy types or mega evolutions, and I started writing this story with neither in mind. I know people may not like that, but that's how I'm imagining this world. Lastly, I would think it goes without saying, but this is a fanfiction and not a direct representation of the games/mechanics. It is a depiction of the pokemon universe through my imagination. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for everyone who's sticking with me!
