Pokémon Crimson Gold
Chapter 43: The second sighting
After Ethan disbanded with his temporary traveling companion, he decided to head past the route exit of Ecruteak to venture into the further unknown. The two had been traveling for about a day and a half, battling many wild Pokémon.
"My Pokégear says we should be reaching Mahagany town in about a day, I haven't eaten a thing since that Ramen shop..." Ethan sighed.
"Bay." Bayleef listened.
Ethan and Bayleef were right by a small pond, beyond it was another cave.
"That pond looks pretty small, we should be able to swim across Bayleef." Ethan told her, eyeing the sky-blue water.
Ethan dipped his foot into the water, it felt swampy, but he didn't have a Pokémon that could take him swimming.
Ethan took off his hat, jacket, and shirt, so he was only in his boxers. He stuffed his clothes in his bag before releasing a Pokémon from its Pokéball.
"Togetic!" Togetic said upon being released, Togetic came close to Ethan to hear what he had to request.
"Togetic, carry my bag over this pond. I don't want my clothes or stuff getting wet. Can you do that?" Ethan asked.
"Toge, Togetic!" Togetic happily said, grabbing and clutching the backpack's strap with his mouth and flew across the pond.
"Bayleef, you ready to dive in?" Ethan asked his starter.
"Bayleef!" She sharply responded, getting ready to leap into the water.
"Let's go then!" Ethan exclaimed as he stepped into the water, each step was heavy as the water steep, but he wouldn't back down. Bayleef swam besides her Trainer.
Togetic waited on the other side with the backpack by his side, watching Ethan.
The water was plentiful and reached up to Ethan's mouth, it was hard to breath for a moment, so he exhaled heavily, he coughed out some water he drank and fell to his knees.
"Breath in, breath out," Ethan panted as he slowly got up.
"Bay, Bay!" Bayleef said going to Ethan's side.
Togetic handed Ethan his backpack before nudging him on his arm, getting Ethan's attention.
"Oh, here Togetic, this is for the help!" Ethan said, handing Togetic a Poképuff from his opened backpack.
Togetic quickly stuffed the whole Poképuff in his mouth and swallowed it hole, after beginning to laugh hysterically.
"I wonder how Poképuff's taste?" Ethan said as he held the bag close to his mouth, tempted to try one. "N-no, I can't." Ethan said putting it back in his backpack.
"I've got to change back to my clothes." Ethan said putting his pants back on. "One-minute you guys,"
Ethan wore his black pants along with his red jacket. He finally went and placed his black and gold cap on his head, before reversing it wearing it backwards style like he always had.
"Ready to move on now, thanks again Togetic!" Ethan said as he returned Togetic to his Pokéball.
Bayleef went passed Ethan and led the way, heading north.
"Hey, hold up!" Ethan said as closely followed behind his Pokémon.
Ethan followed Bayleef into the trees, the Pokégear confirmed they were heading in the right direction, not after long however they came to a dead end. There appeared to be a large cliff, Ethan upon noticing it quickly stopped and fell on his butt, and so did Bayleef.
"Woah, we've really got to watch where we're going, wouldn't you agree Bayleef..." Ethan sighed as he looked what lied beneath them, under the cliff was what appeared to be an endless dark, no way he or anyone or anything could survive that fall.
Ethan got back up and turned around. "Let's go then, we'll try and go around."
"Bay!" Bayleef responded.
Upon turning Ethan felt as if he was being watched, a mysterious presence was spying on him he had felt before, he instantly recognized it.
"You feel that Bayleef." He whispered to her, Bayleef nodded her head and formed a fierce stance, leaping in front of Ethan just in case.
The presence felt like the aura of a Pokémon. It felt calm, soothing, and tranquil to Ethan, he felt like he wasn't in danger. That's what creeped him out about it.
"That's, this is..." Ethan said as he turned around. Behind him, standing near the cliffside, was Suicune, the sky-blue Legendary Pokémon he had encountered back in Cianwood.
Suicune stood firm, his ribbon like tails swayed in the wind gracefully.
"W-what do you want with me!?" Ethan asked, not sure if he should be worried or happy.
Suicune let out a roar, it made Ethan take two steps back in fear, Bayleef however stood firm in her resolve.
"Suicune... How brave it is!" Ethan heard a familiar voice say.
Ethan turned around to see Eusine, he carefully approached both him and the Legendary Pokémon.
Ethan heard a swift leap; Ethan turned his back to see that Suicune had disappeared.
"So quick..." Ethan said. "That's the power of a Legendary Pokémon."
"How refreshing it is! How beautiful it is! And how quickly it moves!" Eusine said, walking by Ethan's side. "Ethan! You seem to be around where Suicune would appear."
"Yeah... maybe it's like what you said. Suicune has taken a liking to me, or it wants to eat me... either one seems plausible." Ethan remarked.
"Well, that's okay. My desire to search for Suicune is far beyond yours... My grandpa was... quite into myths. I've heard so many stories about Suicune from him." Eusine said, walking past Ethan and to the edge of the cliff.
Careful, what if you fall!" Ethan warned him.
"All there is to me is finding Suicune, if I fail and Suicune truly does choose you, then I would happily throw myself off this cliff, my existence would be meaningless." Eusine said, firm in his resolve. The cliff began to shake a little, and a few bits and pieces off, but Eusine remained on his two feet.
"Y-you're crazy." Ethan remarked.
"Maybe so... but, nonetheless. Death is not an issue of my concern, failing to secure Suicune is, and it appears to me that Suicune truly has taking a liking to you, and that is not something I can stand for, Suicune is mine, not yours and Suicune will choose me, understand." Eusine yelled as he got in close with Ethan, looking him eye to eye.
"It doesn't matter how I feel, it's all up to how Suicune feels!" Ethan told him, making Eusine snicker.
"W-what's so funny?" Ethan asked.
Eusine pulled out a Pokéball and threw it in the air before catching it. "Ethan, as rivals to gaining the gaze of Suicune, I challenge you, right here, right now. Let's make it a two on two."
"Well, fine by me. A two on two it is then." Ethan said, pulling out a Pokéball of his own.
Eusine smiled and threw his Pokéball, releasing a Xatu.
"Xatu!" Xatu screeched upon release, falling to the ground and forming a stance.
Ethan pulled out the Pokédex and scanned it down.
"Xatu, the Mystic Pokémon. They say that it stays still and quiet because it is seeing both the past and future at the same time."
This is the perfect time to be getting some more practice with Ampharos. Ethan realized, he grabbed his Pokéball and threw it.
"Ampharos!" Ampharos exclaimed upon being released, leaping in front of Ethan prepared to do battle.
"This will not be like last time; I don't plan to lose here. Not a second time." Eusine made clear.
"Sure, sure, I'll begin, Ampharos use Thunder Shock!" Ethan yelled.
Ampharos leaped into the air, jumping so far from the ground it shattered the floor beneath, he surged with electricity.
"Not so fast, Xatu, Confuse Ray!" Eusine yelled, Xatu listened and quickly confused Ampharos, before he could land the blow.
"Hit by my own move!" Ethan cursed.
Ampharos instead fired a beam of electricity far past the cliff, not even close to hitting Xatu.
"Now, Air Slash!" Eusine demanded.
Xatu swiftly swung its wing, firing a shock wave straight at the confused Ampharos, causing a burst of smoke in the air upon contact.
"Ampharos should be fine..." Ethan muttered.
From the smoke Ampharos fell to the ground, swiftly reversing and landing on his feet, the confusion appeared to wear off.
"Good going Ampharos, now Fire Punch!" Ethan yelled.
Ampharos charged his fist with flames and charged for the Xatu, making Eusine smirk.
"It won't hit, Xatu, Psychic!" He yelled.
Xatu's eyes glowed purple as it raised Ampharos into the air with its mind, startling Ethan.
"Ampharos, are you okay!?" Ethan raised his voice to ask.
"A-Ampharo!" Ampharos screamed while being shook back and forth in the air at violent speed.
"Now Xatu, smash Ampharos into the ground!" Eusine commanded, Xatu followed its Trainer's order and smashed Ampharos face first into the ground, releasing its hold over Ampharos.
"This is looking bad..." Ethan muttered.
"Amp, Amphar..." Ampharos panted as he stood back up, wiping some blood from his lip.
"Xatu, Night Shade!" Eusine said, Xatu listened and shot a dark beam from its eyes at Ampharos, striking Ampharos in the jaw.
"Bay, Bay!" Bayleef cheered Ampharos on.
"Come on, come on." Ethan quietly muttered, scared Ampharos might lose.
Ampharos once again got up, shaking off the damage and getting back in battle formation.
"Once more Xatu, Psychic and end it!" Eusine ordered.
"Oh no you don't, Ampharos Fire Punch the ground." Ethan yelled.
Ampharos listened and struck the ground with his fist, causing the ground to crack and crumble, with heat like magma in between the cracks.
It was a risk cause the cliff, but it'll have to do... Ethan thought.
"Xatu, dodge into the air!" Eusine yelled.
Xatu leaped into the air, flying back to get away from the heat, but that was when it noticed Ampharos charging with electricity.
"Good, now Xatu's stuck in midair." Ethan exclaimed. "Thunder Shock and fast!"
Ampharos shot out its electricity at the fleeing Xatu. Xatu was engulfed with the electricity causing it to smash to the ground.
"Xatu!" Eusine yelled.
"X-Xatu..." Xatu groaned in pain, unable to continue.
"Alright Ampharos, you're winning so far!" Ethan excitedly shouted, Bayleef continuing to cheer him on.
"Amphar Amphar!" Ampharos said jumping up and down, wagging his tail.
"Return Xatu, nice work, you did well considering the type disadvantage." Eusine said as he returned his Pokémon.
"What's next, how about that Drowzee you used last time?" Ethan asked.
"No, not quite!" Eusine said as he pulled out his second Pokéball. "The honor of winning is yours, Alakazam!"
"Alaka, Alakazam!" Alakazam yelled upon being released, enticing Ethan. Alakazam was a humanoid looking Pokémon with yellow and brown fur, it carried two spoons for battling.
"A Kanto Pokémon huh, let's see what the Pokédex has on it." Ethan said, finding Alakazam's entry on the Kanto side of Pokédex.
"Alakazam, the Psi Pokémon. Closing both its eyes heightens all its other senses. This enables it to use its abilities to their extremes."
"Ampharos, you still got this?" Ethan asked his Pokémon.
"Ampharos!" Ampharos confirmed he could still battle.
"Awesome then, let's do this." Ethan said pumped.
"Alakazam, Future Sight!" Eusine immediately yelled.
Alakazam's eyes glowed, it suddenly gave a wide smirk, as if it had already won.
"Ampharos, Fire Punch!" Ethan yelled.
Ampharos ran forth to Alakazam at tremendous speed, but Alakazam already managed to dodge leaping back, it fired a Psybeam straight at Ampharos!
"Amphar!" Ampharos shouted in pain as he was knocked back into the ground by the attack.
"What a swift dodge!" Ethan couldn't help but remark. "Fine then, how about Thunder Shock!"
Ampharos lit up with electricity and fired a blast at Alakazam, but Alakazam already managed to dodge, striking back with a swift Psycho Cut, causing Ampharos to fall to his knees.
"W-what!?" Ethan said. "How did it dodge so fast, it's almost like it knew what Ampharos was going to do before it even did it."
"I told you, I wouldn't lose to you again Ethan." Eusine declared once again.
Could it be... Ethan thought.
"Oh yeah, well fine then, how about Hyper Beam Ampharos!" Ethan said.
Ampharos turned to Ethan upon getting back up and gave a smile.
"Hyper Beam you say!?" Eusine reacted.
Alakazam did not move to dodge, instead he saw Ampharos charging with electricity and quickly struck him down once more with Psybeam, which sent Ampharos smashing through two trees, snapping them both in two.
"Ampharos!" Ethan yelled as he went back there, he grabbed Ampharos and held him in his arms, Ampharos was clearly knocked out.
"Tricky, trying to startle my Pokémon with calling out fake moves, I see how you battle..." Eusine commented.
"Ala, Alakazam." Alakazam said crossing his arms.
"Return boy, what a wonderful job you did." Ethan said proudly as he returned Ampharos to his Pokéball.
Ethan stood back up and faced Eusine, who had a confident look on his face. He seemed like he thought he had already won the battle.
"That move you told Alakazam to use earlier, the one you called Future Sight, does it allow Alakazam to see into the future.
"Hmph, you've figured it out, well correct. My Alakazam can see a minute into the future, allowing it to dodge accordingly to all your moves, that's how it knew Ampharos couldn't use Hyper Beam." Eusine flexed.
"Well don't count me out just yet, I've still got one Pokémon left, don't I." Ethan said, pulling out another Pokéball and releasing the Pokémon inside.
"Hera Hera!" Heracross shrieked as he landed on the battlefield, facing the Alakazam.
"A Bug type, I'm afraid Type advantage won't save you here." Eusine smiled.
"Oh yeah, it's not Type Advantage, it's also speed, now use Aerial Ace!" Ethan shouted.
Heracross spread his wings, glowing with a white aura as it zipped at tremendous speed across the battlefield.
Before Ethan could have even called the move Alakazam already managed to dodge and struck Heracross from the side with a Psycho Cut.
"Heracross!" Ethan screamed as Heracross was knocked away before Ethan's feet.
"Bay Bay!" Bayleef cheered Heracross on.
"Now Alakazam, Psychic!" Eusine yelled.
Alakazam swiftly carried Heracross into the air with Psychic, Heracross shook, and surprisingly managed to break free due to his typing.
"That's awesome Heracross! Now use Megahorn!" Ethan yelled.
Heracross's horn glew a bright white as he lunged for Alakazam, but unfortunately, Alakazam had already managed to dodge the attack.
"Your Heracross is quite fast, but it cannot out speed time itself!" Eusine laughed.
"Oh yeah, look!" Ethan yelled, Eusine looked back to the battle to see Heracross landing a Brick Break on Alakazam's neck, sending him down to the ground, before Alakazam rolled back and got up.
"E-even if it hits, fighting type moves are useless here!" Eusine yelled.
"Now, Aerial Ace!" Ethan yelled.
Heracross jumped and charged at Alakazam, but Alakazam again dodged it by sliding underneath Heracross, and managing to strike Heracross with a Psybeam in the belly, causing Heracross to be flung into the air.
"Ala, Alakazam..." Alakazam muttered, starting to tire.
"Heracross, bounce back and use Aerial Ace again!" Ethan yelled.
Heracross flipped in midair, not taking much damage from the Psychic type move, he flew down towards Alakazam, once again ready to strike.
"My Alakazam will surly dodge it, see!" Eusine exclaimed. However, before Alakazam could move, he was zapped by a jolt of electricity, paralyzed for a split second, unable to move.
"What, no!" Eusine screamed.
Heracross smashed into Alakazam, causing Alakazam to be smashed into the ground, making Ethan smile.
"It looks like Ampharos's static activated earlier, perfect for me!" Ethan snickered.
"Hmph, really, just watch!" Eusine smirked, regaining confidence.
"Okay, Alakazam's tired from the defense it's continuously been on, so strike him with an all-out Close Combat!" Ethan yelled.
Heracross followed and came charging at the weakened Alakazam, who had just barely gotten off the floor, by the time it looked up, Heracross was already in its face.
"Hera!" Heracross screeched as it ferociously threw punch after punch at Alakazam.
"Alakazam no!" Eusine yelled in frustration.
"Keep at it Heracross!" Ethan exclaimed in excitement.
Heracross threw each punch at Mach speeds, pounding Alakazam into oblivion, but it was then when Heracross stopped after being zapped by electricity.
"W-what happened!?" Ethan yelled in shock.
"It's Alakazam's synchronize. If hit with a status move, it'll affect whichever Pokémon attacks it, and your Heracross clearly has." Eusine announced.
"Now quick, Psycho Cut." Eusine commanded.
Alakazam's eyes lit up as it went in and struck Heracross with the Psycho Cut at close range, causing a large explosion causing Ethan and Bayleef to have to look away.
"H-Heracross!" Ethan yelled worryingly. By the time Ethan looked back, he saw Heracross lying on the ground defeated, with the damaged Alakazam standing over him.
"As I said, I won't lose again!" Eusine laughed as he returned his Pokémon.
"Heracross..." Ethan said as he returned his Pokémon. "Take a nice long rest, you did great. I'm so thankful you wanted to travel with me."
"I've won, proving my superiority over you once and for all." Eusine said proudly. "If Suicune watched, I just know he was in awe of my glory.
Eusine turned back towards the cliff and let out a direct vow.
"Suicune... I won't stop following you until I've found out what you're after... You hear me!" He yelled, Eusine backed away, stepping on the cliff.
"What are you?" Ethan muttered.
Eusine leaped back and fell into the abyss, causing Ethan and Bayleef to freak out, Ethan ran and peaked his head to view Eusine. "You really are crazy!" Ethan shouted.
It was then when he saw flying above him a flying type Pokémon, flying at swift speed, and atop it was what must have been Eusine, he turned back to face Ethan before waving goodbye, as he fled away.
"What a weirdo. I feel bad for him, he'll never stop searching for Suicune..." Ethan muttered to Bayleef.
"Bay! Bay!" Bayleef agreed, looking into the deep black void beneath them.
"Well, onwards we go." Ethan said as he and Bayleef backed away from the scene.
Yup, that's Ethan's rematch with Eusine. Now in the games you don't actually have a battle with Eusine here, but I felt it was necessary to display Eusine's determination in catching Suicune. And to show how much Suicune means to him, also buffed his team a little bit ngl...