Me: Well guys, we seem to have reached equilibrium; bi-weekly uploads of one chapter, or two chapters if I'm feeling particularly productive.
Jack: Yeah, that's great; now can we just get to the chapter already?
Me: Oh, that's right; Maylene. I've been waiting to bring her back for a while now; I got multiple requests to do so, and I figured I might as well get on with it. Oh, and just so you know, this chapter is where things start getting interesting.
Jack: Chapter. Now.
"Long time no see, Maylene," Jack said. "What're you doing here?"
Jack looked his old friend over quickly; she was wearing her traditional gym clothes, a blue and black muscle shirt and grey track pants. Obviously modelled after the appearance of her partner, Lucario.
"You look like you came here straight from the gym," Jack continued.
Maylene shrugged. "Hey, the Lily of the Valley Conference is the event of the year; and since there won't be another one for a year, the number of challengers at the gym has dropped to nothing. So, I figured I might as well come and watch; and not just for you either."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is that so; well come in, have some Pizza, and tell me what you mean by that cryptic comment."
"Don't mind if I do," Maylene replied. "And while I'm at it, maybe you can tell me a few things too."
Jack blinked as Maylene walked past him into the main suite. "Didn't I just say something about the cryptic comments?"
Jack shut and locked the door, and went back into the main room; the television was on as, up until a few minutes ago, they'd been watching the other matches of the tournament. Ash's had already finished, with him the victor; they had yet to see anyone else they recognised.
Maylene was already getting the royal treatment from the team; Lucy was nuzzling her leg, Jason was being all formal, and Wendy was three feet off the ground hanging from the gym leader's neck. Ivy and Thomas were the only ones who looked like they had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"So," Maylene said, turning to look at Jack and almost dislodging Wendy from her neck on the process. "I see two new faces here."
Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's right; Ivy and Thomas weren't with us when we challenged you. I'm willing to bet you can guess which one is which."
"Greetings," Thomas said in impeccable, if electronic sounding, English. "My name is Thomas, and I've heard much about you Maylene."
Maylene nearly jumped out of her skin when Thomas started talking; fortunately, Wendy had a firm grip.
"He… he talked!" Maylene exclaimed.
"Yeah," Jack said, "He does that."
Maylene blinked, then shrugged. "Okay then, I'm not questioning anything at this point; it makes sense that your team would be as unique as you are. Speaking of which," Maylene fixed Jack with a stern look. "Why didn't you tell me you were a move-using superhero?!"
Jack blinked. "Come again."
Maylene folded her arms. "These last few months, do you know what's been dominating every single media outlet in Sinnoh? You! The whole region is buzzing about you, and I got singled out as someone who knew you personally; the reporters were bad enough, but when the fangirls started showing up…"
"Fangirls?" Jack exclaimed, trying to keep up.
"Never mind that," Maylene said quickly, before continuing at a somewhat more calm pace. "Sorry, I think I rambled on a bit. It's just, I wish you'd said something; when I heard how you fought off two of the Legendary Bird trio, there were so many questions I wanted to ask you."
Jack shrugged and sat down on a nearby couch. "We've got a while, ask away."
"Really?" Maylene asked excitedly, sitting down as well. "Okay then, let's see… Oh yeah, I know," she fixed him with another stern look. "When we sparred way back when you were staying at the dojo, how much were you holding back?"
Jack grinned a little. "What makes you think I was holding back?"
"I knew it!" Maylene exclaimed with a grin. "You were going easy on me! The nerve, toying with me like that."
"I swear I wasn't," Jack said, raising his hands above his head in the universal sign of surrender.
"Yeah, right," Maylene said. "I'll believe that when Piloswine fly."
"But in all honesty," Jack said. "I really didn't hold back when we sparred; I couldn't afford to. Whatever advantage I had in strength and speed, you made up for with superior training and technique; you were more than my equal, in martial arts at least, and I learned a lot from you."
Maylene smiled. "Thank you, I'm glad to hear that; but it begs the question, what about now?"
Jack sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."
"But you knew I would," Maylene said with a grin.
"Yup."
"Well then?" the gym leader asked. "Shall we take this outside?"
Jack shook his head. "There's a reason I'm in here, instead of watching the matches; if I set foot outside of this hotel, the press is going to be on me like Joltik on a power line. It's a miracle there's anyone covering the matches at all."
Jack glanced over at the television, which was still playing softly; everyone else, except for Wendy who was still sitting in Maylene's lap, was watching the ongoing tournament. The current match was between a brown-haired boy and his Machamp, and…
"Turn that up," Jack commanded.
Jason, who had the remote control, obliged.
"...I repeat," the announcer said, "The fight between James, a trainer from Floaroma Town, and Tobias, who is said to have defeated all the gym leaders using only his Darkrai, is almost finished. Tobias's Darkrai has already defeated two of James's Pokémon, leaving only his Machamp to fight."
As they watched, Tobias's Darkrai landed Ice Beam and Dark Pulse attacks in rapid succession, leaving Machamp unconscious.
"I remember him," Maylene said. "He challenged my gym months ago; and he did take down my entire team with just his Darkrai."
Jack stared at her in shock. "Are you kidding me? He's that strong?"
Maylene chuckled. "Back then I was also nowhere near as strong as I am now; and I had almost no experience at being a gym leader. But even so, yes; he really is that strong. I wouldn't be surprised if that Darkrai he has, is actually the original Darkrai of legend; the nightmare Pokémon."
They watched as Tobias recalled Darkrai, and left the arena.
Jack gritted his teeth. "I've got a bad feeling about this; I've learned to listen to my instincts, and my instincts are telling me there's more to this Tobias guy than meets the eye. I get the feeling I'll be fighting him at some point."
"Are you worried you might not be able to beat him?" Maylene asked.
Jack shook his head. "Not really; I've gone up against legendary Pokémon before, this'll be nothing new."
He neglected to mention that in two of those instances, he nearly died. In truth, this Tobias person made him distinctly nervous; based on what he'd seen, he had no doubt that he could beat his Darkrai. What worried him, was what other tricks Tobias might have up his sleeve.
"In other news," the announcer continued, "Three months into the outbreak of the Second Saldaran Civil War, the terrorist group known as Alpha has now overrun the Saldaran military defending the city of Cynder Falls. Things are looking decidedly grim for the Saldara Region and its citizens."
"Alpha?" Jack muttered. "Where have I…"
"The laboratory," Thomas said.
Jack snapped his fingers. "That's right, the old base; talk about a small world."
"Indeed," Thomas commented.
"Sorry, what's that about?" Maylene asked.
"We met Thomas in an old abandoned laboratory," Jack explained. "It was run by those guys, Alpha; a terrorists group from Saldara apparently. Maybe they needed a remote location to conduct their research."
Maylene nodded. "Makes sense. Anyway, it looks like all the first round matches are finished now; that was the last one. So how about it, care for a quick sparring match?"
Jack sighed. "Fine, I guess there's no getting out of it; but I have one condition."
"Name it," Maylene said.
Jack grinned. "I get to pick the arena."
Maylene mirrored his grin. "Deal."
"Why did you have to pick the biggest arena in the immediate vicinity?" Maylene asked.
Jack shrugged. "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing."
"But still," Maylene said. "Weren't you the one complaining about the press? Well, you might as well have set up a giant neon sign; I mean, seriously. You get to pick the arena, and you pick this?"
Around them, like the sides of a giant bowl, rose the Lily of the Valley Colosseum; the single largest stadium in Sinnoh. The manager was more than happy to let Jack and Maylene use it, provided he got to charge entry for anyone who wanted to watch; Jack agreed. To put it bluntly, the manager was set to make a small fortune.
Once word got out, as it always does, that Jack and Maylene were going to have a sparring match, every Tom, Dick, and Harry on Lily of the Valley Island were falling over themselves to be there; nobody else cared, but there were more than enough people named Tom, Dick, or Harry to fill the stadium to bursting.
Jack grinned. "Think of it this way; unless we hop on over to Mt. Coronet real quick, people are going to catch wind of our little match. We'll be swarmed by reporters anyway, so we might as well at least charge them for the show; this way we're supporting a worthy cause."
Maylene gave him a knowing look. "Oh, I see now."
Jack raised one eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You're not as opposed to all the attention you're getting as you'd like everyone to believe," Maylene said with a grin.
Jack smirked. "I have my reasons."
"Whatever," Maylene said. "But since we've got such a crowd here, it would be unfair of us not to give them a worthwhile show. Wouldn't you say?"
Jack raised his eyebrow again. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
"THE BATTLE WILL BE THREE ON THREE," the announcer declared. "ITEMS AND SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED FOR BOTH SIDES. THE BATTLE WILL BE OVER WHEN ONE SIDE IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE. BEGIN!"
Jack and Maylene stared each other down from opposite ends of the battlefield; how a simple sparring match had turned into the second most widely broadcast event in Sinnoh, they could never quite remember. One thing was for sure though, they intended to have fun with it.
"Let's start things off slow," Jack said. "Figuratively speaking, that is. Aura, you're up!"
"I was thinking the exact same thing," Maylene shot back. "Machamp, front and center!"
In quick succession, Aura and Machamp appeared on the battlefield in the customary flashes of red light. They quickly took stock of the situation, and began staring each other down with every bit as much intensity as their trainers.
[Aura (Dragonair) Age: 19. Ability: Marvel Scale. Moves: Extremespeed, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower, Thundershock, and Agility.]
"You may take the first move," Maylene said with a bow.
"You might regret that," Jack replied, his grin widening. "Aura, use Agility."
Aura began going through a series of stretches and undulations designed to warm up her muscles and alleviate pre-battle tension; at the same time, she gathered her namesake from the surrounding area to super-charge her body. It wasn't the most visually impressive technique, but both Jack and Maylene knew full well how effective it could be.
Aura had almost completed the exercise, when suddenly Machamp seemed to appear in front of her from out of nowhere; before Aura could react, it slammed its fists into the ground in a powerful Earthquake attack.
The shockwave shattered Aura's concentration and interrupted her move.
"How in the reverse world... " Jack exclaimed to himself. "How is Machamp so fast?!"
"You're not the only ones who've gotten stronger," Maylene said, as if she could hear his thoughts. "This isn't going to be a one sided match like your last one; if you want to beat me, you'd better give it your all!"
Jack grinned and cracked his neck. "As you wish. Aura, Extremespeed!"
The moment he called the order, Aura was off like a bolt of blue light; she slammed into Machamp like a cannonball, pushing him back several feet. But before Aura could retreat back to a safe distance, two of Machamp's four arms shot out and grabbed her.
Before Jack could react, Machamp slammed Aura into the ground and then used Earthquake; the attack left Aura dazed, but she managed to dart away before Machamp could follow up with another attack. Still, Aura was in trouble; she'd taken massive damage, and was shell-shocked from the hits.
"Aura, return," Jack said grimly, pulling out a Pokéball and recalling her to it. "I didn't expect her to be so strong," he grinned. "I guess I don't have to hold back then. Jason, you're up!"
[Jason (Lucario) Age: 17. Ability: Steadfast. Moves: Metal Claw, Counter, Force Palm, Aura Sphere, Bone Rush, Focus Punch, Close Combat, and Psychic.]
Jason had barely set foot on the arena, before he was off like an avenging angel; he blasted Machamp off its feet with Psychic, and then went in for the kill with Focus Punch. The two hits sent the Superpower Pokémon flying, and it crashed into the ground in front of Maylene; when the dust cleared however, Machamp was still standing.
"You'll have to do better than that," Maylene said. "Machamp doesn't go down easily."
Jack and Jason gritted their teeth in unison; this was getting ridiculous. Before Jack even gave the order, Jason shot towards the towering Machamp with Metal Claw. Machamp waited until the last moment, and then countered with Earthquake. Jason was expecting something like that, and launched himself into the air; landing a critical hit from above.
Jason was about to follow up with Force Palm, but Machamp was no longer there; Jason didn't even have time to turn around as Machamp grabbed him from behind. Jason let loose a blast of aura, but Machamp barely seemed to feel it; before Jason could try anything else, the Superpower Pokémon used Vital Throw and tossed Jason halfway across the battlefield.
Jason used Psychic to right himself mid-air, and landed on his hind paws; Machamp shot towards him at speeds that should've been impossible for something so big, and launched a brutal Close Combat attack.
Jason did the only thing he could do; he countered with Close Combat as well matching the larger Pokémon blow for blow, punch for punch. Every strike could mean the difference between victory, and defeat. They were both nearing the end of their ropes; one mistake, and that was it. But who would make that fatal mistake?
The stalemate lasted for almost an entire minute, neither side giving an inch; neither side willing to lose. This was no longer just a sparring match, this was life or death; or it might as well have been, for the intensity of it.
Then suddenly, Jason saw it; a single drop of sweat had rolled down Machamp's forehead into its right eye, obscuring its vision. Jason began pushing towards Machoke's left side; all it would take was one perfectly timed strike, and it would be over. Jason waited, and waited…
There it was, the opening Jason needed; feinting to Machoke's right, the Superpower Pokémon instinctively protected its blind side. Jason seized the chance, and gave it everything he had; pouring every scrap of strength he could muster into a right hook which landed solidly on Machamp's jaw.
Jason knew that wouldn't be enough, so he pressed his advantage; Machamp, stunned and disorientated, couldn't hold its defence together. Jason landed blow after blow, each one more powerful than the last; until with one last uppercut, which lifted Machamp's feet off the ground, Jason finished it. Machamp was down for the count.
The audience went absolutely insane; this was shaping up to be the most amazing battle any of them had seen in their entire lives. Jack was sweating almost as hard as his Lucario brother was; even Maylene looked exhausted as she recalled Machamp to its Pokéball.
"We've both come a long way since we last fought," Maylene said.
Jack nodded. "Indeed; but I'm afraid only two people I know can defeat Jason in an all out fight, and I'm one of them."
Maylene grinned from ear to ear. "Unfortunately for you, I know who the other one is. Lucario, front and center!"
Jack sighed. "Yup, that'd be him."
