Chapter 11: Five Down, Three to Go
anonoa: I know, it was a difficult decision to make, but I've made it now, and I'm glad it makes sense the way it does. Thank you for all that! I personally don't know if it's my best because I only write the chapter once, I don't rewrite it or edit parts much after I'm done, and I try to put effort into making the story realistic, and not singularly focused on the trainer and his efforts, but depicting Johto itself and I try to show that it's not just him in the world I guess! Lastly, looking forward to writing the story as well! Honestly despite this story being the least viewed amongst my ongoing stories, it's probably my favorite right now and I just love writing it!
ThalTair: Again, it was a difficult decision to do that to Ethan. Can't wait to write on with this story!
Enjoy, Alfa19
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"You win some, you lose some Ethan. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to return Feraligatr to me within a week, or the police or the staff of any Pokemon center will be legally obliged to seize it."
Ethan stared at the professor's forlorn face through the screen, unable to process the ultimatum that had just been dealt to him. He was going to have to part with Feraligatr. Feraligatr, whom he had raised since it was a Totodile ready to evolve in Azalea town. Feraligatr whom had played a part in every gym battle after that.
"Goodbye Professor." Ethan managed, his lips drawn tight and his expression strained. "You'll have Feraligatr within a week."
He pushed his finger down on the mouse button to cut the call, so hard that he felt it might break. He stood up and walked out of the booth after he logged out, walking straight to the nurses' counter.
"Excuse me ma'am, could you give these Pokemon, and the ones I've already submitted for a healing a full examination, everything to do with them." Ethan tried to force a smile as he handed over his pokeballs and his card for the second time in a few hours.
"Blowing off some steam?" The nurse raised an eyebrow as she looked at his face.
"Something of the sort." Ethan replied, staring at the white veins in the black granite counter top.
"If you want to cool down, try the gym that Chuck donated. Down the cafeteria corridor, first door on the left." She suggested, handing back his card.
Ethan nodded wordlessly, having no better ideas, and headed off in the specified direction. He found his way to the gym quickly and walked inside, checking in and getting a set of exercise clothing from the clerk at the front desk. Ten minutes later, he found himself in the gym, wearing a tank top that was stretched more than a little bit and basketball shorts to match.
Ethan could feel a dull pounding in his head, and while he rationally freaked out internally, logic told him it was the sound of blood in his veins drowning everything else out. He made his way over to one of the punching bags in the corner and donned a pair of gloves, steadying his fists before he hit.
He slammed his right fist into the leather bag hard, pushing it back, and before it could swing back at him, he hit it with his left fist. Then came the barrage of hits. Ethan could hear nothing but Elm's words echoing in his head as hit after hit landed on the bag, beating it hard. Sweat began to drip down his brow, but he continued on, oblivious to the world as he pushed himself harder than he had ever done in the fitness program the schools in Johto were required to put students through, ramming his fists into the punching bag relentlessly.
'For getting stranded on the Whirl Islands.' Ethan thought to himself as he slammed his fist into the bag, pushing it far once more. He took a deep breath and continued.
'For Elm not warning me something like this might happen.' Another jab sent the bag careening on its chain.
'For having to relinquish Feraligatr.'
'For having to give up one of my Pokemon.'
'For having to part with a member of my family.'
Ethan gritted his teeth as he drove his fist into the bag as hard as he could, dislodging the chain from the hook it was looped around. It hit the floor with a crash and Ethan jumped in place, startled back to reality. Thinking on his feet, he hefted the bag up and looped the chain back around the hook twice, suspending the bag in the air for someone else's use.
Still driven by anger at what had happened, Ethan walked out of the gym in his own clothes and straight down to the showers, getting himself a stall and turning the tap to the hot side. He switched the flow to the shower head and let the water pour down on his shoulders and neck, soothing his muscles.
Ethan's head was swimming as he felt himself break down on the inside, sitting down on the shower floor with his head in his hands. He was going to have to part with Feraligatr. Anger at what was to come had come and gone, and now reality had hit him in full swing. This was happening. He sat there for twenty minutes, under the warm water, letting the melancholy feeling fill his mind before he got up, got dressed and walked back to his room. He lay on his bed, letting himself wallow in the depression of having to part with the Pokemon without whom he may not have been alive at the moment, and without one of his best friends.
His mind drifted back to how as a Croconaw, it had fought so bravely against the Tyranitar in Goldenrod city, and how it had evolved into a massive, toothy Feraligatr on the way to Ecruteak, and then its victory against Morty's ghosts, alongside Typhlosion. Then its part in the battle against Jasmine, and last but not least about how it had saved his life.
Ethan lay on the bed until his phone started ringing. Still half fuming, half moping, he picked it up.
"Hello, Mr. Photon? Your Pokemon have been healed and examined. Please come to the Pokemon center's front desk to retrieve them along with their full reports." A nurse spoke over the line with a muffled voice.
Ethan sat up, staring at the wall blankly for a minute before he decided that moping about it wasn't going to do him any good. He stood up and walked out to the front desk, gladly accepting the occupants of his belt and a six-page report on them. Taking it, he walked out to the beach once more, not wasting any time in making his way there and finding the same rock on the same desolate stretch of sand.
He released his Pokemon one by one, saving Feraligatr for last. He took a deep breath, staring each one in the eye, reports by his side.
"Feraligatr…. Professor Elm just contacted me and gave me some bad news. I have to return you to him within a week or any Pokemon center or police officer will seize you." Ethan swallowed, waiting for his Pokemon to react.
Typhlosion seemed to be frozen in shock, Riolu was standing in place with its tail twitching. Scyther's eyes were darting everywhere, and even Specter was somber, grin turned into a frown and eyes sad looking. Gligar, the newest member of their team was silent, fluttering about a bit, unsure of how to react.
Feraligatr stared at him for more than a few minutes before its eyes narrowed and it picked up a nearby boulder. Hefting it over its head, maybe eight feet in the air, it hurled it into the surf beyond with such force that it not only buried itself in the sand, but it shattered right through the middle as it did. It stared at the broken rock for a minute, letting its shoulder's sag and its spine slacken. It turned around and slumped over to him, wrapping its massive scaly arms around him.
"I know buddy. I know." Ethan whispered, scratching it between its scales. But right now, moping isn't going to get us anywhere."
Ethan rose once Feraligatr let go of him and looked at his Pokemon one by one.
"Feraligatr has at most a week with us. During that time, we will train, take on Chuck, and then return to Olivine City and defeat Jasmine! Feraligatr, you may have to go, but I want you to go out with your head held high. I hope I've trained you well, but if you get a new trainer, and they aren't good to you, give them hell." Ethan stared Feraligatr right in the eye, watching it until it slowly nodded. "Good! Then from today on no slow going! Let's make the most of our time together!"
Typhlosion was the first to agree, emitting a rumbling noise and nodding in agreement before it sprinted over to Ethan, looking at the picture of it on the first page of the papers in Ethan's hand.
"I've got detailed physical reports on you guys with me, so let's get going using these. Typhlosion first. So, you're in good physical condition, your pelt is looking nice and glossy, the way it should be. Now my insights. You're brilliant with what you know, but we need to expand your move pool. We're going to work on two moves at a time, because one of them is a fire type move, and shouldn't be hard for you to grasp. Lava Plume and Brick Break. We'll come back to this once I start rounds." Ethan nodded in the fire type's direction and then turned.
"Gligar, our first priority for now will be to try and get you a basis for the ground type moves you're lacking so that evolution will hopefully cement them in. We'll start with Earth Power maybe, because that doesn't require physical contact or manipulation of the ground. Scyther, for now let's just keep on honing what we know. I'm going to try and get you a metal coat soon. Same goes for you Specter, but with Stamina training. I want you to be able to reform faster, more efficiently, and more times that you already can." Ethan explained to each of them in turn.
"Riolu, what we'll do is, because there are no other fighting type Pokemon on the team, I'll ask Chuck for help after we fight him, but for now, let's work on focus blast. It should be similar to Aura Sphere in some ways. And Feraligatr… Dragon tail. Right. Now find some space everyone, and I'll start rounds!" Ethan called out to all of his Pokemon. He watched them spread out until they were at reasonable distances for training and then walked over to Typhlosion, clutching his notes in his hand.
"Okay buddy, let's work on Lava Plume first. It should be easier than brick break to get. From what I know of the attack, it's basically spewing lava, either from your back for you or from your mouth. Let's get to work on the lava part, then we can get the plume part down. To be honest, I have no clue where to start, so if you feel anything, try it. I'll be back once I've looked it up." Ethan instructed, leaving Typhlosion amidst a ring of rocks where the lava wouldn't flow too far out when they managed it.
He trudged over to Riolu next and crouched down to the little cub's height.
"Okay buddy, so Aura sphere is creating fighting type energy that's supercharged and somewhat affected using the essence of you that makes up your aura, right?" Ethan asked, grinning as he got into the zone.
'Yes friend-trainer Ethan.' Riolu nodded as it spoke, jumping up and down.
"Okay so focus blast is essentially the same formation of the attack, except using natural fighting type contact force, and slightly larger and more focused. It shouldn't be too much of a problem." Ethan explained, standing up and going over to Scyther.
"Come on buddy, you'll spar with Specter. Specter! Get over here! You'll train with Scyther!" He called out, leaving the two to it.
He moved next to Gligar, who was awaiting instruction. "Gligar buddy, you'll be working on Earth Power. Wait a few minutes I'll be back. Feraligatr!"
Ethan walked to a slightly farther off rock with the water type and sat down. Feraligatr's eyes were a mix of emotions, confused, enraged, sad, and probably a dozen other things that Ethan couldn't see beneath the top layer.
"Hey buddy. This is going to be hard on both of us. I felt like- no I still feel like wringing Elm's neck for this predicament. Take all the time you want; I took mine to wallow before I decided to focus on making the most of this week. If I don't, I don't know what'll happen to me on the inside. You saved my life! You've done so much! I don't know what to say." Ethan sighed, putting one hand on the hunched gator's shoulder.
"The last thing I will say however, before we move onto training, is this: Thank you. Thank you for training under me. Thank you for taking part in all those battles, and for giving it your all in each and every one of them. Thanks for being a good Pokemon, companion and friend. Thank you." Ethan clasped his other hand over Feraligatr's scaly blue shoulder and stared right into its crimson eyes. The water type nodded slowly, a few tears trickling down its snout.
"Let's get on with training then. Think of aqua tail right now because we're going to work on dragon tail. Same principle, but with draconic contact force instead of aquatic. I'll be back as soon as I can, but I need to tell some of the others how to do their training first." Ethan nodded and walked off to the others, checking his watch as he did so. It was about five in the evening. It would be good to fit in maybe two hours of training before sunset, give them all a rest, and then try and get Gligar's evolution going at night.
He opened his browser and a few minutes later, continued on to Typhlosion. The fire type was waiting amidst the loose circle of rocks where it was to practice lava plume, smoke coming out of its back.
"Okay… So, I don't actually know for myself what having the blood of a fire type feels like through your veins, or what having fire coming out of your back feels like, so I'll read off the screen." Ethan began, looking down at the open tab. "Try and harnessing the pounding feeling of liquid fire that you can feel when blood is pumping through your veins quickly. Force the heat into an actual physical form rather that into fire. This goes on for quite a wh-" Ethan looked up to see Lava pouring out of Typhlosion's back as it stared at him calmly, pooling on the sand and turning to hard stone.
"Well then…. I guess let's work on the plume part. It's sort of basically spraying your opponents with a plume of lava. One other thing I want you to work on. The consistency of lava alters how fast it cools down. Work on that so you could either reform the arena with rocks, or cover it in patches of magma. You've got this down for the most part so I'll leave you to it." Ethan shrugged. Watching Typhlosion make quick progress out of the corner of his eye, he walked over to Gligar.
"Okay buddy. So, um earth power is too confusing for me to understand right now. I'll ask a nurse at the Pokemon center. For now, let's work on two simpler things. First off is mud shot. Pretty simple really. Firing mud off at a high speed as a projectile imbued with contact force. You're ground type to even if you don't know any ground type moves yet, it shouldn't be too hard to get a hang of. Let's see what you can do."
Gligar nodded and focused, and slowly but surely, managed to draw up some mud, into a ball the size of Ethan's fist, and then shot it off at a nearby rock hard, making a crack in it.
"Okay… So, keep going with that. Try first for speed forming it, then go for size and strength." Ethan suggested, sauntering over to Feraligatr last of all.
"Okay buddy, had any luck with draconic energy?" Ethan asked, sitting down next to the large water type.
Feraligatr shook its head, clenching its jaw and trying again to hit the ground hard with its tail glowing, but it wasn't imbued with even the slightest hint of draconic contact force.
"Well, I figured it would be a tough one if only because of typing. Why don't you keep trying while I do some resea—" Ethan was cut short by his phone ringing.
He pulled it out of his pocket and nearly dropped it in the sand when he saw the caller ID: Megan Connor. Megan was a childhood friend of his, the daughter of his parents' friends. Her father had lost his life in the same war that had taken Ethan's father in their childhood. They had grown up side by side, best friends, sticking with each other through thick and thin.
She inexplicably made him grin, and made his heart skip a beat whenever he spoke to her or saw her name on his phone. Ethan was unsure what he felt, but all he knew was that she was his best friend. Megan had fallen ill after graduating from the accelerated trainer education program at school alongside him and thirty other people. A month passed and it only got worse. Her mother, a practicing lawyer, had taken her to the best doctors in Johto.
Two weeks of tests diagnosed her with a rapidly reciprocating virus that was immobilizing and hardening the tissue of her lungs slowly, and at the same time causing her major arteries to swell up on the inside and stymy the blood flow in her body. Doctor's called it Eisenhardt's disease. There was no proper treatment available yet.
There were however, cures in development. A company in Hoenn had cleared their product, and was going through licensing, but the only problem with their product was its volatility. It would decay or spoil within ten hours of manufacturing. Seeing a chance, her mother offered to help them through the licensing and approval process and expedite it while she set up shop in Hoenn temporarily in exchange for priority treatment for Megan. That had been ten months ago. Not wanting to let her drop the call, Ethan picked up immediately and pressed the phone to his ear.
"Megan! How are you?" Ethan asked, a smile growing on his face as he stared off at the ocean.
"I'm done with treatment Ethan! It worked! It finished about a month ago, and I was declared fit to go on anything as demanding as a Pokemon journey should I want to two weeks ago!" She laughed from the other end of the line.
Ethan was grinning like an idiot, elated. "That's great! When are you coming back?"
"There's been a slight hitch…. While I got better, my grandfather's health deteriorated…. I'm coming back to Johto on my own for a few days. I have relatives in Olivine who'll drive me to New Bark where I'll collect some things from the house and get a Pokemon from professor Elm because I registered as a Johtan for the tests, and then I'll head back to Hoenn, where my mother's promised me I can start my journey a few weeks after I get back if I want to. To be honest I do want to travel, but I don't really want to do the whole gym challenge or go to the conference or anything, or be a coordinator or something. I just want a good friend or two to have with me when I settle down." She sighed down; her voice slightly dejected.
"When do you reach Olivine? I'm travelling right now." Ethan replied, trying to lift her spirits.
"I'll reach on the morning of the seventeenth, around eight in the morning maybe, on the SS Anne." She replied, sounding hopeful.
"I'll be waiting at the bottom of the gangplank." Ethan remarked, forgetting his troubles for a moment.
"I can't wait to see you." Megan replied happily, and then she cut the line.
Ethan continued to stare at the ocean for a little bit with a happy smile on his face as Feraligatr repeatedly slammed its tail into the ground. A loud bang caught Ethan's attention and he turned to see Feraligatr standing next to a pile of blackened sand with granules of glass glinting in the sunlight.
"Try that again buddy. But on a rock this time." Ethan suggested, paying close attention this time, as with the utmost concentration, Feraligatr slammed its tail into the rock, a few bluish sparks trailing across it. "That's good. This was always going to be slow progress so for now that's good. I'm going to go check on the others for now. I'll be back."
Ethan strolled over to his Pokemon one by one. Specter was reforming from a nasty hit from Scyther when he walked by. Each was worn down from a constant battle at this point, but still raring to go. Riolu was making good progress with Focus blast, firing off orange glowing spheres that were a bit smaller than aura sphere, and less powerful, Riolu kept them going fast.
"That's good. That's our practiced approach: Speed first so that you can still distract an opponent, then power. Good work. Keep it up." Ethan grinned, looking over at Gligar, who was making the same progress, firing off the same small spheres of mud, but with a dim glow. Each projectile made a crater and a crack or two in the rock, which was now a battered down mess. Finally, Ethan went down to Typhlosion, who was easily spraying lava within its rock circle, and where the lava had receded, he could see glass.
"Good work Typhlosion! Any luck with consistency?" Ethan asked. He wanted to burst out laughing at how easily Typhlosion was doing it when it poured out two streams of lava one by one the first condensing into stone and sinking through the second one, which simply remained as it was, a ring of magma.
"You know what, let's start work on brick break. Fighting type contact force in a limb to hit with. The style of hitting is one clean hit with minimal contact for more pressure." Ethan explained, wanting to give Typhlosion a real challenge. "I'm going to go to Feraligatr now."
Ethan walked back down to where Feraligatr was, watching the water type slam its tail into the rock repeatedly, managing to get a few blue sparks to swirl around it ever time so far.
"Let's keep this going buddy." Ethan encouraged the determined water type, watching as it continued on. Sitting down on a rock, he focused on his plans for training, and for taking on Chuck and Jasmine, shifting his mentality for the time being and putting his focus solely on matter such as those as the time whiled away in training, each of his Pokemon making visible progress beyond where they had been except for Feraligatr, Scyther and Specter, the last two of whom wouldn't make visible progress for days at least, apart from slowly increasing the length of their spars.
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Seven thirty-four pm…
Ethan stepped through the doors of the Pokemon center, tired. He decided to do laps around his Pokemon since he had nothing better to do apart from observe them, and running for two hours had taken its toll. He looked around the Pokemon center once in the evening rush, taking in chestnut paneling over the glass door, a touch he had no doubt was reflected in every building in the city, specifically Chuck's gym. He stepped forward and joined the line, waiting his turn.
"Hi. Could you please give my Pokemon a once over, we've been training and sparring for a while now?" Ethan smiled wearily, handing over his Pokemon when he reached the front of the line. Digging around in his pocket, he produced his trainer tag and allowed the nurse to scan it and register his Pokemon before he took it back and walked off to the room.
He walked in to find no one inside, and pulled out a plain t shirt and shorts to wear. Taking them in hand he made his way to the communal bathrooms and ducked into a stall to shower. He turned the tap all the way to the left, letting the scalding water pour down his neck and back. He took his time washing up and then sat down on the small ledge in the stall, taking his weight off of his legs and allowing the water to batter down on them.
His mind drifted to Megan and her phone call once more. His heart skipped a beat and he smiled at the thought of seeing her after nearly a year. Thoughts of his best friend took his thoughts in the direction of his other best friend in New Bark Town: James Mason. James had been the first person he had met on his first day of school when he was a kid, and two days later they were thick as thieves. Working without speaking on the basketball court and inseparable otherwise, they had the same interests at school and spent much of their time together when they were bored. Ethan was either with Megan or James all the time, or with both. James had decided to not go on a journey however, rather pursuing a different career, for now studying pure physics at the local high school.
Ethan let the thoughts drift out of his mind and turned the tap off, drying off and getting dressed. He made his way to the room and ditched his sweaty clothes, walking out to the cafeteria. The expansive room was at the end of the corridor where the gym was. The ceiling was about fifteen feet high all around, in case trainers decided to release their Pokemon, and supported by multiple circular pillars in a grid across the room. White linoleum tables with attached benches filled up most of the space in the room and the serving counter took up one wall at the end.
Ethan walked over and looked over the selection of fries made by passing a weak current through them, a seasonal salad, some fried Octillery, sautéed Magikarp, and a few other things. Taking some of the calamari, Magikarp and a bowl of fries, Ethan found a place to sit in a corner near the serving line. He dug into the meal hungrily, realizing he would need to restock on rations and a few other things before he left Cianwood, even though it was just a day's boat ride to Olivine. It would still be better to restock before he got there.
Ethan emptied his plate, and then the bowl of fries and took the dishes to a disposal bin, dropping them in quickly. He managed to make it out as the rush increased, as even trainers who weren't staying at the center came in for a quick and easy meal. The situation at the nurses' counter had eased up though, making it simple for Ethan to get to the front and ask what became of his Pokemon.
"Excuse me miss? My name's Ethan Photon, I checked in six Pokemon for a healing a while ago. I just wanted to find out what became of that, and if I could get them back if they're done." Ethan asked, handing over his card. Catching his reflection in the marble countertop, Ethan fixed his hair quickly as the nurse clicked away at her computer.
"Mr. Photon… My my… You must train a lot? You've gotten your Pokemon checked multiple times already. Well let's see. Your Pokemon are fine, most of them just needed some rest, so we gave them to our groomer and let them be. Your Scyther and your Gengar needed a bit of patching up, but not as much as they'd like to rest. Leave them be till morning maybe." The nurse suggested, handing over his six ultra-balls.
"Thank you very much, I'll keep that in mind." Ethan smiled, clipping them to his belt in order. He checked his pockets to make sure he still had the razor fang and walked out of the Pokemon center, whistling merrily out of joy of what was about to go down.
He walked out into the streets of Cianwood, marveling at how the city scape had changed as the sun had fully sunken below the horizon. The beach town had transformed into what looked like a festival with lanterns strung on ropes everywhere, on the sides of buildings and from poles, all the way out on the beach as well. The markets were still open, and the beach grills seemed to be thriving. He pushed through the crowds, making slow progress. Finally, seeing the lights up at the top of cliff, he got an idea.
He made his way over to the path carved into the side of the cliff after he broke out of the masses of people and started walking up it, making his way to the top. He stopped about halfway up and looked straight out at the city below him, marveling at the view. The Pokemon center's roof was apparently built out of reflective red mirrors, because the lanterns strung around the edges were casting a red glow into the sky using it, a beacon to all nearby trainers. The same was true for the pokemart. The city wasn't arranged in any particular way, and the messy style worked well with the carnival type scene that was being created. Ethan noticed one building standing out amidst the rush, without any people going in or out, with the exemption of the houses: Chuck's gym. The building was a rounded rectangle with a half barrel roof. Most of the building was wood, with beams jutting out slightly and neatly making sections of the walnut paneling. The front door was glass alongside two windows from what Ethan had seen on the ground, and up here he could see a skylight section of the roof.
He continued his walk all the way to the top, where Escalade was still advertising his gliders to couples who were roaming about in the quite of the clifftop, enjoying the view. Ethan found himself a stretch of empty land, overlooking the city, and released Gligar, Typhlosion, Riolu and Feraligatr. Ethan gave Feraligatr a long look before he retrieved the razor fang from his pocket and beckoned for Gligar to come over to him.
"I got you a razor fang." Ethan smiled briefly, handing it to Gligar. As expected, nothing happened. Brendan had specified that they needed to simulate duress or any other catalyst for evolution, considering razor fangs didn't hold any latent energy after they fell from a Pokémon's jaw.
"Let's work on getting you to actually evolve now. Trying to lava trap you wouldn't make a difference, and nor would flames. You'd have to fight Typhlosion or Feraligatr to do this… So, let's try something else. How about we try having Feraligatr utterly soak your wings so that they're heavy and you can't flap them. If it doesn't work, we can dry them over Typhlosion's flames." Ethan mused, calling Feraligatr nearby. "Go ahead."
Feraligatr crouched low and let out a weak water gun onto Gligar's back, letting the water cascade over it without hurting it. A minute later it stopped, stepping back to reveal Gligar's wings, wet, but without having absorbed any water.
"Waterproof…. Hmm… Well then, Gligar, Riolu, you're playing catch then. Riolu, your job is to try and grab a hold of Gligar and not let it fly away." Ethan instructed, hoping it would work. Unlike a normal evolution, it wouldn't take too much effort to evolve Gligar. After all, all the other conditions had been met.
Riolu nodded, and without warning raced towards Gligar, bounding off a rock and into the air. The flying type's eyes widened and it moved out of the way, taking to the air once more, albeit flying low. Ethan watched Riolu chase it every which way possible and bound off of multiple rocks to keep it down low. The relentless chase carried on for fifteen minutes, with Gligar managing to outmaneuver Riolu every time. Ethan watched dejectedly, ready to call it off soon.
He started to raise his hand, but it stopped abruptly in midair, in an old salute used in the Reich's time, pointing forward. Riolu had managed to leap into the air once more, propelled by a kick downward at the rock, and this time, Gligar couldn't avoid it. Riolu came crashing into Gligar's back, grabbing a hold of it and dragging it down. Ethan's eyes lit up as the fighting type pulled Gligar down to the ground, heels kicking up dust as Gligar tried to escape to the skies. Ethan bit his lip hopefully as the ground type avian strained against the cub.
Gligar's body started to glow slowly, the light increasing as particles drifted off of its body. Riolu let go of the Pokemon and skid to a halt, watching as the light grew dimmer and dimmer, enveloping Gligar in a dim glow. Gligar's body dissociated slowly into hundreds of dimly glowing particles. Ethan watched in awe as the particles began to move about violently in a circle, forming a miniature tornado, until each particle split into three which grew back to the original size. They collected together and slowly the glow grew once again, before it died down all together.
The Pokemon in front of him was a pale indigo color, with large pure yellow eyes, a strong chest, black wings, massive pincers and longer arms. Its legs were still short, but not as stubby as before, and its ears had become a part of the smooth curve of its head, pointing outwards to the sides, red from the inside. Its body wasn't rounded like before, and connecting its abdomen and its chest was a thinner red section, marked in rings. Its arms had also become the same red, thinner and marked once more with rings, and its tail had grown much longer, not to mention it had three spikes now. Its posture was somewhat curved, ready to either take flight or attack, and standing that way, it looked to be about six feet from head to toe, but when it stood straight, Ethan guessed it was six and a half feet long. Its tail, when in the air, added maybe two feet or three feet beyond that. Standing in front of him, was a fully-fledged Gliscor.
…
Ethan tugged the zipper on the side of the boot closed, and stood up. He had asked Gliscor to wait for him and gone to Escalade, the glider man, and used one of his three free rides on the glide suit he had mentioned earlier. Ethan stepped over to the edge of the cliff next to Gliscor and looked down at the drop. The cliff face went down around sixty meters straight down.
His head started to spin for a moment, peering down at the lights over the edge and his world started to shrink. Gliscor's wing brushed against the shoulder of the white suit, bringing him back to reality.
"Okay Gliscor. I'm trusting you. If this doesn't work you have to catch me." Ethan warned, raising a hand towards it. "Let's do this."
Without a sound, Gliscor took off into the air on the light breeze, circling calmly without even flapping its wings. It disappeared below the cliff face, and Ethan took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. He stood facing the sea, at the edge of the cliff, and jumped away from it, spreading his arms and legs immediately.
The fabric of the body suit caught the air beneath him and he pressed the switch in his palm, igniting the thrusters. All of a sudden, he was flying forward, and he could see Gliscor. The sensation was absolutely amazing, the wind in his face, his goggles allowing him to see, his short hair standing on end, flying forward while he descended spread eagled. He tried to shout to Gliscor, but the wind snatched his words away, and he decided not to waste his breath anymore. Gliscor circled around him, flying in loops and doing tricks, riding the breeze and its undercurrent effortlessly in the air.
Ethan could see the beach getting closer and he careened to his left as they approached it rapidly, guiding himself over the water so that if he crashed, the padding in the suit would save him from the worst of it. It wouldn't really make much of a difference for a sand landing. Ethan pressed on, Gliscor above him now as it flew about on its own, testing his body. Ethan had reached whatever his terminal velocity was with the gliding suit a while ago, and now he angled himself so that the breeze was actually impeding his progress and slowing him down so that he could make a safe landing. He approached the water's edge near the lit-up office where two other men were unclipping a glider from a couple's waists and stowing it away.
The ground was ten feet away and Ethan shifted to the position he had been told to, legs forwards so that he could hit the ground running and absorb the impact without too much trouble. One foot hit the ground and he used it to propel himself forward into a full-on sprint, having disengaged the thrusters in the air. He tripped over a small rock in the sand and fell face first onto the ground, but it was nothing compared to what might have happened if he had tried to land without taking it running.
Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Ethan stood up and unzipped the pieces of the suit one by one, taking it off to reveal the red t shirt and grey shorts he had been wearing earlier. He picked it up and walked over to the hut, catching Gliscor in the sky out of the corner of his eye. The man standing in the cashier's counter of the building wordlessly accepted the suit, tossing it to his companion, who walked out to begin the long trek up to Escalade.
Ethan looked around the sky once more, but Gliscor was nowhere to be found. He gave the sky another once over before he turned around, and lo and behold, Gliscor was sitting behind him, grinning ear to ear.
"You're brilliant in the sky buddy!" Ethan gave the ground type a pat on the back and stepped forward. "Come on, let's get back so we can rest, and then get up tomorrow to battle Chuck."
Gliscor nodded in agreement, and Ethan started to walk off. He noticed however, that Gliscor was still behind him. All of a sudden, Gliscor's arms went below his and picked him up, pulling him onto its back midair. Ethan was disoriented for a moment, then he found himself on Gliscor's back, soaring low over the roof tops all the way to the Pokemon center, where his Pokemon deposited him by the door, and sat down to be recalled.
"That was amazing! We can fly together now!" Ethan smiled, recalling Gliscor, before he walked in, ready to settle in for the night.
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Ethan woke up with a start, sitting straight up. His dreams had been fast paced and rushed, made up of fragments of previous dreams, of the massive white avian and its words. He stared at the clock on the wall opposite him, noting that it was six in the morning. He glanced over at the bed next to him. Blake was asleep, her blonde hair strewn over the pillow so he couldn't see her face.
He stared at her for a minute before he got his clothes and went off to the showers, getting ready for his day. His train of thought took off as he showered, things like who to use against Chuck, and whether the gym leader would be willing to help him out with Riolu coming to the front of his mind. The little cub needed a guide who understood the exact methodology of a fighting type, and could help it. So far, he was thinking that he needed to use Gliscor, Riolu and Specter. He was unsure whether the battle would take more Pokemon than that, but if it did, he'd rather give the battle to Feraligatr, because it was well known that one of Chuck's favorite Pokemon to use was his Poliwrath, and Scyther wasn't suited to battling fighting types.
Ethan walked out to the cafeteria once he was done, eating a quick breakfast and making his way out to the beach again. There were one or two things he wanted to work on before he took on Chuck. It was the morning of the fourteenth of September, and he was thinking that he should leave on the morning of the sixteenth, which gave him two more days to roam about or train in Cianwood.
He reached an isolated patch of the beach, but then again, most of it was empty at this time of the day. He released his Pokemon one by one, Gliscor last of all so that they all took in the evolved Pokémon's new form before they started training.
"Okay guys, same drills as yesterday, except you Gliscor. I want to try one thing before we get going. Everybody else start, Gliscor, launch some mud shots on a rock." Ethan instructed, watching as his Pokemon dispersed and Gliscor flew over. It readied itself and shot three fast shots, each the size of a melon, and each making a deep crater and a web of cracks in the rock.
"Okay we've got that down. Let's move on to something else. Drill run. Simple concept, head on charge at your opponent, spinning like a drill for a piercing hit, and velocity. It should whip up wind around you, so try for that and try for a weak rock first.
Gliscor nodded and let out a low noise before it stepped back and charged. Its body contorted in the air as it began rotating, the cord like red sections of its body helping it with that. Gliscor charged forward, picking up speed until it was too fast for Ethan to try keeping track off. Instead of wasting his time with that, Ethan watched the rock Gliscor was flying at. A minute later, Gliscor cracked through it with a white drill like whirlwind spinning around it. It let the wind die down and approached Ethan, panting.
"Okay... so, we need to work on stamina, and strength. Keep this up. I'm going to go over to Feraligatr now."
Ethan walked over to the water type, sitting down on a rock behind it and watching it relentlessly pound the rock next to it down with its tail repeatedly, once more, conjuring blue sparks, a few more than the day before. Progress was slow. After all, a fully-fledged dragon tail attack went to a full glow, and then later, there would be no bright glow, but a dim outline once the Pokemon had it down. At least that was what he had found. Watching Feraligatr brought all the thoughts about having to give Feraligatr back to professor Elm surging to the front of his mind. A cascade of emotions rippled through him, anger for a brief moment, then desolation. After the sinking feeling which accompanied desolation came a wave of determination to make use of the week as well as he could.
"Hey Feraligatr. You're making some progress." Ethan remarked, standing up. Feraligatr uttered a low guttural growl in response, resolutely continuing on with its training. "Come on. It's not like progress was going to be any faster in the first place. You're not a dragon type, and your species was never even remotely draconic."
Feraligatr stopped for a moment and shrugged, going back to its task. Ethan sighed. It was going to be a long morning. He went over to Typhlosion, who was attacking rocks with its right arm, a faint rusty glow shimmering around it.
"Nice, but it'll still take some work. Hopefully we'll have it down by either afternoon, or evening, so that we can start on another move that'll be a great help with Jasmine's lineup." Ethan commented, walking over to Riolu next.
The cub was firing off Focus blast after focus blast. While Riolu had increased its speed in attacking to a good point, there was still that little time while it was readying the attack when it was rendered immobile and open to attack. While unlike focus punch taking a hit wouldn't cause the effort of the attack to go to waste, it was still a chink in the armor. Ethan walked over to Gliscor next, letting Riolu continue with its training and took a look once more at what it was doing. Gliscor seemed to be getting the hang of the movement, and picking up velocity with its body was no problem, it was just the sheer amount of energy needed for the attack, and being able to change direction once the attack was in motion, that was bothering it.
Ethan watched it for a while, smiling at how it did its bit with dedication and resolution, determined to persevere. Looking at it, Ethan was glad he could have helped it evolve, when it had been unable to do so on its own for so long. He cast an eye over his entire team, as was present, from Typhlosion to Riolu to Feraligatr and back to Gliscor. Each of them had been the best they could be, and he was proud of them, and overjoyed that he had them, as well as Scyther and Specter. Scyther was comparatively quiet, and Specter a loose cannon when not in battle, but they, and all the others, were his little family.
|\/|~^-_-_-^-_-_-^~|\/|
Later in the afternoon…
Ethan stepped forward, gritting his teeth as he stared at the frosted glass doors, with two window panes by them, the same height as the door. Beyond them, the entire building seemed to be wooden. Ethan pushed one of the doors open and stepped inside, entering what seemed to be a full training dojo with a battlefield in the center. The back of the room was made up of rising, terrace like stone platforms, not very wide, but stretching the entire length of the room. A cascade of water poured down from a pipe attached to machinery hanging from the roof, the water pouring down over a man and flowing down the terraces in streams, with little wooden bridges built over them.
Gym trainers went about their work on the terracing, no one standing on the highest level same for the man under the cascade. A long stream of water collected from all the streams of the terraces and ran the length of the room, along the bottom terrace, with two bridges across it, one on the left and one on the right. The edges of the bridges touched the white lines of a battlefield on an open dirt floor. To one side of the room, beyond the battlefield, was an entire gym for physical conditioning, and to the other, a training field. The point of interest for Ethan in the room however was the man under the cascade. He could see him through the clear water. His chest was bare, and while he was stocky, he made up for it with his muscle. His chest had the defined cuts of each muscle, and his arms were massive. His legs were covered in red pants that were torn at the bottom, and his face had a bristly beard growing on it that went down from his side burns, and turned into a moustache, with a bit cut out under his nose. His hair was short, spiky and the same color. His hands were raised holding up a metal rod with multiple massive weights fixed onto each end.
Ethan walked up to the receptionist and tapped the wooden desk to get the woman's attention. She was a plump woman wearing a flowered dress and an apron, with curly hair.
"Oh dearie, are you here to challenge my husband?" She asked, looking up at him from the balance book she had been working in.
"That would be correct." Ethan replied, assuming she meant Chuck as he handed over his ID for registration.
"I'd call him, but he wouldn't hear any of us under that water fall. Climb up the platforms to the winches on either side and shut it down to get him to listen to you." The woman sighed, looking at Chuck with a forlorn look. "That man never stops unless it's to eat!"
Ethan walked out across the battlefield, to the bridges, walking down the one on the right to the stone platforms. A man in karate robes was stretching on the stone, and gave him a passing nod. Returning it, Ethan resumed his task. Seeing no simple way up the rock without disturbing multiple people, Ethan put his hands on the next level of the platform, about four feet up, and pulled himself up onto it, using the craggy rock wall below as a foothold. He thanked Arceus that the stone wasn't wet where he was climbing and continued on that way until he reached the winch.
Attached to the wall, and a series of gears and pulleys behind it was a massive cog. Ethan looked at the winch behind it and placed his hands on the cog, leaning on it and pushing it to the right. It took him two minutes, but he managed to get the cog to spin maybe six feet to the right, and with a loud thud, the water flow lessened, and some water began to flow from the back of the gym, beneath Chuck's legs and into the streams.
Seeing the effect, Ethan slowly clambered down the four levels until he was back at the bridge, having no way to get to the other side other than to go back down. Ethan walked all the way down to the bridge, and made his way up the levels once more, and sure enough, there was another massive cog there. A look at the winch told him all he needed to know. He pushed it to the left, heaving until it switched and another loud thud sounded. Ethan looked up to see a massive wooden platform with edges, about five feet wide, ending just above Chuck, from where water slowly stopped flowing, leaving only a trickle. There were two other similar channels for water, leading down from the main one, just before the water fell, to the back of the gym. Ethan guessed that he had just diverted water into both of them.
Seeing his chance before Chuck marched off to the winches, he clambered up the side of the final platform to the massive gym leader and shook his hand. Up close, Ethan got a taste of just how big he was. The man was easily six foot four, and his musculature did nothing to diminish his large image.
"You turned off the cascade?" Chuck roared, laughing. "Well at least you're not one of those wimpy shrimps who get their Pokemon to do their work for them. You're no weightlifter, but you're not a slacker either."
"Thank you, sir, but I'm not here to join as a disciple. My name is Ethan Photon and I'd like to challenge you to a battle to try and earn the storm badge." Ethan replied confidently.
"Damn right you will!" Chuck's mouth grew into an ear to ear grin and he clapped Ethan on the back with a massive hand, shaking him slightly.
"Sorry, but isn't that what everyone does?" Ethan asked, thoroughly confused.
"Everyone just says they want to come and get the storm badge! You don't necessarily deserve it if you defeated me! You on the other hand said you wanted to earn it! That's what I like. Come on down to the battlefield!" Chuck said appreciatively, his booming voice ringing across the room.
Ethan followed him down to the battlefield, taking up a position on one side of the white rectangle.
"Three on three! Single battle!" Chuck called out, reading the paper his wife handed him. "Four gym badges…. Okay! When you knock out a Pokemon you're allowed to switch out, not otherwise! Challenger releases first!"
Ethan picked a pokeball instead of nodding, and pointed it forward, releasing Riolu onto the field. The blue cub saw where it was and immediately assumed a fighting stance. A gym trainer ran up to Chuck with a tray of pokeballs, five of them, and set them down on a small table next to him. Looking over them, He picked one of them and released a small brown humanoid Pokemon onto the field with rounded hands and feet, and blue body sections, not to mention a conical hat like formation on its head above its beady black eyes.
"Hitmontop! Triple Kick!" Chuck called out, revealing to Ethan what the Pokemon was. He had heard of Hitmontop before, but never seen one before. They were supposedly very hard to evolve.
"Riolu!" Ethan shouted as Hitmontop approached, spinning upside down on the point of its head. "Counter with reversal!"
Riolus sidestepped the first kick and grabbed Hitmontop's leg. With a dim glow surrounding its body, Riolu spun Hitmontop around and tossed it across the room.
"Low Kick, followed by Force Palm!" Ethan ordered, watching as Riolu's speed let it reach Hitmontop just as it came to a halt. The blue cub kicked it in the side, up a foot and forward ten as Chuck began shouting out rapid fire orders, taking a different stance.
Riolu approached for a Force Palm and was met with a knee kick by Hitmontop. The fighting type had used its own momentum and height to execute Jump kick, and flying back to the ground, took its stance on its feet again, ready to kick into action.
"Riolu, Aura Sphere followed by Focus blast!" Ethan called out, letting Riolu attack, quickly, firing off two aura spheres, which served the purpose of chasing Hitmontop into position to be hit with a glowing orange sphere the size of a basketball.
"Hitmontop! Rolling Kick sequence!" Chuck shouted, sending Hitmontop close to Riolu to attack it with spinning kicks, its specialty. Not seeing it coming, Riolu took the first hit.
"Counter with close combat!" Ethan retorted, giving Riolu a measure of defense as its limbs kicked into overdrive, matching every kick Hitmontop threw at it and even the guarded punches it launched at Riolu's legs. The fighting type finally saw its opening when it held Hitmontop's leg for more than a second and caused it to topple.
Still in Close Combat, it hit Hitmontop maybe six times before the beady eyed Pokemon, slamming a drain punch into it to finish it. Wisps of energy, not many but some, trailed up Riolu's arm and it jumped back, leaving Hitmontop to rise out of the dust.
"Hitmontop! Triple Kick then Storm Throw!" Chuck called out, letting the little fighting type take the lead as it attacked Riolu repeatedly with its kicks. It grabbed a hold of Riolu's leg with its empty hands and spun it around a few times before it tossed the other fighting type into the field, sending up dust everywhere.
"Riolu! Brick Break!" Ethan shouted, letting Riolu get up first before it charged. Hitmontop moved and made to lash out at Riolu with its leg but Riolu ducked, swerved and hit it in the side, sending it flying. Hitmontop slid down from the stone wall to a stop, collapsed.
"Good work Hitmontop! Take a rest." Chuck recalled his fallen fighter with a smile and released another Pokemon onto the field, a round Pokemon with shaggy white fur, a brown nose, brown limbs that weren't particularly long but were fine for fighting and broken shackles around the ankles and wrists. A Primeape.
"Primeape! Vital Throw!" Chuck called out. Ethan swore under his breath as Primeape charged recklessly, covering the distance in a second. It grabbed Riolu and threw it across the room with such force that Riolu hit the wooden paneling of the walls, cracking it, and collapsed.
Ethan recalled Riolu quickly, frowning. Primeape was obviously stronger than Hitmontop. He debated for a second which pokeball to pick and then took Specter's ultra-ball off his belt, releasing it into the arena. The deep purple ghost took a moment to form, its teeth shining white as its mouth stretched into its usual malevolent grin. Specter looked around the arena and zoned in on Primeape, taking scope of its opponent and cackling.
"Well now…" Chuck frowned for a moment. "Primeape! Thunder Punch!"
"Specter, use Ominous Wind followed by Shadow Punch!" Ethan called out, giving the Gengar its instructions.
The fighting type charged recklessly, as was its nature, leaping into the air. Seizing the moment, Specter unleashed a purple wave of wind, followed by multiple streams of purple, blowing Primeape back as it screeched in pain. The ghost ducked quickly and cackling, slammed a pitch-black fist into Primeape, followed by another.
"Now retreat and use shadow ball, then Hypnosis!" Ethan ordered.
The Gengar floated back, charging up a shadow ball in the blink of an eye and fired it off at Primeape. The fighter was somehow on its feet and met the shadow ball with a crackling fist, sending smoke everywhere as a loud bang sounded, the shadow ball having exploded.
Primeape leaped into the air, fist glowing a deep purple this time, and Specter hurriedly pointed its arms at it and frowned, eyes glowing. Unaffected, Primeape sailed through the air and slammed its fist into Specter's side, causing a bit of its body to evaporate and then reform as the ghost screeched in pain.
"Bad move. Primeape's ability doesn't let it fall victim to moves like hypnosis which try and induce sleep. And now… once more!" Chuck laughed as Primeape rebounded off of a wall and hit Specter again, and then once more after it passed through Specter's body.
Specter sank to a lower level, writhing in pain for a few seconds as Primeape stopped to regain its breath.
"Specter, use shadow ball, get close and use night shade and shadow punch!" Ethan instructed.
With a new determination, the ghost type fired off a volley of shadow balls, chasing down Primeape. Maybe four of ten hit their target, the other forcing it into the line of fire. Immediately, while Primeape was still dazed, Specter sped towards it and enveloped them in a pitch-black sphere, eliciting shrieks from Primeape and then let the darkness fade, punching Primeape once again.
Apparently on Chuck's earlier orders, Primeape slammed a flaming fist into Specter before it got away, followed by a blackish glowing one. Specter managed to get away, trembling badly. It hadn't had to reform, but soon it wouldn't have the strength to do so. The Gengar floated high in the room, grinning as it saw Primeape panting.
Ethan frowned, wondering how Primeape had worn out so quickly, and then a pulsing vein in its arm gave him the answer. Ethan's frown turned into a smile as he waited to give Specter another instruction or two. The two Pokemon lingered in their positions, Specter refraining from attacking, and Primeape being unable to reach the roof with any effective attack.
"Specter! Ominous wind followed by night shade!" he called out, watching as Specter summoned another purple flecked wind to injure and hinder Primeape before rushing in and enveloping them in darkness. Ethan heard cries from Specter too as the darkness receded and left Primeape standing there. Specter was slowly dissociating, having passed out.
"Good work buddy!" Ethan recalled Specter and clipped the ultra-ball to his belt, picking the last one off of it and holding it steady. "Are you going to change Pokemon?"
"Nope." Chuck responded, crossing his arms as he waited. Ethan shrugged and released the newest addition to his team onto the field: Gliscor.
"Fly high." Ethan called out, letting Gliscor take to the air and circle just below the roof. Two minutes passed with Primeape now standing on one knee, panting heavily.
"What are you playing at kid?" Chuck demanded, staring at Gliscor.
"You might want to take a look at your own Pokemon." Ethan gestured at Primeape, which promptly collapsed, falling face first onto the dirt. "I didn't know what had happened at first, but I figured it out a little while ago. By breathing inside my Gengar, Primeape inhaled a dose of all the toxins and gases that make up a Gengar's corporeal form, and poisoned itself. That and Specter dealt it a fair bit of damage."
Ethan stared with a lopsided grin as Chuck recalled his Primeape, gritting his teeth and roaring.
"You've got a sharp eye kid." He Chuckled, releasing one last Pokemon onto the field. A humanoid brown Pokemon about half a foot shorter than Ethan with no distinct neck or head, but eyes on the upper part of its body, and white coils for limbs with brown hands and feet at the ends formed on the battlefield.
"Hitmonlee! Let's waste no time! High jump kick!" Chuck shouted. Hitmonlee, as it was, bent down and then used its coiled leg to propel itself up into the air and towards Gliscor, extending its other leg in a long-range kick.
"Arceus! Gliscor doge it and weave between to attack with aerial ace!" Ethan called out, just in the nick of time. Gliscor ducked beneath Hitmonlee's leg and spun upwards, slashing its left leg immediately with an aerial ace, which it carried on all the way until it reached Hitmonlee, and then hit it again with the same attack.
"Now! Mud shot, Thunder Fang and Poison Jab!" Ethan shouted out as Hitmonlee plummeted to the gym floor, catching itself on its springy arms and flipping over onto its legs. Ethan did however notice how it winced as it put weight on its left leg.
Gliscor followed his orders to the word, eager to perform well, and fired off two mud shots, the first of which Hitmonlee avoided and the second of which it redirected at a wall. Gliscor dove towards Hitmonlee, and while it failed to make contact with the Thunder fang, it certainly managed to slam its glowing purple spiked tail into Hitmonlee and hold it there for more than three seconds before it let go and escaped.
"Mud shot!"
"Detect and double kick!" Chuck retaliated. Hitmonlee's eyes glinted for a moment and it poised itself, catching and redirecting the mud shot with ease before it jumped at Gliscor. Gliscor managed to avoid its first kick but the second caught Gliscor in its upper purple chest section and sent it into the roof.
"Gliscor! Get down and use mud shot followed by drill run!" Ethan shouted, giving Gliscor a chance to recover its balance as it fired off the volley of mud shots.
Hitmonlee took a second to avoid or redirect all of them, and in that second, Gliscor charged, spinning about as it went into Drill Run. Hitmonlee saw it at the last second and veered to the right, but Gliscor still managed to hit it hard on one side, sending it into the ground next to it.
Hitmonlee got to its feet, knees slightly wobbly and glared at Gliscor, jumping up and attempting multiple times to kick it, before it lashed out with one freezing cold punch which hit Gliscor hard and dealt it a good bit of damage.
"Gliscor, we can't let this drag on too long! Mud shot, this time to actually hit it!" Ethan called out once Gliscor was up in the air and steady again.
With a low noise of agreement, Gliscor fired off mud shot after mud shot, firing all in all twelve, of which the last four actually hit Hitmonlee. "Drill Run followed by Aerial Ace!"
Gliscor dove once more, rapidly accelerating and clipped Hitmonlee in the side again, and then maneuvered around and hit it hard with aerial ace, to be met with another ice punch. Hitmonlee was weak and wobbling from the poison from poison jab, and Gliscor was worn down. While it was strong, its body wasn't built to take strong hits.
"Gliscor! Finish this with Poison Jab and X-Scissor!" Ethan shouted, letting Gliscor jab its tail into Hitmonlee again, and then cut it across the chest with two glowing green pincers. Hitmonlee staggered to its knees, and for good measure, Gliscor slammed a purplish glowing fist into it, hitting it with sucker punch and taking it out for the count. Gliscor wasn't much better off either to be honest, but it had still prevailed.
"Great work buddy!" Ethan shouted, running over to Gliscor once Chuck had recalled his fallen Pokemon. "You were awesome! Let's get you into your pokeball for some rest now."
Chuck walked over once Ethan recalled Gliscor and grasped his hand, nearly crushing it as he shook it. Ethan winced when he let go and tried to hide it, standing straight.
"Well done kid. You know what, you've earned the Storm Badge. That's a pretty well trained Gliscor you've got there, not to mention your Riolu. Come with me, I'll get you the badge."
"Sir, I wanted to ask if you could help me train my Riolu for two days today and tomorrow. It would be good if Riolu trained alongside a real fighter if even for a little bit." Ethan asked as they trudged up the path the trainers had cleared on the platforms up to the top and to the back.
"Tell you what. You come and do your training here today and tomorrow while I work with your Riolu. I'd enjoy that." Chuck laughed as he used a hand crank to imprint the badge into Ethan's metal ID with his strength, and then handed him a physical one. "I'll see you later then."
"Yes sir!" Ethan replied, grinning lopsidedly as he walked out of the gym and to the Pokemon center. He walked into the red roofed establishment and to the nurses' counter, where Blake was sitting on a chair reading a magazine.
"Hi Blake, could you patch these guys up?" Ethan asked happily, his troubles out of mind momentarily as he handed over the three Pokemon he had used. "And by the way, I'm going to leave on the morning of the sixteenth if you want to tag along. I'll go tell the crew in a little bit."
"That sounds fine. I'll see you later." Blake replied, registering his Pokemon.
Nodding, Ethan headed back to the room where he took the badge out and looked at it. It was a plain bronze circle with a small circle half embedded in the left side, and outlined, alongside lines cut into it to make it look like a rounded fist: The Storm Badge.
'Five down, three to go.' Ethan mused to himself, staring at the alluring surface of the badge.