The Final Battle
Disclaimer:
Nintendo owns Pokemon. I do not.
Chapter
2-The End of the Journey
I
blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden brightness of the cave. Ampharos need not
light this cave up with Flash-the walls themselves seemed to give off light.
The
light was so bright, I could barely see. I could, however, make out a long
bridge. I could not see the end, for it was enveloped in white light.
Looks
like a gateway to Heaven, I thought. Tenderly, I stepped out onto the bridge, my eyes noticing a
deep, black pit below my feet. I shivered to think what was down there.
The
bridge seemed to be a mile long. But at last, it came to an end.
There
was a large platform at the end, with a small, foot-high plateau. The walls
seemed to give off the brightest light here.
And
then, I saw him.
He
was silhouetted against the light. To my eyes, he appeared to be black, but
then color began to seep in. I saw a backpack, jeans, sneakers, and a Pokemon
League hat.
Next
to him was another silhouette, this one small, about a foot high, with pointy
ears.
His
Pikachu, I
thought.
Pikachu's
eyes perked up. He slowly turned around and he noticed me. "Pika pi!" he said,
alerting the Master.
He
raised his head slowly, and turned around to look at me.
I
gulped. "Red," I said. My voice echoed around the large cavern.
I
waited a bit, waited for him to speak. But then I remembered-he was mute, and
could not say a word.
So I
cleared my throat. "I am Hiro," I said. "And I have come to challenge you for
the title of Pokemon Master."
"Pika
pi?" said his Pikachu. I could understand him-he said, "Your badges?"
"Right
here," I said, withdrawing all sixteen of them and showing them to Red and
Pikachu.
Red
smiled and nodded his approval.
"Do
you accept my challenge?" I asked.
For
about five seconds, he waited. And finally, he nodded.
My
heart started beating like a machine gun. This was it. This was the final
battle. It would end in glorious victory or utter defeat. As I pulled a Poke
Ball off my belt, I realized that losing was not an option-for me or for him.
"Pika!"
Pikachu said and ran forward-but was halted when Red raised his hand.
"What?"
He wasn't using Pikachu? Then, I realized. Of course, I thought. He's
saving the best for last.
Red
stepped back a bit to allow room to battle. Reaching down, he pulled a Poke
Ball off his belt, then with a light toss, it flew through the air. It struck
the ground, rolled forward a bit, then opened with a bright flash.
"Espeon!"
The Pokemon cried as it was released.
I
winced. Crap. He was using his Psychic-type first. All right, then…I replaced
the Poke Ball on my belt, the one that held Typhlosion. I pulled off another.
"Go,
Houndoom!" I yelled as I threw the Poke Ball with a snap of my arm.
"Houndoom!"
he howled as he was released.
I
saw Red smile a bit. He realized that Psychic attacks would be useless against
a Dark-type like Houndoom. So, he nodded to Espeon.
As if
on a silent command, Espeon raised his head, then lowered it and cried,
"Espeon!" A wall was set up.
Damn.
Espeon had used Barrier.
"Pursuit!"
I yelled to Houndoom.
Houndoom
howled, and in the blink of an eye, he had struck Espeon with his body.
Espeon
fell back. His ears twitched at a silent command-though I had not seen Red's
body move in any way-and he charged at Houndoom. He jumped into the air and
slammed into the Dark/Fire-type.
It
was Body Slam. Great. Houndoom was panting now.
"Don't
give up!" I yelled. "Flamethrower!"
Houndoom
staggered, then released a torrent of flames from his mouth. They washed over
Espeon-and the Psychic-type fell onto the ground.
I
felt a surge of pride at having defeated one of the Master's Pokemon. But I
calmed myself down. One will not be enough, I thought.
Taking
a Poke Ball in each hand, Red called back Espeon, then with a flick of his
wrist, threw the other. With a flash, a Blastoise appeared.
I
gritted my teeth. Blastoise would be super effective against Houndoom, but I
still wanted to make this a battle to remember.
"Charge
up!" I yelled to Houndoom.
He
nodded, and closed his eyes, concentrating.
On
another silent command from Red, Blastoise opened its shell to reveal its two water
cannons. Out of them came a blast of water.
"Houndoom!
Move!" I yelled.
Still
charging up, Houndoom leaped out of the way as the Hydro Pump passed him. It
splattered against the far wall and trickled down to the platform we were
standing on.
"Release
it, now! Solarbeam!" I yelled.
Houndoom
opened his mouth, howled, and sent a green energy beam at Blastoise.
It
struck Blastoise head on. Blastoise, however, did not faint. He opened his
shell again and fired another Hydro Pump.
Exhausted
from firing the Solarbeam, Houndoom couldn't avoid it, and it slammed into him
head on.
"Houndoom!"
I yelled. The attack had taken its toll, and Houndoom lay on the ground,
unconscious.
Gritting
my teeth, I called him back. I enlarged another Poke Ball to release mode.
"Ampharos,
I choose you!" I yelled and tossed it into the arena.
"Ampharos!"
he cried as he jumped out. His Poke Ball boomeranged back into my hand.
Red,
again, smiled that half-smile. Blastoise also grinned, then let out a roar.
Suddenly,
inexplicably, it started raining.
I
smiled. Blastoise had used Rain Dance. Normally, it would power up Water-type
moves. It still would in this case, but Red, hopefully, didn't know what a mess
his Blastoise had gotten into.
"Thunder!"
I called out.
Normally,
Thunder was inaccurate, and missed 30% of the time. However, while it was
raining, it would never miss.
Ampharos
let out a cry, raised his arms, then dropped them. Three lightning bolts moved
from the ceiling to Blastoise.
Blastoise
couldn't take the electrical charge, and fell over onto his back.
I
pumped my arm in victory. It was two-one in my favor, and hopefully I would be
able to rise it to six-one.
Smiling,
Red called back Blastoise. He nodded his approval, realizing the mistake his
Blastoise had made. He pulled off another Poke Ball from his belt, and tossed
it into the air.
Flash! After the light died down,
I could see that he had released his Venusaur.
I
frowned. Venusaur, like all Grass-types, was strong against Electric attacks.
Ampharos wouldn't be any good in this one.
"Ampharos,
you did good! Return!" I thrust his Poke Ball forward and called back Ampharos.
I
pulled out another Poke Ball. I realized that the best way to defeat Red was to
use types his Pokemon were weak against. It was a basic strategy, but it was
the only one that worked. I threw the Poke Ball.
Flash! "Pidgeot!" he cried, and my
transportation, Pidgeot, burst out.
I
grabbed the Poke Ball as it flew back into my hand.
Venusaur
moved first. He shook his flower, and dozens of little yellow particles came
out.
"Pidgeot,
move!" I cried. "That's Stun Spore!"
Using
an Agility, Pidgeot zipped behind Venusaur as it threw the Stun Spores where
Pidgeot was a second ago.
"Wing
Attack!" I yelled.
Pidgeot
used Agility again, zipped in front of Venusaur, and struck him with his wing.
Venusaur
raised his claw and swiped at Pidgeot, hitting it hard. It was a Cut attack,
and I could see that that attack alone had dealt a lot of damage to Pidgeot.
I
cursed. "Pidgeot, Fly into the air!" I yelled. Pidgeot flapped his wings
repeatedly and flew up to the top of the cavern.
I
noticed that Venusaur had started charging up.
"Pidgeot!
Strike! He's gonna use Solarbeam!"
Pidgeot
flew down at his fastest speed, Mach 2. He rammed into Venusaur with all his
might.
Venusaur
looked dazed. But before he collapsed, he managed to fire the Solarbeam.
It
struck Pidgeot hard. I winced as Pidgeot fell to the ground unconscious.
However,
Red's Venusaur had also been knocked unconscious.
We
both called back our Pokemon. It was now three-two, still my favor. My heart
was still beating like hell. We were halfway through the final fight!
Red
smiled as he threw his Poke Ball. With a flash, a large, orange, dragon
appeared.
The
Pokemon roared, "Charizard!" before glaring at me.
I
smiled. I grabbed a Poke Ball and tossed it into the air.
With
a flash, my Lapras appeared.
Red
smiled, as if he could predict the future. And I wouldn't be surprised if he
predicted that he would win.
Charizard
waited a bit, then suddenly jumped up into the air. He flapped his wings
repeatedly, heading to the ceiling.
He
was using Fly, just like my Pidgeot had. I smiled. Fortunately, I had taught my
Lapras a surprise attack-well, sort of.
"Thunderbolt!"
I said.
Lapras
closed her eyes, then opened them and glared at Charizard. A bolt of lightning
shot from her body and flew for Charizard.
Charizard
tried to move, but the attack struck him in the wing, and he roared in pain.
Red
jerked his head towards Lapras. Charizard beat his wings a few times, then
dived downward.
Lapras
quickly got out of the way, and Charizard halted before he smacked into the
ground.
"Hydro
Pump!" I yelled.
Lapras
drew her head back, then cried, "Lapras!" and fired a huge blast of water from
her mouth.
It
struck Charizard in the head, pushing him back until he slammed into the wall
behind Red. Lapras closed her mouth, satisfied.
Charizard
sank down to Red's plateau. He did not take his eyes off the battlefield, but
instead called back Charizard without looking.
I
took a deep breath. It was four-two now, and hopefully it would be over soon.
This
time, he drew his Poke Ball from his backpack. He tossed it over into the
arena, and it opened to reveal-
"Snorlax!"
Crap.
I had studied a lot back home, and I knew Snorlax's defenses were through the
roof. So was his attack power. He could take down Lapras with one hit.
"Lapras,
return!" I called, withdrawing Lapras into her Poke Ball. I took off another
Poke Ball. I grinned and threw it. "I choose you, Machamp!"
With
a cry, the four-armed Machamp landed on the battlefield. I grinned to myself as
I remembered that Machamp was wearing a Black Belt-something that increased the
power of Fighting-type attacks.
Red
did his half-smile again. I swear, that was really starting to creep me out.
Again,
on a silent command, Snorlax (amazingly) stood up, then jumped and aimed for
Machamp with a Body Slam.
"Get
out of the way!" I yelled to Machamp.
He
had no need to, though. Machamp reached up with his four arms and punched
Snorlax in the belly as he fell towards Machamp. Snorlax fell back, smacking
into the ground next to Machamp.
"Cross
Chop!" I yelled.
Machamp
raised his upper arms, and lowered his lower arms. Suddenly, he charged
forward, chopping in an "X" motion.
The
attack hit Snorlax head on, seriously damaging him.
Red
smiled, however, and snapped his fingers.
Snorlax
let out a cry-and then went to sleep.
I
frowned. That Cross Chop had just been wasted-Snorlax had recovered to his max
with Rest.
Fortunately,
he couldn't wake up.
"Machamp,
another Cross Chop!"
Machamp
sliced rapidly in the "X" motion again. It didn't wake up Snorlax, but it did
damage him.
"Now
Submission!"
Machamp
jumped back, let out a war cry, and charged at Snorlax. He slammed into the
behemoth with all his might.
Snorlax
woke up, then wavered, then finally collapsed.
"Yes!"
I said. It was five-two. One more left to go and I would be the Pokemon Master!
Smiling,
Red called back Snorlax. He then turned his head and nodded to the yellow
rodent behind him.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu cried and he jumped into the arena.
I
took a deep breath. "All right…Machamp, Earthquake!"
Machamp
raised his four arms, let out a cry, and slammed them on the ground. The ground
shook rapidly.
But,
amazingly, Pikachu wasn't fazed at all-probably because he had used an Agility
to zip high into the air.
Suddenly,
I heard a word, spoken by a new voice.
"Thunderbolt."
I
started. Red wasn't mute, after all! The mute problem was just a charade!
But
that wasn't my problem right now. My problem was that Pikachu had unleashed a
Thunderbolt so powerful it had knocked Machamp down in one hit.
I cursed
silently and called him back. It was amazing-Pikachu really was Red's best
Pokemon.
I
threw a new Poke Ball. "Go Ampharos!"
Once
again, Ampharos burst out of his Poke Ball, rejoining the fight.
"Fire
Punch!" I yelled.
"Ampharos!"
he cried, and his fists were engulfed in fire. He jumped into the air and
punched Pikachu.
"Pika!"
he yelled. Pikachu landed on the ground, and so did Ampharos.
"Thunder,"
whispered Red.
"Pi…ka…CHUUU!!"
Pikachu cried and let loose an amazing thunderbolt aimed straight at Ampharos.
The bolt was gigantic! It was the length of my house!
It
struck Ampharos in the chest and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
I
cursed again and called him back. I realized that the score was now five-four,
and my Lapras wouldn't stand a chance against Pikachu. There was really only
one choice left.
"Typhlosion,
I choose you!" I yelled and threw the Poke Ball with all my might.
"Typhlosion!"
he roared as he burst out of his Poke Ball. I smiled to myself. Typhlosion was
my strongest Pokemon-I had trained him hard from the moment I had met him, back
when he was just a Cyndaquil. Now it was the best vs. the best. Only one would
win.
"Thunderbolt,"
whispered Red.
"Flamethrower,"
I said.
"Pi…ka…CHUU!!"
"Ty…phlo…SION!"
The
Thunderbolt and Flamethrower collided, and suddenly, there was a huge and loud KABOOM!!!
"Typhlosion!"
I yelled. I couldn't believe it-the collision of the Thunderbolt and
Flamethrower had set off a reaction that could blow up this cave!
Fortunately,
when the smoke cleared, I saw that Red and I were all right, just a little
black from the soot.
Typhlosion
and Pikachu had taken the brunt of the explosion. They were both still
standing, panting heavily.
I
brushed the soot off myself, then turned back to the battlefield and yelled,
"Typhlosion, another Flamethrower!"
"Pikachu,
Thunder," said Red.
Again,
the Thunder and the Flamethrower collided, but there was no big explosion this
time-unfortunately, though, the Thunder overtook the flames and shocked Typhlosion.
"Typhlosion!"
I cried. No! We had come so far…we were so close…victory was within reach…
Suddenly,
just as the last of my hopes evaporated, Typhlosion opened his eyes.
"TYPHLOSION!"
he screamed. The flame collar around his neck suddenly burst out, lighting up
the cave.
Finally,
he drew in a deep breath and fired a huge, star-shaped flame from his mouth.
I
stared. It was Fire Blast-and as far as I knew, he never learned that!
It
didn't matter, though. The Fire Blast struck Pikachu hard.
"PIKAAA!"
Pikachu cried.
I
glimpsed Red clenching his teeth.
Finally,
Typhlosion raised his arm, jumped up, and struck Pikachu with a Mega Punch.
"Chu…"
Typhlosion
landed on the ground, panting heavily. Pikachu also landed, panting as heavily,
if not heavier, than Typhlosion.
The
last few moments of the battle of battles seemed to last for a thousand years,
but it was really only five minutes. They were, however, the longest five
minutes of my life.
For
those five minutes, Typhlosion and Pikachu stared each other down, each
panting.
And
finally, Pikachu suddenly jerked, and fell to the ground.
I
couldn't say anything. Red stared at Pikachu.
Finally,
Red walked over, kneeled down, and picked Pikachu up.
"You
okay, buddy?" I heard him whisper.
"Pika…"
was his answer.
Red
smiled, then looked up at Typhlosion and me.
And
that's when it hit me-
We
had won.
Typhlosion
had defeated Pikachu.
I
was…the Pokemon Master.
Tears
started to flow down my face. "We…we won, Typhlosion."
Suddenly
I jumped up and grabbed Typhlosion around the neck, hugging him fiercely. He
returned the hug.
"We
won," I whispered. "We are Pokemon Masters."
Typhlosion
closed his eyes, smiled, and nodded.
"You
did a great job."
I
released Typhlosion and turned to Red.
"Your
Pokemon fought very well," he continued. "And you worked with them like a team.
I admire that in a trainer…excuse me. Pokemon Master."
Those
last two words sunk in. Pokemon Master. We, Typhlosion and I, had
finally reached that goal. I smiled.
Red
looked down at my Poke Balls. "There's a Pokemon Center at the base of this
mountain," he said. "I suggest you go there right now."
I
nodded.
And
as we, Typhlosion and I, left that room, four words rang in my head.
We
are Pokemon Masters.
The End
Author's Note: So, how'd you like it? And by the way, that
really was, more or less, what happened when I finally defeated Red-at least,
in the terms of what Pokemon I used. Although I didn't have a Houndoom-I had
Ho-oh. Please R&R!