Chapter 5
The pokeball exploded in an ivory light. Loud neighing and hoofs striking the hard-packed dirt soon followed. The pokemon's mane was a brilliant cascade of living flames. The fire horse pokemon studied its opponent with a calm air that came from experience.
"Damn!" This was followed by a string of obscenities better left unsaid. Facing seadra on the field was a rapidash, the fastest fire pokemon. Tom had counted on having a type advantage; and he did, but the problem is the speed. Theoretically, rapidash would be able to attack several times before seadra could even twitch. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but in a gym battle, it couldn't get much worse.
*Oh well, this is a situation that a Pokemon Tech student would never understand. In real life, speed is far more important than the turn-based simulators. In fact, speed is often a better method of evasion than double team or minimize.*
Tom sighed, according to the standard rules, he could withdraw seadra and send out another. But, if he switched his pokemon, all else being equal, the enemy would get at least two free hits in. Overall, any decent trainer can tell you that its not worth it, except in *really* extreme cases. And this was not one of them. Seadra certainly wouldn't win any races, but its speed would have to do.
"Alright! Give it all you've got! Agility!" *I have to get seadra's speed up. It may take a small while, but hopefully she won't get hit in the mean time.*
"Rapidash! Fire spin! Trap it, then do your stuff." This last order sent shivers down Tom's spine, but he ignored it.
Seadra raced away, just as the blistering heat burned the ground beneath to a crisp. Frowning at the missed attack, Lisa ordered, "Inferno! Get rid of that thing!" Tom grimaced. *An unknown attack. Gota watch out...* Aloud, he commanded, "Seadra! Surf attack! Shield yourself!"
Seadra blinked, then understood. Summoning what little moisture there was in the cavern, she formed a miniature tidal wave, surrounding herself, and *pushed* the mass of liquid towards her adversary. Rapidash, in the meantime, opened its mouth in a loud neigh, and stomped the ground. It stood still for a few seconds, seemingly gasping for breath.
At the other end of the field, the ground erupted explosively, right under seadra. A column of fire blasted out, and surrounded the water type. It soon ended, however, revealing a charred seadra... or so it seemed. Frowning, Tom leaned forward for a better look. Seadra seemed to look more... ancient somehow -- and wise. its fins were now appeared translucent, its colour appeared a darker marine blue. Tom squinted, trying to catch more details. Likewise, Lisa looked on, momentarily forgetting the circumstances.
A loud "King!" that came out as a deep rumble confirm Tom's suspicions. He now had a dragon type. The previous attack, no longer under the control of seadra, had collapsed, evaporating into a pale mist due to the lava. With a newfound strength and vigour, kingdra released a enormous amount of water, the blast hitting a still stunned rapidash deadon. Lisa blinked, and ordered one of the most devastating fire moves. "Fire spin!"
Tom grinned. He had expected that particular attack, and had devised a plan, or rather, a new move to counter it. *Hopefully, seadra... no kingdra remembers this.* "Hydro spin!" As the two spiralling elements collided, a giant cloud formed at the contact point, which shifted towards rapidash at a snails pace. It was obvious who would win, if nothing changed. Lisa could only look on helplessly; the water, if not held back by the flames would charge forward at a pace not even the fast stallion could avoid. The match was decided the moment the last attack was ordered.
The boiling mass reached rapidash, enveloping it in a dense, moist atmosphere. The tornado of water, much like its fire version, spun around the target at a furious speed. It eventually dissolved into a puddle, leaving behind a fainted, not to mention soggy rapidash. This powerful, sustained attack was not without disadvantages though. Kingdra was badly weakened; and if she went down, it would cost Tom one of his two pokemon that were strong against fire types.
At Lisa's end of the arena, the charizard looked at her questioningly. Lisa smiled, "Not yet, Charla. But your time will come. Go, Magcargo"
The slug-like fire type materialised in the centre of the field, radiating intense heat that even Tom could feel. *I hope that thing doesn't have any new attacks. Kingdra is just about finished.* As if reading Tom's thoughts, Lisa gave a command. "Nova! Finish it!"
Magcargo glowed a dull red, and abruptly released a heat wave in the shape of a expanding half-sphere. Tom could only look on helplessly, as the attack enveloped kingdra. Seconds later, the smoke cleared, revealing kingdra fainted, and magcargo panting.
Grimacing, Tom sent out rhydon in kingdra's place. The sturdy pokemon gazed coolly at his opponent, then started off the battle, not needing Tom's commands. With a rock-shattering roar, rhydon jumped up half a metre, and landed. Still in the centre, now surrounded by the charred ground, magcargo could do nothing to avoid the earthquake attack. Inevitably, it fainted from the super effective attack.
Tom only managed a tight grin, before Lisa calmly selected and sent out her next choice. The thrown ultraball exploded in a flash of fire. Whatever it was, it surrounded itself with a veil of flames, apparently not concerned about wasting energy before battle. *Or maybe, it cannot restrain its own power...* Tom shrugged off the thought, and concentrated on the battle. The charizard opposite was also observing the proceedings, seemingly studying Tom's methods.
Rhydon started off with a fissure, anxious to end the battle soon. The ground cracked open in a straight line, pointed right at the pokemon, whatever it was. The ball of fire darted off, evading the dangerous attack effortlessly. In a rage now that its attack missed, rhydon charged. The battlefield trembled, and even Tom was unnerved by the surprising power of the takedown attack. Once again, the pokemon dashed off, leaving rhydon to crash into the wall, unable to stop its momentum. Tom grimaced. *Rhydon is getting tired without doing anything to that... thing. If this continues, rhydon won't make it.*
As if on cue, the opponent used a fire blast attack, the flames shaped in the Chinese character big. Attempting to stop the flames, rhydon used its arms, straining to push the attack away. He succeeded, only to find *another* fire blast heading its way. This time, rhydon was pushed into the wall, and collapsed.
Tom sighed. *In addition to loosing rhydon without doing a tint of visible damage to that thing, I still have no idea what I'm going up against. No matter. its time to fight fire with fire.* Aloud, Tom shouted, "Go... Magmar!" The spitfire pokemon appeared, looking at the ball of fire in confusion. "Magmar! Just finish that thing! You can stand the heat!"
As the two fire types clashed, Tom caught a glimpse of the opponent. *Bushy tail, pointed ears... Thats it! A flareon! Now I get it. Not only does the fire coating not allow physical contact with many pokemon, it also covers the identity of the pokemon, even in battle. This prevent people from devising up plans to counter its attacks, since they don't even know what they are dealing with!* "Magmar! Hide in the lava! Attack the *FLAREON* when its unaware!"
Lisa's head snapped up at this shout. Tom was not only the second person to guess flareon's identity, now the tables were turned. The home ground advantage was gone. While most fire pokemon could stand extreme heat, few pokemon could actually stay in the lava for a sustained period of time. Magmar was one of those; flareon wasn't.
With a devilish grin, magmar leapt into the lava. Knowing that the heat coating was useless, flareon got rid of it, and for the first time, Tom laid his eyes on the fire eevee-lution. Some considered flareon the cutest eevee-lution, and Tom could see why. Had this not being a gym battle, Tom would have considered it dainty.
The battle meanwhile, continued, with magmar attacked from the lava streams, coming out from a different spot each time. Flareon was slowly, but surely getting worn down. Although the ranged fire attacks from magmar weren't very effective, they still caused damage. Finally, flareon took to evading the attacks, giving up on trying to track down the elusive magmar. "Magmar! Mud slap!" Tom commanded, with a wink. Lisa however, looked at the battlefield, searching. Her confusion was evident, and understandable. The entire arena was cleared of dirt, either from the impressive nova attack or from subsequent earthquakes and fissures. Magmar looked back at his trainer, saw the wink, and popped right back into the lava. Tom relaxed; magmar had gotten it.
Perplexed, flareon looked around the field nervously. All was still. Then, a swell appeared on the lava surface, and magmar jumped onto the bank. Raising both fists in front, magmar opened his palms symbolically. A tidal wave of lava rose up at magmar's silent command, engulfing flareon before it could even yelp in fear. The lava drained off a few moments later, revealing a fainted flareon.
Lisa glanced up, surprised. The battlefield was no place to try out new attacks for the first time, as Tom obviously had done. Yet, magmar had understood and pulled it off, and Lisa gave both of them credit for it. In a quiet, determined tone, she called charizard.
Without any show of strength, charizard gracefully lifted off, and landed opposite magmar. The two pokemon glared at each other, and the real battle began.
Charizard started off, grabbing magmar and giving it an aerial seismic toss, adding a literally earth-shattering earthquake for good measure. Magmar got back up with no hesitation whatsoever, seemingly unaffected.
***
The battle raged on, with magmar and charizard trading blow for blow, neither gaining an advantage. Both got weaker and weaker, their movements getting more and more sluggish. Suddenly, as if getting a power boost, charizard gave magmar another seismic toss-earthquake combo. This time however, magmar didn't get back up. Tom grinned. Charizard, although the victor, was tired and injured, certainly in no shape to face another, fresh opponent. *its all up to you now.* Tom sent out electabuzz.
"Charizard! Give it another combo!" With a sudden agility, charizard appeared behind the electric pokemon, gripping his shoulders, and took to the air. *Bad move, Lisa. You should have used earthquake straightaway.* Remaining calm, electabuzz let loose a thunderbolt -- full power. With a bellow, charizard fainted, still heading for the ground in a nosedive, but now not in control of its flight. Electabuzz landed on the ground, not affected in the least, for he had no weakness to fighting attacks, and the attack hadn't been completed. Charizard, however, was a different story. She crashed into the ground, limp. Tom almost felt sorry for it.
Lisa returned Charla, and beckoned to Tom. Confused that Lisa wasn't coming to him, Tom nevertheless ran over, carefully avoiding the lava. On the way, he returned electabuzz with a "Great job!".
"Well, Tom looks like you beat me. Here's the badge. I originally wanted to give you a pass to visit, and if you can, capture a charizard in the Charisific Valley, but since you already have an fire type, I guess you won't be needing it. Since I am obliged to give you something else, here is a small token."
Tom took the badge, shaped like a small flame. *This was easier than the last two gyms... Electabuzz, my last pokemon, isn't even tired.* He gazed at the other prize. An ultraball. "What's this?" "Well, I received it from my grandparents, but it isn't listening to any of my commands. Since you're better at training, maybe you would like to try?"
Tom took the ball, and threw it, wanting to find out what it was. A gengar emerged... At least, it *looked* like a gengar. Instead of the purplish shade of most gengars, this one was jet black. *No, not really black. I seem to see little pinpoints of twinkling lights scattered around its body. Plus, the skin of the pokemon seems to absorb light; it feels as if I am somehow looking into a void of some sort. Instead of the mischievous look most gengar possess, this one seems almost... evil.* On a hunch, Tom whipped out his pokedex.
Pokedex display:
Name: Unknown pokemon. (Please insert name)
Gender: NA
Type: Dark/Ghost
Resistance: Poison
Immunities: Fighting, Normal, Psychic
Weaknesses: None
Further Information: NA
Tom gasped. This *wasn't* a gengar. He looked questioningly at Lisa, who began elaborating. "My grandparents found it in a cave at night, I think. Also, since I haven't heard him say anything verbally, so I just call him shadow." Tom nodded, understanding. All pokemon, with a few exceptions, could only say their own name. If the pokemon didn't say anything, there was no restrictions or guidelines in naming it; if the pokemon did not or could not talk, the discoverer, in this case Lisa, was entitled to name it. "Well, shadow is just a nickname, so since you discovered it, you are allowed to give it, or its species a name." Lisa thought about it a while, then continued, "I think you should just call him shadow for now. I can't really come up with a name on the spot." "Well, you're the discoverer..." Tom shrugged, and entered the name. The "further information" would just have to wait.
"Thanks for everything, Lisa. Er... Do I have to ascend those stairs again? Or..."
"Oh sorry; silly of me. There is a exit here; it leads right into the pokecentre at the foot of the mountain. Please do not tell anyone about this. After all, finding this place *is* part of the challenge. Oh, yes. The next gym is the ground gym. That's all the information that I am allowed to give."
Tom grinned, and with a final wave, ascended the stairs.
***
The sun rose, revealing seven silhouettes laying on top a mountain. Tom forced himself to wake up, and released shadow. The ethereal pokemon appeared, gazing steadily at Tom. Tom sighed. He had been *trying* to train shadow for the past few weeks, to no avail. Shadow had not listened to any of his commands. Furthermore, being partially a dark type, neither he nor kadabra could *scan* shadow. Shadow seemed to concentrate, and then a huge psychic voice opened up, jolting all the pokemon out of their sleep.
{Greetings}
"Wha... *IS* THAT!"
{I am what you call, *shadow*.}
"I had no idea you were psychic... Why didn't you speak, before?"
{All ghost and psychic types are psychic. Being part dark, I have the advantage of being psychic without being affected by psychic attacks. As for your second question, I was watching you.}
"Watching *me*? Why?"
{I had to find out if you were... *worthy* of my... *services*.}
"Explain."
{There is only one of me; only one of my "species", as you call it. Perhaps you have heard of the legendary bird, Ho-oh? It is reincarnated every time it dies; so it is with me. Technically, I, or rather my species are always endangered, but never extinct. I have decided to follow you, and, if needed battle in those *games* you play for those so-called badges. I have several centuries more to live, for this lifetime. I shall serve you until that period is over, or until one of us is no more. There is, however one condition...}
"Go on."
{You must, or rather your pokemon must defeat me in battle. Only then will I consider you worthy. One on one; you may use as many as you like, but not all at once. You have only one chance; no more. Should you fail, I shall depart.}
Tom stared. *One vs. six, how hard can it be? But I had better remain on guard. It sure seems confident.* "Now lets see... Who has a type advantage here..." Tom ran over the type weaknesses and strengths for dark and ghost mentally, and swore. Three immunities, one resistance, and zero weaknesses.
They proceeded to the foothills for the battle. *Now, who should I choose?* Deciding, Tom called his pokemon. "Go!"
The pokeball exploded in an ivory light. Loud neighing and hoofs striking the hard-packed dirt soon followed. The pokemon's mane was a brilliant cascade of living flames. The fire horse pokemon studied its opponent with a calm air that came from experience.
"Damn!" This was followed by a string of obscenities better left unsaid. Facing seadra on the field was a rapidash, the fastest fire pokemon. Tom had counted on having a type advantage; and he did, but the problem is the speed. Theoretically, rapidash would be able to attack several times before seadra could even twitch. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but in a gym battle, it couldn't get much worse.
*Oh well, this is a situation that a Pokemon Tech student would never understand. In real life, speed is far more important than the turn-based simulators. In fact, speed is often a better method of evasion than double team or minimize.*
Tom sighed, according to the standard rules, he could withdraw seadra and send out another. But, if he switched his pokemon, all else being equal, the enemy would get at least two free hits in. Overall, any decent trainer can tell you that its not worth it, except in *really* extreme cases. And this was not one of them. Seadra certainly wouldn't win any races, but its speed would have to do.
"Alright! Give it all you've got! Agility!" *I have to get seadra's speed up. It may take a small while, but hopefully she won't get hit in the mean time.*
"Rapidash! Fire spin! Trap it, then do your stuff." This last order sent shivers down Tom's spine, but he ignored it.
Seadra raced away, just as the blistering heat burned the ground beneath to a crisp. Frowning at the missed attack, Lisa ordered, "Inferno! Get rid of that thing!" Tom grimaced. *An unknown attack. Gota watch out...* Aloud, he commanded, "Seadra! Surf attack! Shield yourself!"
Seadra blinked, then understood. Summoning what little moisture there was in the cavern, she formed a miniature tidal wave, surrounding herself, and *pushed* the mass of liquid towards her adversary. Rapidash, in the meantime, opened its mouth in a loud neigh, and stomped the ground. It stood still for a few seconds, seemingly gasping for breath.
At the other end of the field, the ground erupted explosively, right under seadra. A column of fire blasted out, and surrounded the water type. It soon ended, however, revealing a charred seadra... or so it seemed. Frowning, Tom leaned forward for a better look. Seadra seemed to look more... ancient somehow -- and wise. its fins were now appeared translucent, its colour appeared a darker marine blue. Tom squinted, trying to catch more details. Likewise, Lisa looked on, momentarily forgetting the circumstances.
A loud "King!" that came out as a deep rumble confirm Tom's suspicions. He now had a dragon type. The previous attack, no longer under the control of seadra, had collapsed, evaporating into a pale mist due to the lava. With a newfound strength and vigour, kingdra released a enormous amount of water, the blast hitting a still stunned rapidash deadon. Lisa blinked, and ordered one of the most devastating fire moves. "Fire spin!"
Tom grinned. He had expected that particular attack, and had devised a plan, or rather, a new move to counter it. *Hopefully, seadra... no kingdra remembers this.* "Hydro spin!" As the two spiralling elements collided, a giant cloud formed at the contact point, which shifted towards rapidash at a snails pace. It was obvious who would win, if nothing changed. Lisa could only look on helplessly; the water, if not held back by the flames would charge forward at a pace not even the fast stallion could avoid. The match was decided the moment the last attack was ordered.
The boiling mass reached rapidash, enveloping it in a dense, moist atmosphere. The tornado of water, much like its fire version, spun around the target at a furious speed. It eventually dissolved into a puddle, leaving behind a fainted, not to mention soggy rapidash. This powerful, sustained attack was not without disadvantages though. Kingdra was badly weakened; and if she went down, it would cost Tom one of his two pokemon that were strong against fire types.
At Lisa's end of the arena, the charizard looked at her questioningly. Lisa smiled, "Not yet, Charla. But your time will come. Go, Magcargo"
The slug-like fire type materialised in the centre of the field, radiating intense heat that even Tom could feel. *I hope that thing doesn't have any new attacks. Kingdra is just about finished.* As if reading Tom's thoughts, Lisa gave a command. "Nova! Finish it!"
Magcargo glowed a dull red, and abruptly released a heat wave in the shape of a expanding half-sphere. Tom could only look on helplessly, as the attack enveloped kingdra. Seconds later, the smoke cleared, revealing kingdra fainted, and magcargo panting.
Grimacing, Tom sent out rhydon in kingdra's place. The sturdy pokemon gazed coolly at his opponent, then started off the battle, not needing Tom's commands. With a rock-shattering roar, rhydon jumped up half a metre, and landed. Still in the centre, now surrounded by the charred ground, magcargo could do nothing to avoid the earthquake attack. Inevitably, it fainted from the super effective attack.
Tom only managed a tight grin, before Lisa calmly selected and sent out her next choice. The thrown ultraball exploded in a flash of fire. Whatever it was, it surrounded itself with a veil of flames, apparently not concerned about wasting energy before battle. *Or maybe, it cannot restrain its own power...* Tom shrugged off the thought, and concentrated on the battle. The charizard opposite was also observing the proceedings, seemingly studying Tom's methods.
Rhydon started off with a fissure, anxious to end the battle soon. The ground cracked open in a straight line, pointed right at the pokemon, whatever it was. The ball of fire darted off, evading the dangerous attack effortlessly. In a rage now that its attack missed, rhydon charged. The battlefield trembled, and even Tom was unnerved by the surprising power of the takedown attack. Once again, the pokemon dashed off, leaving rhydon to crash into the wall, unable to stop its momentum. Tom grimaced. *Rhydon is getting tired without doing anything to that... thing. If this continues, rhydon won't make it.*
As if on cue, the opponent used a fire blast attack, the flames shaped in the Chinese character big. Attempting to stop the flames, rhydon used its arms, straining to push the attack away. He succeeded, only to find *another* fire blast heading its way. This time, rhydon was pushed into the wall, and collapsed.
Tom sighed. *In addition to loosing rhydon without doing a tint of visible damage to that thing, I still have no idea what I'm going up against. No matter. its time to fight fire with fire.* Aloud, Tom shouted, "Go... Magmar!" The spitfire pokemon appeared, looking at the ball of fire in confusion. "Magmar! Just finish that thing! You can stand the heat!"
As the two fire types clashed, Tom caught a glimpse of the opponent. *Bushy tail, pointed ears... Thats it! A flareon! Now I get it. Not only does the fire coating not allow physical contact with many pokemon, it also covers the identity of the pokemon, even in battle. This prevent people from devising up plans to counter its attacks, since they don't even know what they are dealing with!* "Magmar! Hide in the lava! Attack the *FLAREON* when its unaware!"
Lisa's head snapped up at this shout. Tom was not only the second person to guess flareon's identity, now the tables were turned. The home ground advantage was gone. While most fire pokemon could stand extreme heat, few pokemon could actually stay in the lava for a sustained period of time. Magmar was one of those; flareon wasn't.
With a devilish grin, magmar leapt into the lava. Knowing that the heat coating was useless, flareon got rid of it, and for the first time, Tom laid his eyes on the fire eevee-lution. Some considered flareon the cutest eevee-lution, and Tom could see why. Had this not being a gym battle, Tom would have considered it dainty.
The battle meanwhile, continued, with magmar attacked from the lava streams, coming out from a different spot each time. Flareon was slowly, but surely getting worn down. Although the ranged fire attacks from magmar weren't very effective, they still caused damage. Finally, flareon took to evading the attacks, giving up on trying to track down the elusive magmar. "Magmar! Mud slap!" Tom commanded, with a wink. Lisa however, looked at the battlefield, searching. Her confusion was evident, and understandable. The entire arena was cleared of dirt, either from the impressive nova attack or from subsequent earthquakes and fissures. Magmar looked back at his trainer, saw the wink, and popped right back into the lava. Tom relaxed; magmar had gotten it.
Perplexed, flareon looked around the field nervously. All was still. Then, a swell appeared on the lava surface, and magmar jumped onto the bank. Raising both fists in front, magmar opened his palms symbolically. A tidal wave of lava rose up at magmar's silent command, engulfing flareon before it could even yelp in fear. The lava drained off a few moments later, revealing a fainted flareon.
Lisa glanced up, surprised. The battlefield was no place to try out new attacks for the first time, as Tom obviously had done. Yet, magmar had understood and pulled it off, and Lisa gave both of them credit for it. In a quiet, determined tone, she called charizard.
Without any show of strength, charizard gracefully lifted off, and landed opposite magmar. The two pokemon glared at each other, and the real battle began.
Charizard started off, grabbing magmar and giving it an aerial seismic toss, adding a literally earth-shattering earthquake for good measure. Magmar got back up with no hesitation whatsoever, seemingly unaffected.
***
The battle raged on, with magmar and charizard trading blow for blow, neither gaining an advantage. Both got weaker and weaker, their movements getting more and more sluggish. Suddenly, as if getting a power boost, charizard gave magmar another seismic toss-earthquake combo. This time however, magmar didn't get back up. Tom grinned. Charizard, although the victor, was tired and injured, certainly in no shape to face another, fresh opponent. *its all up to you now.* Tom sent out electabuzz.
"Charizard! Give it another combo!" With a sudden agility, charizard appeared behind the electric pokemon, gripping his shoulders, and took to the air. *Bad move, Lisa. You should have used earthquake straightaway.* Remaining calm, electabuzz let loose a thunderbolt -- full power. With a bellow, charizard fainted, still heading for the ground in a nosedive, but now not in control of its flight. Electabuzz landed on the ground, not affected in the least, for he had no weakness to fighting attacks, and the attack hadn't been completed. Charizard, however, was a different story. She crashed into the ground, limp. Tom almost felt sorry for it.
Lisa returned Charla, and beckoned to Tom. Confused that Lisa wasn't coming to him, Tom nevertheless ran over, carefully avoiding the lava. On the way, he returned electabuzz with a "Great job!".
"Well, Tom looks like you beat me. Here's the badge. I originally wanted to give you a pass to visit, and if you can, capture a charizard in the Charisific Valley, but since you already have an fire type, I guess you won't be needing it. Since I am obliged to give you something else, here is a small token."
Tom took the badge, shaped like a small flame. *This was easier than the last two gyms... Electabuzz, my last pokemon, isn't even tired.* He gazed at the other prize. An ultraball. "What's this?" "Well, I received it from my grandparents, but it isn't listening to any of my commands. Since you're better at training, maybe you would like to try?"
Tom took the ball, and threw it, wanting to find out what it was. A gengar emerged... At least, it *looked* like a gengar. Instead of the purplish shade of most gengars, this one was jet black. *No, not really black. I seem to see little pinpoints of twinkling lights scattered around its body. Plus, the skin of the pokemon seems to absorb light; it feels as if I am somehow looking into a void of some sort. Instead of the mischievous look most gengar possess, this one seems almost... evil.* On a hunch, Tom whipped out his pokedex.
Pokedex display:
Name: Unknown pokemon. (Please insert name)
Gender: NA
Type: Dark/Ghost
Resistance: Poison
Immunities: Fighting, Normal, Psychic
Weaknesses: None
Further Information: NA
Tom gasped. This *wasn't* a gengar. He looked questioningly at Lisa, who began elaborating. "My grandparents found it in a cave at night, I think. Also, since I haven't heard him say anything verbally, so I just call him shadow." Tom nodded, understanding. All pokemon, with a few exceptions, could only say their own name. If the pokemon didn't say anything, there was no restrictions or guidelines in naming it; if the pokemon did not or could not talk, the discoverer, in this case Lisa, was entitled to name it. "Well, shadow is just a nickname, so since you discovered it, you are allowed to give it, or its species a name." Lisa thought about it a while, then continued, "I think you should just call him shadow for now. I can't really come up with a name on the spot." "Well, you're the discoverer..." Tom shrugged, and entered the name. The "further information" would just have to wait.
"Thanks for everything, Lisa. Er... Do I have to ascend those stairs again? Or..."
"Oh sorry; silly of me. There is a exit here; it leads right into the pokecentre at the foot of the mountain. Please do not tell anyone about this. After all, finding this place *is* part of the challenge. Oh, yes. The next gym is the ground gym. That's all the information that I am allowed to give."
Tom grinned, and with a final wave, ascended the stairs.
***
The sun rose, revealing seven silhouettes laying on top a mountain. Tom forced himself to wake up, and released shadow. The ethereal pokemon appeared, gazing steadily at Tom. Tom sighed. He had been *trying* to train shadow for the past few weeks, to no avail. Shadow had not listened to any of his commands. Furthermore, being partially a dark type, neither he nor kadabra could *scan* shadow. Shadow seemed to concentrate, and then a huge psychic voice opened up, jolting all the pokemon out of their sleep.
{Greetings}
"Wha... *IS* THAT!"
{I am what you call, *shadow*.}
"I had no idea you were psychic... Why didn't you speak, before?"
{All ghost and psychic types are psychic. Being part dark, I have the advantage of being psychic without being affected by psychic attacks. As for your second question, I was watching you.}
"Watching *me*? Why?"
{I had to find out if you were... *worthy* of my... *services*.}
"Explain."
{There is only one of me; only one of my "species", as you call it. Perhaps you have heard of the legendary bird, Ho-oh? It is reincarnated every time it dies; so it is with me. Technically, I, or rather my species are always endangered, but never extinct. I have decided to follow you, and, if needed battle in those *games* you play for those so-called badges. I have several centuries more to live, for this lifetime. I shall serve you until that period is over, or until one of us is no more. There is, however one condition...}
"Go on."
{You must, or rather your pokemon must defeat me in battle. Only then will I consider you worthy. One on one; you may use as many as you like, but not all at once. You have only one chance; no more. Should you fail, I shall depart.}
Tom stared. *One vs. six, how hard can it be? But I had better remain on guard. It sure seems confident.* "Now lets see... Who has a type advantage here..." Tom ran over the type weaknesses and strengths for dark and ghost mentally, and swore. Three immunities, one resistance, and zero weaknesses.
They proceeded to the foothills for the battle. *Now, who should I choose?* Deciding, Tom called his pokemon. "Go!"