Chapter 18
Shyru grimaced; the battle was even tougher than the one with Councillor Raikor.
The two opponents were perfectly camouflaged against the inky darkness of the night, and they worked in flawless collaboration, acting as if with one mind; their every movement carried out with cool, calculated precision, and in sync with each other.
In addition to the difficulty in fighting two "invisible" enemies, she was torn between two choices. The first was the ever-present temptation to become a dark type so as to be able to see in the dark, and the other was to change her type according to each attack.
Originally, this would not have been a problem, but sneasel had a variation of slash that seemed to inject pure cold energy into her very being. And it was pressing this advantage, relying on the houndoom to distract Shyru.
The lightning blows were taking their toll on the dragon, who was now reeling from the clashes and the chill that permeated her core.
Shyru, weakened beyond anything she had ever dreamed would be possible, stumbled, and was caught by another freezing slash. Instead of leaping up again...
She stayed down.
Tom felt a fist clench around his heart, and opened his mouth in a silent scream, as the psychic torture continued.
***
The pokemon's type was not hard to guess, and Tom knew its only weakness would be covered well by the houndoom.
The agony had been going on for the entire night, one that felt like a never-ending eternity to Tom. He had not yet succumbed to the swift mental probes and jabs that the creature was giving. Whatever the creature's strategy, it was eroding Tom's defences, and he knew that he would yield very soon.
And he did.
Tom yelled out, as the final thrust opened a vast mental gateway to his memories. The creature viewed the flood calmly, stopping every once in a while for a closer look.
For Tom, it was nothing short of reliving his life -- as a spectator, and at an accelerated pace. He experienced his first few unstable steps again, and saw his first crush. He was whisked through the passage at ever increasing speeds... until everything slowed down to "normal".
The creature was examining what Tom remembered of the episode when he first opened up his well of psychic powers, when he pioneered an expedition into the mountains in his childhood, exploring the terrain with no more than a meagre store of food and a faint sense of direction. The creature flipped through the happenings like one would the pages of a well-illustrated book.
Finally, the creature stopped, and Tom was almost literally frozen in time.
Shadow, and his memories.
In an unguarded moment, Tom sensed a whiff of emotion from the creature.
Pain? Regret? Aloneness? Tom had no idea. The cerebral barrier went up almost as suddenly as it came down. The creature dropped Tom like a sack of potatoes, and he drifted off into a deep sleep, induced probably by *it*. His last sight was that of the creature howling, a splendid sight with the moon as the background.
The next morning, Tom found himself next to Shalla, who cradled his head, gently running a hand over his forehead.
"Hiya sleepy head."
"Wha..."
"Easy. I found these guys lying next to us." Shalla indicated a few motionless figures.
Tom's eyes trailed the path to them... and he screeched, backing away.
"What's the matter?" Tom paled, and scrutinised Shalla for a flicker of fear or even recognition of the trio. He found none. And then, it dawned on him.
"Last night. Do you remember anything about it?"
Shalla frowned at the question, and hesitated. Her mood was not hard to sense. *Have you gone mad?*
"Please. Just answer the question. I'll explain if there is a need to." *Hopefully not...* He added mentally.
"Well, I just remember us walking along, chatting. Then its all hazy. I guess I just somehow fell asleep."
"I see." Tom brooded over this a while, and then looked closely at Shalla's shoulder.
Her clothes were torn, but aside from the fabric, nothing was damaged. No blood, no large gashes. It was as if everything that happened was... *nothing*. Tom glanced at the creature, and felt a tug from the depths of his brain. *This way.* It murmured.
Tom strolled over to the creature. It was different, and in daylight, looked peaceful and even somewhat like a puppy. He shook his head at the thought, and jerked back as the creature opened one eye, then the other.
The voice started again, a haunting whisper resonating within him. *Nagaeon*
The creature smiled mysteriously, and spoke. "My name you know." Tom gave an exasperated sigh. *First shadow, then nagaeon. There is no end to the number of probes that I can't detect.*
"Huma... Tom. Berate not yourself over matters that you control not."
*Do you always speak like that?*
"Dislike this accent do you?"
*No...* Tom replied quickly, as flashes of last night relived themselves in his mind.
"Good." Nagaeon turned to his companions, and nudged them awake. They sprang to their feet and stretched, apparently unconcerned about Tom's presence. "Informed them about my decision I have. Join you we will."
*WHAT?!*
"Heard me you have."
Tom mulled over this. It was a terrific opportunity, with three new pokemon joining him. But he knew nothing of their agenda, and there appeared to be no way to control them.
"Wiped their memories I have. Healed they are. You." Nagaeon indicated Tom, "Are the only one to remember last night."
*Why?* It was a loaded question, carrying with it pent-up emotions.
"Shadow."
*I don't...*
"Have to you do not." Nagaeon replied sharply. "But understand you do."
Tom searched shadow's memories, and gasped, falling back in shock. Memories of nagaeon, prancing with delight around shadow; of them locked in a friendly match; of them fighting off a flock of aerodactyl...
Memories of them being separated. Tom reviewed the horror of the happening.
Shadow, not yet split into two, chasing nagaeon playfully. He was not as strong back then as he was now; and neither was nagaeon. In any case, another pokemon entered the scene -- a heracross, well trained and commanded by an experienced battler.
The battle was more like a massacre, albeit on a lesser scale. A thrust of megahorn put shadow out of commission, and another blow threw nagaeon over the mountain -- literally. The trainer hissed in vexation, and threw a pokeball, and a "ping" resounded in the grass field seconds later.
Lisa's ancestor.
Tom drifted back to the present, observe ring with dismay, that nagaeon had somehow tapped into him and watched it along with him. There were tears in his eyes, which he angrily squeezed away.
They huddled together for a long time, Shalla not daring to interrupt -- for she did not understand. Tom did not let it last however; he retrieved his belt with a gesture, and withdrew a pokeball, releasing shadow.
There was an awkward pause, as the gengar-like pokemon gaped at his long-lost friend. Then both of them broke down and hugged each other as best as they could, and left in a brief flash. Tom managed a tired grin before wrapping his own arms around Shalla, gazing contently at her. *This is one secret that I may have to keep from you.*
The houndoom and sneasel went back to sleep, strangely trusting of the very person they had strove to kill just the night before. Tom just warmed up and jogged in the general direction of the next gym.
Houndoom and sneasel followed at a leisurely pace, sprinting only when they fell back too much.
***
"Beep!" Tom halted, annoyed.
He had found the gym without much trouble, and was strolling through what he took to be a well-pruned garden. He was about to head towards the pokecentre when the pokegear phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi Tom! This is Angus."
"Oh. Nice to hear from you again."
"Uh. There is a new rule..."
"Why is it every time something important comes up I'm never informed directly?"
Silence patched through over the line, and Tom swore he could almost see the reddening of Angus's cheeks. "Well... It appears the announcer just didn't manage to log your number so..."
"Couldn't you just give it to him?"
"Uh I for..."
"Never mind. What's the new rule?"
"As you undoubtedly know, its possible to transfer your pokemon rather conveniently with your pokedex..."
"Huh?"
Stunned hush, followed shortly by an irritated howl. "Do you EVER check your pokegear news?"
"I haven't touched the darn thing in over a month."
"At least check it for global announcements..." Tom imagined his friend scowling over the phone, and chuckled. "Anyway recently, this process has been upgraded to the point where the pokemon limit has become moot. So the council just abolished the entire rule, and reinforced others. So, you can now carry as many pokemon with you as you want, but the trainer boxes are now changed so that you have to deposit the eight pokemon that you plan on using right from the start, so you can't change your reserve for a boxed pokemon in the middle of a match."
"Wow." Tom beamed. The coincidence was remarkable. He was just wondering about which pokemon to send back.
"Thanks for the news! See ya..."
"WAIT!"
Tom stopped short of turning off the phone, and returned back to the conversation.
"Ya?"
A moan. "Did you catch any new pokemon?"
"Yes, quite a few. Including three more dark types, among them a new species..."
"Some people get ALL the luck. But I don't mind. Personally I managed to get a trump card. I'll not use it unless I have to. And don't bother asking since I will not reveal it yet."
"Hey!"
"Sorry buddy, but no go."
A click, and only the "tooot... tooot..." emerged from the cell phone. Tom went into the pokecentre for a rest before challenging the gym leader, taking the time to prepare himself for what may be -- according to Shalla -- his toughest battle yet.
"Hi!"
Tom was broken out of his reverie, as Nurse Joy called out. "Uh, I want to get my pokemon healed."
"Sure, just put them right here, and I'll take care of them."
Tom handed the lady his belt, and tried to start a conversation.
"So do you have any tips for the gym leader?"
Joy giggled, and reached out, cupping Tom's chin. "I'm not allowed to give you any hints, but this I can tell you. Do not use the most obvious choice."
"Huh?"
"You'll see."
With that, Joy passed Tom his belt, and he rejoined his travelling companion.
"What did she say?" Shalla spoke as Tom slumped onto the chair.
"Something about not using the most obvious choice. Do you have anything to add?"
She frowned, and looked thoughtful for a long while -- a nerve wrecking minute for Tom. "Nope. I only know that the gym leader uses steel types, and used to be a student of Mr Muromasa. He was Muromasa's ace student, but after some experience or another, really started improving and soon overtook his teacher. He set up a school of his own, affiliated with his mother school, which churned out many top trainers. He specialises in training scizors, and has one called blade, which is the strongest pokemon he has. I don't know anything else. Not even his name. When there are meetings, he always turns up mysteriously in a cape."
Tom stared at the ex-gym leader in dismay.
"But I do know that he has purple hair though." She provided lamely.
The trainer sighed.
***
Tom looked on in horror as Nurse Joy led him to the "garden". Sprinklers gushed out torrents of water, and there were countless numbers of them. It was almost suicide to send any sort of pokemon weak to water into battle here.
Then the gym leader appeared.
He was a man in his twenties, strikingly handsome and cut a dashing figure with unruly hair and a piercing gaze. The cape whirled as he strode over to Tom... and marched right past him. The gym leader smiled warmly at Shalla, and clasped her hand, leaning down and kissing it before rising. All this time, his eyes were on Shalla, who was by now, blushing furiously, squirming a little under his look.
Tom cleared his throat and coughed in his fist, louder than he intended to, surprising even himself.
The gym leader jerked back, breaking his hold on Shalla, and appraised Tom with narrowed eyes. Finally he spoke. "Sorry." His tone suggested otherwise, but the young man plunged forth. "I didn't see you."
Tom rolled his eyes at the obvious lie, but held out his hand, trying to be civil. "Hello. I'm here to challenge you..."
The other didn't take his hand, and after a few awkward moments, retracted it. The gym leader smirked at Tom, unnoticed by Shalla, and bowed slightly in her direction. "Another time perhaps; it seems I have some official matters to handle." He wave one hand, palm facing up, towards a few delicately carved marble chairs, and she inclined her head, offering Tom an encouraging grin before starting towards the seats.
Tom, feeling a bit frustrated, ran up to her and gave her a peck, leaving with a whispered "Cheer for me." and a wink. He returned to find the gym leader glaring daggers at him.
"I'm Tom."
"You may call me Shingo." His manner brought to mind the image of a haughty warlord. Tom took an immediate dislike to him. "Six on six, three sent out first, then when only one side is left standing, the rest are sent out. No time limit... the arena is *this*."
Tom seethed as he fixed his eyes on the field, noting the gross advantage the gym leader obtained when fire types, a scizor's only weakness were weakened in this arena.
*All right Tom, concentrate. Who can you use? Charizard, being able to fly, is definitely in, and so is Shyru. The last slot... electabuzz will do nicely.*
Shingo and Tom took their positions with the calm of seasoned trainers, but there existed no doubt in Shalla's mind that both had to be nervous.
All six balls were tossed simultaneously, and Tom could only groan in despair.
Shyru, charizard, electabuzz... and three skarmories. *And he hasn't sent out a single scizor yet. The worst thing is, the water conducting advantage is nonexistent. Never mind. I'll just make the best of a lousy situation.*
Shingo stepped back, content merely with *watching* the battle. Tom was not as confident. Not only were his pokemon unfamiliar with the battleground, their cooperation was far from perfect.
All the flying types took off once the bell went, soaring high. Shyru zoomed ahead and imposed her bulk before them, clutched the pair ahead, gripping one in each hand. Charizard arrived a second later, and seized the last one. They rushed down with their quarry, letting go twenty metres up.
It spoke well for Shingo when there were no panicked cries or shrieks of anger. The trio of birds flapped their great wings hard, screeching to a halt still some way from the ground. They became wet, but Tom knew, Shingo thought, for all of a second, that they had foiled the seismic toss.
Yet that wasn't the aim.
Electabuzz let lose with a howl and a devilish grin, flooding the entire arena with mega volts of electricity. It may have looked like overkill; attacking a city to capture a rattata, but it most definitely was not. Their bodies shuddered and they screamed in fury, but they struggled to stay afloat, and succeeded, coming off none too worse, except for the occasional uncontrollable twitches that appeared. *A partial paralysis; good.*
Oddly enough, Shingo was chuckling at the proceedings. "You know what to do!" His clear voice rang out. The skarmories acted.
With a precision that would put the elite air force to shame, they flew in a triangular formation, blazing up and hovering far above Tom's pokemon, their metal feathers glittering in the light. With a war cry, all dove downwards in a spiral, configuration intact, gaining momentum and speed.
Yet that was not the main intent.
Tom could only stand, limp with his jaw wide open, when the whirlwind formed, sucking up the water like a vacuum. *Oh freak...* "CHARIZARD! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Both dragons stood their ground in mid air, horrified but still determined. The twister headed towards them; more specifically the fire dragon, while the skarmories emerged from the vertical column of water, panting and drenched.
Shyru rushed away at the last possible second, while charizard flapped her wings and fired three attacks in quick succession. Then, the water-flying attack was upon her, and charizard roared. The tornado faded into nothing moments later, and what was just an orange blur solidified into the unconscious form of a dragon. The lifeless dead weight started to drop, and was intercepted by a blood-red beam.
Tom fumed silently, but could do nothing. His only consolation was that the attack, if anything, at least made the skarmories a little more tired.
That is, until he saw what became of the three monstrous globes of flame that charizard had launched prior to her downfall. They each tracked down one steel type, and locked on target, crackling with heat energy.
The air above the attacks' pathway shimmered, and Tom could almost feel the superheated air rising. Each ball spewed out a trail of glowing sparks, and would have seemed magnificent, were it not for the touch of death they seemed to promise.
The three birds, still somewhat weary from the exertion, were in no shape to dodge. *All* found their mark.
Tom shielded his eyes in reflex when the influx of light occurred. Everything exploded in sudden brilliance, and Tom could sense the glare even without seeing it. When the dark patches clouding his eyesight finally diminished, he felt a tug on his belt. An automatic device activated, and Shyru was returned, knocked out.
The trainer frowned, and tried to rehearse the events that happened. *Okay, so there was those skarmories, trying to dodge, and all the fireballs hit. Possibly... I get it. The explosion was so strong that Shyru was caught in the blast.* He confirmed the hypothesis with a look at the trees enclosing them. Most of the tree crowns were charred to a crisp, some still smouldering and giving off smoke. Tom shouted, confidence reigning supreme in his heart.
"You're lucky my other dragon also had to be returned. Come on, send out your next three *victims*."
He was greeted with a chortle and just two words. "Look again."
All three skarmories glided in the sky, obviously rather toasty, with streaks of carbon on their bodies and a bad burn, as well as wings drooping with fatigue, but otherwise still in fighting condition.
Tom let loose with a string of obscenities his parents would have fainted clean away at. The bubbly optimism in him spoke. *At least electabuzz is still fine.* Then electabuzz started shimmering.
*Wait a minute. Now's not the time to use flash... or any electric attacks for that matter. The water will just bounce it straight back at him...*
The now-familiar voice retorted. "Then maybe it *isn't* flash." Shingo, at the other end, looked worried, wearing a grimace and clenching his teeth.
The radiance increased.
Shyru grimaced; the battle was even tougher than the one with Councillor Raikor.
The two opponents were perfectly camouflaged against the inky darkness of the night, and they worked in flawless collaboration, acting as if with one mind; their every movement carried out with cool, calculated precision, and in sync with each other.
In addition to the difficulty in fighting two "invisible" enemies, she was torn between two choices. The first was the ever-present temptation to become a dark type so as to be able to see in the dark, and the other was to change her type according to each attack.
Originally, this would not have been a problem, but sneasel had a variation of slash that seemed to inject pure cold energy into her very being. And it was pressing this advantage, relying on the houndoom to distract Shyru.
The lightning blows were taking their toll on the dragon, who was now reeling from the clashes and the chill that permeated her core.
Shyru, weakened beyond anything she had ever dreamed would be possible, stumbled, and was caught by another freezing slash. Instead of leaping up again...
She stayed down.
Tom felt a fist clench around his heart, and opened his mouth in a silent scream, as the psychic torture continued.
***
The pokemon's type was not hard to guess, and Tom knew its only weakness would be covered well by the houndoom.
The agony had been going on for the entire night, one that felt like a never-ending eternity to Tom. He had not yet succumbed to the swift mental probes and jabs that the creature was giving. Whatever the creature's strategy, it was eroding Tom's defences, and he knew that he would yield very soon.
And he did.
Tom yelled out, as the final thrust opened a vast mental gateway to his memories. The creature viewed the flood calmly, stopping every once in a while for a closer look.
For Tom, it was nothing short of reliving his life -- as a spectator, and at an accelerated pace. He experienced his first few unstable steps again, and saw his first crush. He was whisked through the passage at ever increasing speeds... until everything slowed down to "normal".
The creature was examining what Tom remembered of the episode when he first opened up his well of psychic powers, when he pioneered an expedition into the mountains in his childhood, exploring the terrain with no more than a meagre store of food and a faint sense of direction. The creature flipped through the happenings like one would the pages of a well-illustrated book.
Finally, the creature stopped, and Tom was almost literally frozen in time.
Shadow, and his memories.
In an unguarded moment, Tom sensed a whiff of emotion from the creature.
Pain? Regret? Aloneness? Tom had no idea. The cerebral barrier went up almost as suddenly as it came down. The creature dropped Tom like a sack of potatoes, and he drifted off into a deep sleep, induced probably by *it*. His last sight was that of the creature howling, a splendid sight with the moon as the background.
The next morning, Tom found himself next to Shalla, who cradled his head, gently running a hand over his forehead.
"Hiya sleepy head."
"Wha..."
"Easy. I found these guys lying next to us." Shalla indicated a few motionless figures.
Tom's eyes trailed the path to them... and he screeched, backing away.
"What's the matter?" Tom paled, and scrutinised Shalla for a flicker of fear or even recognition of the trio. He found none. And then, it dawned on him.
"Last night. Do you remember anything about it?"
Shalla frowned at the question, and hesitated. Her mood was not hard to sense. *Have you gone mad?*
"Please. Just answer the question. I'll explain if there is a need to." *Hopefully not...* He added mentally.
"Well, I just remember us walking along, chatting. Then its all hazy. I guess I just somehow fell asleep."
"I see." Tom brooded over this a while, and then looked closely at Shalla's shoulder.
Her clothes were torn, but aside from the fabric, nothing was damaged. No blood, no large gashes. It was as if everything that happened was... *nothing*. Tom glanced at the creature, and felt a tug from the depths of his brain. *This way.* It murmured.
Tom strolled over to the creature. It was different, and in daylight, looked peaceful and even somewhat like a puppy. He shook his head at the thought, and jerked back as the creature opened one eye, then the other.
The voice started again, a haunting whisper resonating within him. *Nagaeon*
The creature smiled mysteriously, and spoke. "My name you know." Tom gave an exasperated sigh. *First shadow, then nagaeon. There is no end to the number of probes that I can't detect.*
"Huma... Tom. Berate not yourself over matters that you control not."
*Do you always speak like that?*
"Dislike this accent do you?"
*No...* Tom replied quickly, as flashes of last night relived themselves in his mind.
"Good." Nagaeon turned to his companions, and nudged them awake. They sprang to their feet and stretched, apparently unconcerned about Tom's presence. "Informed them about my decision I have. Join you we will."
*WHAT?!*
"Heard me you have."
Tom mulled over this. It was a terrific opportunity, with three new pokemon joining him. But he knew nothing of their agenda, and there appeared to be no way to control them.
"Wiped their memories I have. Healed they are. You." Nagaeon indicated Tom, "Are the only one to remember last night."
*Why?* It was a loaded question, carrying with it pent-up emotions.
"Shadow."
*I don't...*
"Have to you do not." Nagaeon replied sharply. "But understand you do."
Tom searched shadow's memories, and gasped, falling back in shock. Memories of nagaeon, prancing with delight around shadow; of them locked in a friendly match; of them fighting off a flock of aerodactyl...
Memories of them being separated. Tom reviewed the horror of the happening.
Shadow, not yet split into two, chasing nagaeon playfully. He was not as strong back then as he was now; and neither was nagaeon. In any case, another pokemon entered the scene -- a heracross, well trained and commanded by an experienced battler.
The battle was more like a massacre, albeit on a lesser scale. A thrust of megahorn put shadow out of commission, and another blow threw nagaeon over the mountain -- literally. The trainer hissed in vexation, and threw a pokeball, and a "ping" resounded in the grass field seconds later.
Lisa's ancestor.
Tom drifted back to the present, observe ring with dismay, that nagaeon had somehow tapped into him and watched it along with him. There were tears in his eyes, which he angrily squeezed away.
They huddled together for a long time, Shalla not daring to interrupt -- for she did not understand. Tom did not let it last however; he retrieved his belt with a gesture, and withdrew a pokeball, releasing shadow.
There was an awkward pause, as the gengar-like pokemon gaped at his long-lost friend. Then both of them broke down and hugged each other as best as they could, and left in a brief flash. Tom managed a tired grin before wrapping his own arms around Shalla, gazing contently at her. *This is one secret that I may have to keep from you.*
The houndoom and sneasel went back to sleep, strangely trusting of the very person they had strove to kill just the night before. Tom just warmed up and jogged in the general direction of the next gym.
Houndoom and sneasel followed at a leisurely pace, sprinting only when they fell back too much.
***
"Beep!" Tom halted, annoyed.
He had found the gym without much trouble, and was strolling through what he took to be a well-pruned garden. He was about to head towards the pokecentre when the pokegear phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi Tom! This is Angus."
"Oh. Nice to hear from you again."
"Uh. There is a new rule..."
"Why is it every time something important comes up I'm never informed directly?"
Silence patched through over the line, and Tom swore he could almost see the reddening of Angus's cheeks. "Well... It appears the announcer just didn't manage to log your number so..."
"Couldn't you just give it to him?"
"Uh I for..."
"Never mind. What's the new rule?"
"As you undoubtedly know, its possible to transfer your pokemon rather conveniently with your pokedex..."
"Huh?"
Stunned hush, followed shortly by an irritated howl. "Do you EVER check your pokegear news?"
"I haven't touched the darn thing in over a month."
"At least check it for global announcements..." Tom imagined his friend scowling over the phone, and chuckled. "Anyway recently, this process has been upgraded to the point where the pokemon limit has become moot. So the council just abolished the entire rule, and reinforced others. So, you can now carry as many pokemon with you as you want, but the trainer boxes are now changed so that you have to deposit the eight pokemon that you plan on using right from the start, so you can't change your reserve for a boxed pokemon in the middle of a match."
"Wow." Tom beamed. The coincidence was remarkable. He was just wondering about which pokemon to send back.
"Thanks for the news! See ya..."
"WAIT!"
Tom stopped short of turning off the phone, and returned back to the conversation.
"Ya?"
A moan. "Did you catch any new pokemon?"
"Yes, quite a few. Including three more dark types, among them a new species..."
"Some people get ALL the luck. But I don't mind. Personally I managed to get a trump card. I'll not use it unless I have to. And don't bother asking since I will not reveal it yet."
"Hey!"
"Sorry buddy, but no go."
A click, and only the "tooot... tooot..." emerged from the cell phone. Tom went into the pokecentre for a rest before challenging the gym leader, taking the time to prepare himself for what may be -- according to Shalla -- his toughest battle yet.
"Hi!"
Tom was broken out of his reverie, as Nurse Joy called out. "Uh, I want to get my pokemon healed."
"Sure, just put them right here, and I'll take care of them."
Tom handed the lady his belt, and tried to start a conversation.
"So do you have any tips for the gym leader?"
Joy giggled, and reached out, cupping Tom's chin. "I'm not allowed to give you any hints, but this I can tell you. Do not use the most obvious choice."
"Huh?"
"You'll see."
With that, Joy passed Tom his belt, and he rejoined his travelling companion.
"What did she say?" Shalla spoke as Tom slumped onto the chair.
"Something about not using the most obvious choice. Do you have anything to add?"
She frowned, and looked thoughtful for a long while -- a nerve wrecking minute for Tom. "Nope. I only know that the gym leader uses steel types, and used to be a student of Mr Muromasa. He was Muromasa's ace student, but after some experience or another, really started improving and soon overtook his teacher. He set up a school of his own, affiliated with his mother school, which churned out many top trainers. He specialises in training scizors, and has one called blade, which is the strongest pokemon he has. I don't know anything else. Not even his name. When there are meetings, he always turns up mysteriously in a cape."
Tom stared at the ex-gym leader in dismay.
"But I do know that he has purple hair though." She provided lamely.
The trainer sighed.
***
Tom looked on in horror as Nurse Joy led him to the "garden". Sprinklers gushed out torrents of water, and there were countless numbers of them. It was almost suicide to send any sort of pokemon weak to water into battle here.
Then the gym leader appeared.
He was a man in his twenties, strikingly handsome and cut a dashing figure with unruly hair and a piercing gaze. The cape whirled as he strode over to Tom... and marched right past him. The gym leader smiled warmly at Shalla, and clasped her hand, leaning down and kissing it before rising. All this time, his eyes were on Shalla, who was by now, blushing furiously, squirming a little under his look.
Tom cleared his throat and coughed in his fist, louder than he intended to, surprising even himself.
The gym leader jerked back, breaking his hold on Shalla, and appraised Tom with narrowed eyes. Finally he spoke. "Sorry." His tone suggested otherwise, but the young man plunged forth. "I didn't see you."
Tom rolled his eyes at the obvious lie, but held out his hand, trying to be civil. "Hello. I'm here to challenge you..."
The other didn't take his hand, and after a few awkward moments, retracted it. The gym leader smirked at Tom, unnoticed by Shalla, and bowed slightly in her direction. "Another time perhaps; it seems I have some official matters to handle." He wave one hand, palm facing up, towards a few delicately carved marble chairs, and she inclined her head, offering Tom an encouraging grin before starting towards the seats.
Tom, feeling a bit frustrated, ran up to her and gave her a peck, leaving with a whispered "Cheer for me." and a wink. He returned to find the gym leader glaring daggers at him.
"I'm Tom."
"You may call me Shingo." His manner brought to mind the image of a haughty warlord. Tom took an immediate dislike to him. "Six on six, three sent out first, then when only one side is left standing, the rest are sent out. No time limit... the arena is *this*."
Tom seethed as he fixed his eyes on the field, noting the gross advantage the gym leader obtained when fire types, a scizor's only weakness were weakened in this arena.
*All right Tom, concentrate. Who can you use? Charizard, being able to fly, is definitely in, and so is Shyru. The last slot... electabuzz will do nicely.*
Shingo and Tom took their positions with the calm of seasoned trainers, but there existed no doubt in Shalla's mind that both had to be nervous.
All six balls were tossed simultaneously, and Tom could only groan in despair.
Shyru, charizard, electabuzz... and three skarmories. *And he hasn't sent out a single scizor yet. The worst thing is, the water conducting advantage is nonexistent. Never mind. I'll just make the best of a lousy situation.*
Shingo stepped back, content merely with *watching* the battle. Tom was not as confident. Not only were his pokemon unfamiliar with the battleground, their cooperation was far from perfect.
All the flying types took off once the bell went, soaring high. Shyru zoomed ahead and imposed her bulk before them, clutched the pair ahead, gripping one in each hand. Charizard arrived a second later, and seized the last one. They rushed down with their quarry, letting go twenty metres up.
It spoke well for Shingo when there were no panicked cries or shrieks of anger. The trio of birds flapped their great wings hard, screeching to a halt still some way from the ground. They became wet, but Tom knew, Shingo thought, for all of a second, that they had foiled the seismic toss.
Yet that wasn't the aim.
Electabuzz let lose with a howl and a devilish grin, flooding the entire arena with mega volts of electricity. It may have looked like overkill; attacking a city to capture a rattata, but it most definitely was not. Their bodies shuddered and they screamed in fury, but they struggled to stay afloat, and succeeded, coming off none too worse, except for the occasional uncontrollable twitches that appeared. *A partial paralysis; good.*
Oddly enough, Shingo was chuckling at the proceedings. "You know what to do!" His clear voice rang out. The skarmories acted.
With a precision that would put the elite air force to shame, they flew in a triangular formation, blazing up and hovering far above Tom's pokemon, their metal feathers glittering in the light. With a war cry, all dove downwards in a spiral, configuration intact, gaining momentum and speed.
Yet that was not the main intent.
Tom could only stand, limp with his jaw wide open, when the whirlwind formed, sucking up the water like a vacuum. *Oh freak...* "CHARIZARD! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Both dragons stood their ground in mid air, horrified but still determined. The twister headed towards them; more specifically the fire dragon, while the skarmories emerged from the vertical column of water, panting and drenched.
Shyru rushed away at the last possible second, while charizard flapped her wings and fired three attacks in quick succession. Then, the water-flying attack was upon her, and charizard roared. The tornado faded into nothing moments later, and what was just an orange blur solidified into the unconscious form of a dragon. The lifeless dead weight started to drop, and was intercepted by a blood-red beam.
Tom fumed silently, but could do nothing. His only consolation was that the attack, if anything, at least made the skarmories a little more tired.
That is, until he saw what became of the three monstrous globes of flame that charizard had launched prior to her downfall. They each tracked down one steel type, and locked on target, crackling with heat energy.
The air above the attacks' pathway shimmered, and Tom could almost feel the superheated air rising. Each ball spewed out a trail of glowing sparks, and would have seemed magnificent, were it not for the touch of death they seemed to promise.
The three birds, still somewhat weary from the exertion, were in no shape to dodge. *All* found their mark.
Tom shielded his eyes in reflex when the influx of light occurred. Everything exploded in sudden brilliance, and Tom could sense the glare even without seeing it. When the dark patches clouding his eyesight finally diminished, he felt a tug on his belt. An automatic device activated, and Shyru was returned, knocked out.
The trainer frowned, and tried to rehearse the events that happened. *Okay, so there was those skarmories, trying to dodge, and all the fireballs hit. Possibly... I get it. The explosion was so strong that Shyru was caught in the blast.* He confirmed the hypothesis with a look at the trees enclosing them. Most of the tree crowns were charred to a crisp, some still smouldering and giving off smoke. Tom shouted, confidence reigning supreme in his heart.
"You're lucky my other dragon also had to be returned. Come on, send out your next three *victims*."
He was greeted with a chortle and just two words. "Look again."
All three skarmories glided in the sky, obviously rather toasty, with streaks of carbon on their bodies and a bad burn, as well as wings drooping with fatigue, but otherwise still in fighting condition.
Tom let loose with a string of obscenities his parents would have fainted clean away at. The bubbly optimism in him spoke. *At least electabuzz is still fine.* Then electabuzz started shimmering.
*Wait a minute. Now's not the time to use flash... or any electric attacks for that matter. The water will just bounce it straight back at him...*
The now-familiar voice retorted. "Then maybe it *isn't* flash." Shingo, at the other end, looked worried, wearing a grimace and clenching his teeth.
The radiance increased.