Pokémon - The Final Journey in Fenyuu
Chapter 41: The Exciting Melee
"How are you feeling?" Matt asked.
"I'm all right," Lizzie replied quietly. Matt frowned at how pitiful she looked right now. She was covered in a thin, blue blanket, with a machine inserting blood into her body right next to her. The room itself was brightly lit, with florescent lighting on a white ceiling, white walls and white tiles surrounding the floor. "I guess I should have kept my mouth shut, huh?" She let out a quiet laugh.
"And I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. It happens to me everytime, and I'm tired of it. I remember almost killing Arrmun way back in that false hidden gym. But if you weren't there, I definitely would have, and he wouldn't have been able to save either of us, especially me."
"Oh? What happened?"
"He took the blame for my killing what's-his-face."
"His name was Nibolto," Lizzie replied.
"Yeah, whatever. He took the blame for me, Lizzie! I killed that jack-ass using my Onix, and while the inspector asked how it happened, he stepped right in!"
"Did you say anything?"
"I wanted to! I wanted to stop him, but that would just add to confusion and...I don't know. I can't believe how badly I messed up, again."
"You can't beat yourself up over this."
"Why not? Look at how many times I've screwed up! You say you would be putting my life in danger by staying with me, yet it's me that's able to get into trouble on my own."
"Matt, stop. You complained about exactly the same thing months ago when we escaped from Silph Co. Come on, instead of pounding yourself with the 'should've's and 'could've's, you'll just have to accept this and move on."
"Lizzie, I thought he killed you. I wanted to see him hurt so badly I...I don't even feel any remorse! Even after this big mess, even after seeing you here, and Arrmun about to be behind bars, I don't regret what I did at all. I'm not pounding myself with 'I should have' or 'I shouldn't have'; I'm upset for being me!"
Lizzie sighed. "I can't tell you how to think, Matt."
"No, that's right." He took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Everything." Matt stood up and left the hospital room, allowing Lizzie to rest.
* * *
Matt sat down on his bed in his hotel room, talking to Lizzie on the phone. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I can't do anything just lying here. I don't want to hold up your Pokémon journey."
"Lizzie, I can wait a week or two waiting for you to get out. Do you honestly think I'm willing to go for more badges after what just happened?"
"I understand. But don't get too uptight, okay?"
"I'll try."
"Thank you." She then hung up.
Matt put the receiver down as shortly the phone began to ring again. He picked it up. "Hello...?"
"Yes, Mr. Tenks, this is the information desk."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not that. There are just some, uh, reporters here to see you about yesterday's incident."
"What? You didn't give them my room number, did you?"
"No, not yet. I'm wondering if I have permission to do so or not."
"Please don't. I'm not in any mood to speak with anybody right now."
"I understand. Have a good night."
"You, too." He put down the receiver and placed himself down on his bed. He replayed the images in his head: Lizzie getting shot, his commands to Onix, over and over again. He even replayed when Lizzie appeared, in her Black Rocket uniform. He hoped to burn it if he ever saw it again. "Part of that secret organization the entire time, and never asking me for help?" he said aloud. "I thought she was the one who kept telling me that I didn't have to keep doing things on my own, yet she suffered with this for how many years? She must feel ashamed.
"I don't deserve to travel with her. Not after everything I've done." He sat up straight on his bed. "But that's not going to stop me from going on. If I'm so determined to change my ways, I'll actually have to do something about it. From now on, no more bursts of anger." He searched through his backpack and pulled out his journal. "I haven't written in this in months."
After leaving a long entry, he read it over and grinned. "Wow...I actually feel a lot better." He put it back in his backpack and looked at the phone again. "I should give a shout to my mom...."
* * *
"Shoulder blade sore?" Matt asked.
Lizzie nodded. "I just have to make sure that I don't carry anything heavy for the next little while."
"I've got you covered." He smiled.
"Hey, you seem to be in a better mood."
"That's because I'm going to take what I've done in the past, and use them as stepping stones, other than tall brick walls."
"That's good! So, where are we going to go next?"
Matt pulled out his map of the Fenyuu League. "We're still in the Silver Quadrant, obviously. In the next Pokémon Center, there are three gyms. It'll take us about a day to get there; is that all right?"
Lizzie nodded. "We need the exercise."
"Good. Let's see how many trainers we'll have to challenge on our way."
As the day continued to lead on, the sun managed to break through the clouds. The past few cloudy, somewhat rainy days seem to be far behind. A cool, gentle breeze filled the fields with fresh air, and for the first time in a very long time, Matt felt very relaxed.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Matt said.
"Oh, don't hurt yourself!" Lizzie laughed.
"Very funny," Matt mumbled. "But seriously, I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed. Yet...I continue to feel guilty."
"About Arrmun?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I can't just let go of what happened. You saw what I did, I...I still can't believe I did that. Something is seriously wrong with me."
Lizzie sighed. "I can kind of understand, and even though I didn't agree to killing him, you obviously were in shock, I mean...I was shot."
Matt stopped walking, with Lizzie stopping almost instantly. "Well, we'll never have to worry every again about that. Black Rocket took a hard blow, and they'll be down for a while."
"But we're still in danger."
"Not likely. We took out their leader. And haven't you noticed how quiet everything's been the past couple of days? No news is good news."
"You've gotten really optimistic over the past couple of days."
"Is something wrong with that?" Matt asked with a smile.
Lizzie giggled. "No, not at all! It's just...it's a nice surprise. It reminds me when I first met you; energetic, excited, determined. I miss seeing that."
"Well, that's how it's going to be from here on in!"
* * *
"Here they are, good as new!" Nurse Joy said with a smile, handed over the Pokémon back to Matt.
"Thank you!"
"Hey, I thought I recognized you; you were on the news, weren't you?"
"Uh...I was?"
Lizzie suddenly jumped in. "Please, he's still feeling somewhat shocked about that incident."
"Oh, really? Well, I'm sorry!" Joy suddenly turned around and walked into the back room. Matt and Lizzie sat down on a nearby bench, putting their Pokémon back on their belts.
"That wasn't necessary, Lizzie."
"It was no problem."
"No, I mean it. I want to be able to speak for myself from now on."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I'm not upset. So, shall we tackle the gym leaders?"
Lizzie smiled. "Certainly."
"So, do you want to go to the same ones, or would you prefer us separating for a while?"
"Well, if you want we could separate. That way there's less distraction for the both of us."
"That sounds like a good idea. So, I guess I'll see you later then, huh?"
Matt nodded. "I'll be on my way in a minute, I just need to use the bathroom."
As Lizzie left the Pokémon Center, Matt ventured to find the men's restroom. He managed to find it, and a few minutes later he was ready to go again. He thought over which Pokémon he planned to use for which leader, however was not sure on which Pokémon they could use. He also wondered if there would be any other mazes or challenges before the match, however he instantly remembered that it was a trap set up by Black Rocket.
Matt looked outside, and saw Lizzie as she entered the gym that was closest to the Pokémon Center. When she's done there, she'll most likely go to the one that's closer to that, so, I'll just go to the farthest from, Matt thought to himself, and started to walk towards it.
It was just about late afternoon at the time, and the sun's beams weren't as warm as earlier on in the day. He looked and watched many trainers were doing battle with Pokémon, most of which he had yet to see. He used his Pokédex to pick up a few stats in case he was to meet one in the future.
"So many different Pokémon here," Matt punched in a couple of commands. "I can't believe how many different ones I've seen. I'll have to ask them after where they were able to find them."
As he was approaching the gym, he noticed somebody who just jumped down from a nearby tree. He looked familiar; somebody who he hasn't seen in a while.
"Hey! Didn't expect to see you in a place like this!"
Now he remembered. It was Ace.
"Why? You don't think I'm skilled enough?"
"Well, I'm not too sure. You didn't seem all that strong when I battled you the last time. I also heard you had some encounters with some Black Rocket creepy thing. How'd that turn out?"
Matt's face turned red. "I'm not in the mood to talk about it," he replied, walking towards the gym.
"Why? Did you lose again?"
Matt turned around. "Okay, first of all, what happened is none of your business, and second of all, I don't know why you seem to think that my entire life is completely evolved around Pokémon." After a few seconds of silence, Matt spoke again. "And another thing, your arrogance bothered me ever since I saw you, even though I don't know you that well, I can tell that you're just some stuck-up rich kid who thinks he's the greatest Pokémon trainer out there. Well, Ace, have you ever been involved in a life-threatening situation in which your best friend was shot just above her heart? Well, have you?!" He then turned around and once again began walking towards the gym.
"H-hey...you know, I didn't mean anything--"
"Just shut up! Don't let me catch you near me OR Lizzie, all right?!" Matt exclaimed, continuing to walk towards the gym.
"Lizzie...?" Ace replied quietly to himself. He then shook his head. "That kid has some serious anger issues. He should go into therapy or something," he said to himself, as he began to walk opposite of the gym.
Matt finally approached the large steel doors of yet another gym in Fenyuu. He took in a deep breath, then pushed the doors open. Inside was a staircase, which seemed to lead further into the gym. Matt began to climb down, and when he finally reached the bottom, he saw a large room. The lighting was dim, and the room was completely void.
"There's nothing here," Matt commented, as he took a few steps into the room.
Suddenly, a big, brick wall threw itself down in front of the stairs. Matt turned around, now noticing that there's no way out.
"Welcome!" a voice yelled with excitement. A tall, slender, red-haired woman appeared from the dim lighting on the opposite side of the room. "Are you here for a gym challenge?"
"Why else would I just walk down a creepy flight of stairs?" Matt asked, surprised that there was no puzzle or riddle or anything like that which was supposed to be required before facing the gym leader.
"Ooh! A cynical one; this should be a great match! But of course, you must know that my gym's a little different from the other gyms in this quadrant!"
"No kidding," Matt replied blandly.
"I feel that a one-on-one match where we just throw out commands is simply boring; I want a little more excitement! So, I made up these rules: Three Pokémon are released by BOTH trainers at one time! Now, wait just a second, none of us are going to command either of these Pokémon. We're just going to sit back and watch them fight!"
"Isn't that just like crude, unnecessary violence?"
"Not really, I just thought I'd spice things up a bit! Oh, of course, there is a height and weight requirement. See the ceiling? If a Pokémon is any taller than that, he or she will not be able to battle."
That means I can't use Onix, Matt thought.
"However, use any one that you want. For my three, I'm going to choose Raichu, Mareep, and Heracross!" Pulling out three Pokéballs, she released them out onto the field. Matt recognized the Raichu, however, the Mareep seemed very similar to the Flaaffy he recently saw with Ace, except smaller. The Heracross was also one he didn't see before. It was like a large, blue beetle, with a large horn on its head, and sharp claws.
"Well, then, in that case, I'll choose Wartortle, Charmeleon, and Zubat!" Matt replied, also throwing three Pokéballs out into the battlefield.
She giggled. "Not too smart. You have two Pokémon that are weak against electricity!"
Matt also smirked. "We'll just see."
"Let the match begin!"
Right off the bat, Raichu and Mareep began with releasing a powerful bolt of electricity, as Wartortle and Zubat managed to swiftly dodge to the side.
"It's up to you, you guys! Use your best judgment!" Matt called.
Charmeleon charged after Mareep, knocking it hard to the gym floor. Heracross countered by tackling Charmeleon from behind, also knocking it to the floor. Wartortle fired a large stream of water form its mouth and managed to knock Raichu off balance before tackling it to the floor.
"Ha-ha!" Matt cheered.
"Come on, you guys! Come on!" the gym leader yelled.
Raichu recovered and launched another bold of electricity, which really caused a lot of damage to Wartortle. To counter, he launched forth and targeted Raichu head on with its skull, which knocked Raichu right out of the field, and into the wall. It was not moving.
"RAICHU!" she exclaimed.
Mareep, frustrated by losing its companion, was prepared to release a bolt of electricity of its own towards Wartortle, however Zubat swooped in at the final second to take the blow, falling to the field unconscious.
"He took one for the team, Wartortle, don't let that sheep-thing get away with it! Geez, I can never remember its name." Matt took out his Pokédex and scanned Mareep.
Charmeleon, who was attacking Heracross a moment ago, switched partners, and released a stream of scorching hot flames, which charred Mareep. However, it was still mobile, and battle ready. Wartortle used this opportunity to jump into its shell and commenced spinning, releasing extremely large streams of water, striking the Mareep. The force of the attack knocked it into the wall, and it was no longer moving. All that was left was Heracross.
Heracross refused to take this sitting down. It managed to dodge a few swift tackles, and decided to take out Wartortle in one precise hit. It released a tackle on Wartortle so strong, the force of it caused him to be knocked right into the wall. All that was left was Charmeleon and Heracross.
Charmeleon decided to use all of its physical sources. It attempted to scratch at it times, followed by a swipe from its tail, knocking Heracross off balance. It then released another stream of scorching hot flames, in an attempt to finish it off. Heracross took the brunt of the attack, before collapsing. It was still breathing, but unable to battle anymore.
"Stop, stop, you win!" the gym leader exclaimed. "Geez, you didn't have to be so rough!"
"It was your idea to create this type of gym, wasn't it?"
"Oh, shush. Here, take the stupid badge!" She violently threw a small silver coin-like badge, and Matt caught it with his right hand. He then pulled out his Pokéballs and returned each Pokémon back to its proper place.
"That was certainly a different experience," Matt stated. "But it sure was kind of fun."
"Yeah, yeah," she replied, flipping a switch which removed the wall to the staircase.
"Thanks," Matt responded, climbing the stairs to the exit of the gym. As he exited, he noticed the sun was setting, and could faintly hear somebody calling his name in the distance.
"Matt! Matt!" Lizzie cried, running towards Matt.
"Lizzie? What's wrong, nothing seems right. How'd the gym battle go?"
"The battle? Really well, I won by a thread, but that's not the point! I just heard something on the news!"
Matt felt a chill down his spine. "It's not about the Black Rocket incident, is it?"
"No, it's actually a lot different. Protestors all over each league are boycotting Pokémon!"
"What?!"
"A lot of misfortunes due to the antics of some stupid kid. Come on, one of the protestors is at the Pokémon Center! We have to speak to him!"
"Preventing me from raising Pokémon? We'll soon see about that...."
TO BE CONTINUED.
Chapter 41: The Exciting Melee
"How are you feeling?" Matt asked.
"I'm all right," Lizzie replied quietly. Matt frowned at how pitiful she looked right now. She was covered in a thin, blue blanket, with a machine inserting blood into her body right next to her. The room itself was brightly lit, with florescent lighting on a white ceiling, white walls and white tiles surrounding the floor. "I guess I should have kept my mouth shut, huh?" She let out a quiet laugh.
"And I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. It happens to me everytime, and I'm tired of it. I remember almost killing Arrmun way back in that false hidden gym. But if you weren't there, I definitely would have, and he wouldn't have been able to save either of us, especially me."
"Oh? What happened?"
"He took the blame for my killing what's-his-face."
"His name was Nibolto," Lizzie replied.
"Yeah, whatever. He took the blame for me, Lizzie! I killed that jack-ass using my Onix, and while the inspector asked how it happened, he stepped right in!"
"Did you say anything?"
"I wanted to! I wanted to stop him, but that would just add to confusion and...I don't know. I can't believe how badly I messed up, again."
"You can't beat yourself up over this."
"Why not? Look at how many times I've screwed up! You say you would be putting my life in danger by staying with me, yet it's me that's able to get into trouble on my own."
"Matt, stop. You complained about exactly the same thing months ago when we escaped from Silph Co. Come on, instead of pounding yourself with the 'should've's and 'could've's, you'll just have to accept this and move on."
"Lizzie, I thought he killed you. I wanted to see him hurt so badly I...I don't even feel any remorse! Even after this big mess, even after seeing you here, and Arrmun about to be behind bars, I don't regret what I did at all. I'm not pounding myself with 'I should have' or 'I shouldn't have'; I'm upset for being me!"
Lizzie sighed. "I can't tell you how to think, Matt."
"No, that's right." He took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Everything." Matt stood up and left the hospital room, allowing Lizzie to rest.
* * *
Matt sat down on his bed in his hotel room, talking to Lizzie on the phone. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I can't do anything just lying here. I don't want to hold up your Pokémon journey."
"Lizzie, I can wait a week or two waiting for you to get out. Do you honestly think I'm willing to go for more badges after what just happened?"
"I understand. But don't get too uptight, okay?"
"I'll try."
"Thank you." She then hung up.
Matt put the receiver down as shortly the phone began to ring again. He picked it up. "Hello...?"
"Yes, Mr. Tenks, this is the information desk."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not that. There are just some, uh, reporters here to see you about yesterday's incident."
"What? You didn't give them my room number, did you?"
"No, not yet. I'm wondering if I have permission to do so or not."
"Please don't. I'm not in any mood to speak with anybody right now."
"I understand. Have a good night."
"You, too." He put down the receiver and placed himself down on his bed. He replayed the images in his head: Lizzie getting shot, his commands to Onix, over and over again. He even replayed when Lizzie appeared, in her Black Rocket uniform. He hoped to burn it if he ever saw it again. "Part of that secret organization the entire time, and never asking me for help?" he said aloud. "I thought she was the one who kept telling me that I didn't have to keep doing things on my own, yet she suffered with this for how many years? She must feel ashamed.
"I don't deserve to travel with her. Not after everything I've done." He sat up straight on his bed. "But that's not going to stop me from going on. If I'm so determined to change my ways, I'll actually have to do something about it. From now on, no more bursts of anger." He searched through his backpack and pulled out his journal. "I haven't written in this in months."
After leaving a long entry, he read it over and grinned. "Wow...I actually feel a lot better." He put it back in his backpack and looked at the phone again. "I should give a shout to my mom...."
* * *
"Shoulder blade sore?" Matt asked.
Lizzie nodded. "I just have to make sure that I don't carry anything heavy for the next little while."
"I've got you covered." He smiled.
"Hey, you seem to be in a better mood."
"That's because I'm going to take what I've done in the past, and use them as stepping stones, other than tall brick walls."
"That's good! So, where are we going to go next?"
Matt pulled out his map of the Fenyuu League. "We're still in the Silver Quadrant, obviously. In the next Pokémon Center, there are three gyms. It'll take us about a day to get there; is that all right?"
Lizzie nodded. "We need the exercise."
"Good. Let's see how many trainers we'll have to challenge on our way."
As the day continued to lead on, the sun managed to break through the clouds. The past few cloudy, somewhat rainy days seem to be far behind. A cool, gentle breeze filled the fields with fresh air, and for the first time in a very long time, Matt felt very relaxed.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Matt said.
"Oh, don't hurt yourself!" Lizzie laughed.
"Very funny," Matt mumbled. "But seriously, I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed. Yet...I continue to feel guilty."
"About Arrmun?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I can't just let go of what happened. You saw what I did, I...I still can't believe I did that. Something is seriously wrong with me."
Lizzie sighed. "I can kind of understand, and even though I didn't agree to killing him, you obviously were in shock, I mean...I was shot."
Matt stopped walking, with Lizzie stopping almost instantly. "Well, we'll never have to worry every again about that. Black Rocket took a hard blow, and they'll be down for a while."
"But we're still in danger."
"Not likely. We took out their leader. And haven't you noticed how quiet everything's been the past couple of days? No news is good news."
"You've gotten really optimistic over the past couple of days."
"Is something wrong with that?" Matt asked with a smile.
Lizzie giggled. "No, not at all! It's just...it's a nice surprise. It reminds me when I first met you; energetic, excited, determined. I miss seeing that."
"Well, that's how it's going to be from here on in!"
* * *
"Here they are, good as new!" Nurse Joy said with a smile, handed over the Pokémon back to Matt.
"Thank you!"
"Hey, I thought I recognized you; you were on the news, weren't you?"
"Uh...I was?"
Lizzie suddenly jumped in. "Please, he's still feeling somewhat shocked about that incident."
"Oh, really? Well, I'm sorry!" Joy suddenly turned around and walked into the back room. Matt and Lizzie sat down on a nearby bench, putting their Pokémon back on their belts.
"That wasn't necessary, Lizzie."
"It was no problem."
"No, I mean it. I want to be able to speak for myself from now on."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I'm not upset. So, shall we tackle the gym leaders?"
Lizzie smiled. "Certainly."
"So, do you want to go to the same ones, or would you prefer us separating for a while?"
"Well, if you want we could separate. That way there's less distraction for the both of us."
"That sounds like a good idea. So, I guess I'll see you later then, huh?"
Matt nodded. "I'll be on my way in a minute, I just need to use the bathroom."
As Lizzie left the Pokémon Center, Matt ventured to find the men's restroom. He managed to find it, and a few minutes later he was ready to go again. He thought over which Pokémon he planned to use for which leader, however was not sure on which Pokémon they could use. He also wondered if there would be any other mazes or challenges before the match, however he instantly remembered that it was a trap set up by Black Rocket.
Matt looked outside, and saw Lizzie as she entered the gym that was closest to the Pokémon Center. When she's done there, she'll most likely go to the one that's closer to that, so, I'll just go to the farthest from, Matt thought to himself, and started to walk towards it.
It was just about late afternoon at the time, and the sun's beams weren't as warm as earlier on in the day. He looked and watched many trainers were doing battle with Pokémon, most of which he had yet to see. He used his Pokédex to pick up a few stats in case he was to meet one in the future.
"So many different Pokémon here," Matt punched in a couple of commands. "I can't believe how many different ones I've seen. I'll have to ask them after where they were able to find them."
As he was approaching the gym, he noticed somebody who just jumped down from a nearby tree. He looked familiar; somebody who he hasn't seen in a while.
"Hey! Didn't expect to see you in a place like this!"
Now he remembered. It was Ace.
"Why? You don't think I'm skilled enough?"
"Well, I'm not too sure. You didn't seem all that strong when I battled you the last time. I also heard you had some encounters with some Black Rocket creepy thing. How'd that turn out?"
Matt's face turned red. "I'm not in the mood to talk about it," he replied, walking towards the gym.
"Why? Did you lose again?"
Matt turned around. "Okay, first of all, what happened is none of your business, and second of all, I don't know why you seem to think that my entire life is completely evolved around Pokémon." After a few seconds of silence, Matt spoke again. "And another thing, your arrogance bothered me ever since I saw you, even though I don't know you that well, I can tell that you're just some stuck-up rich kid who thinks he's the greatest Pokémon trainer out there. Well, Ace, have you ever been involved in a life-threatening situation in which your best friend was shot just above her heart? Well, have you?!" He then turned around and once again began walking towards the gym.
"H-hey...you know, I didn't mean anything--"
"Just shut up! Don't let me catch you near me OR Lizzie, all right?!" Matt exclaimed, continuing to walk towards the gym.
"Lizzie...?" Ace replied quietly to himself. He then shook his head. "That kid has some serious anger issues. He should go into therapy or something," he said to himself, as he began to walk opposite of the gym.
Matt finally approached the large steel doors of yet another gym in Fenyuu. He took in a deep breath, then pushed the doors open. Inside was a staircase, which seemed to lead further into the gym. Matt began to climb down, and when he finally reached the bottom, he saw a large room. The lighting was dim, and the room was completely void.
"There's nothing here," Matt commented, as he took a few steps into the room.
Suddenly, a big, brick wall threw itself down in front of the stairs. Matt turned around, now noticing that there's no way out.
"Welcome!" a voice yelled with excitement. A tall, slender, red-haired woman appeared from the dim lighting on the opposite side of the room. "Are you here for a gym challenge?"
"Why else would I just walk down a creepy flight of stairs?" Matt asked, surprised that there was no puzzle or riddle or anything like that which was supposed to be required before facing the gym leader.
"Ooh! A cynical one; this should be a great match! But of course, you must know that my gym's a little different from the other gyms in this quadrant!"
"No kidding," Matt replied blandly.
"I feel that a one-on-one match where we just throw out commands is simply boring; I want a little more excitement! So, I made up these rules: Three Pokémon are released by BOTH trainers at one time! Now, wait just a second, none of us are going to command either of these Pokémon. We're just going to sit back and watch them fight!"
"Isn't that just like crude, unnecessary violence?"
"Not really, I just thought I'd spice things up a bit! Oh, of course, there is a height and weight requirement. See the ceiling? If a Pokémon is any taller than that, he or she will not be able to battle."
That means I can't use Onix, Matt thought.
"However, use any one that you want. For my three, I'm going to choose Raichu, Mareep, and Heracross!" Pulling out three Pokéballs, she released them out onto the field. Matt recognized the Raichu, however, the Mareep seemed very similar to the Flaaffy he recently saw with Ace, except smaller. The Heracross was also one he didn't see before. It was like a large, blue beetle, with a large horn on its head, and sharp claws.
"Well, then, in that case, I'll choose Wartortle, Charmeleon, and Zubat!" Matt replied, also throwing three Pokéballs out into the battlefield.
She giggled. "Not too smart. You have two Pokémon that are weak against electricity!"
Matt also smirked. "We'll just see."
"Let the match begin!"
Right off the bat, Raichu and Mareep began with releasing a powerful bolt of electricity, as Wartortle and Zubat managed to swiftly dodge to the side.
"It's up to you, you guys! Use your best judgment!" Matt called.
Charmeleon charged after Mareep, knocking it hard to the gym floor. Heracross countered by tackling Charmeleon from behind, also knocking it to the floor. Wartortle fired a large stream of water form its mouth and managed to knock Raichu off balance before tackling it to the floor.
"Ha-ha!" Matt cheered.
"Come on, you guys! Come on!" the gym leader yelled.
Raichu recovered and launched another bold of electricity, which really caused a lot of damage to Wartortle. To counter, he launched forth and targeted Raichu head on with its skull, which knocked Raichu right out of the field, and into the wall. It was not moving.
"RAICHU!" she exclaimed.
Mareep, frustrated by losing its companion, was prepared to release a bolt of electricity of its own towards Wartortle, however Zubat swooped in at the final second to take the blow, falling to the field unconscious.
"He took one for the team, Wartortle, don't let that sheep-thing get away with it! Geez, I can never remember its name." Matt took out his Pokédex and scanned Mareep.
Charmeleon, who was attacking Heracross a moment ago, switched partners, and released a stream of scorching hot flames, which charred Mareep. However, it was still mobile, and battle ready. Wartortle used this opportunity to jump into its shell and commenced spinning, releasing extremely large streams of water, striking the Mareep. The force of the attack knocked it into the wall, and it was no longer moving. All that was left was Heracross.
Heracross refused to take this sitting down. It managed to dodge a few swift tackles, and decided to take out Wartortle in one precise hit. It released a tackle on Wartortle so strong, the force of it caused him to be knocked right into the wall. All that was left was Charmeleon and Heracross.
Charmeleon decided to use all of its physical sources. It attempted to scratch at it times, followed by a swipe from its tail, knocking Heracross off balance. It then released another stream of scorching hot flames, in an attempt to finish it off. Heracross took the brunt of the attack, before collapsing. It was still breathing, but unable to battle anymore.
"Stop, stop, you win!" the gym leader exclaimed. "Geez, you didn't have to be so rough!"
"It was your idea to create this type of gym, wasn't it?"
"Oh, shush. Here, take the stupid badge!" She violently threw a small silver coin-like badge, and Matt caught it with his right hand. He then pulled out his Pokéballs and returned each Pokémon back to its proper place.
"That was certainly a different experience," Matt stated. "But it sure was kind of fun."
"Yeah, yeah," she replied, flipping a switch which removed the wall to the staircase.
"Thanks," Matt responded, climbing the stairs to the exit of the gym. As he exited, he noticed the sun was setting, and could faintly hear somebody calling his name in the distance.
"Matt! Matt!" Lizzie cried, running towards Matt.
"Lizzie? What's wrong, nothing seems right. How'd the gym battle go?"
"The battle? Really well, I won by a thread, but that's not the point! I just heard something on the news!"
Matt felt a chill down his spine. "It's not about the Black Rocket incident, is it?"
"No, it's actually a lot different. Protestors all over each league are boycotting Pokémon!"
"What?!"
"A lot of misfortunes due to the antics of some stupid kid. Come on, one of the protestors is at the Pokémon Center! We have to speak to him!"
"Preventing me from raising Pokémon? We'll soon see about that...."
TO BE CONTINUED.
