RS: Voidmoon: Yeah, Aron is one of my favorite Pokemon too. Nice narrator skills. I know you'll achieve your dream. Lol

littoaznelf: Thanks for the grammar note…everyone makes mistakes, and most of the everyone doesn't have time to fix them. French onions? Oh yeah, Mexican carrots!

potatoarecool: Stupid Charley. You actually went and got a fanfiction username? Oh my gosh. Lol, Canada.

CHAPTER 11 IS FINALLY HERE!


Cloud Dragon, Round One

"Here's the money." Brian handed the innkeeper some cash, then he and Celia released their Pokemon along with Andy's. The innkeeper was startled by the strange mechanical device. They gave their Pokemon to him so he could nurse them back to health. They then went back to the lobby where Andy was talking to someone.

The guy Andy was talking to evidently was very excited. "Oh my gosh, are you really going to fight Eric? He is so harsh to us. I'll be cheering for you, dude!"

Andy replied, "Ok… thanks… um… do you know what type of Pokemon he uses?"

"OOH! I KNOW THIS ONE! He's a fanatical flying-type person." "Thanks, you were a great help." "Anytime anywhere as long as it's against Eric!" Andy walked to Brian and Celia.

"He's kinda off…" They sat together on benches near the entrance of the inn.

"Hmm… I wonder, where is the noble in the first place?" "See that building?" Andy pointed out the window at a large red and white building. It was one story taller than the other houses.

"Yeah, he's in there." Brian spoke up. "How about the guards? And is he like a gym leader? Do we issue a challenge or something? Or do we barge in and beat his Pokemon to a pulp like some terrorist?"

"I think we should sneak our way in, find the noble, then challenge him. If he refuses, we attack."

"Good idea." Celia commented. "And if we get caught by guards, then we can just say we are tourists from Utila. They say that Rivet Town is very peaceful and quiet. People go here all the time to just relax."

"That explains why there were so many inns." Brian pointed out.

Andy continued. "Okay, about his Pokemon. I asked some people for information when you two were waiting in line to get the rooms. He is a flying-type fanatic. He uses all flying Pokemon."

"Another reason to get Flash back more quickly. I say we should go rescue him first."

"No. After we beat the noble, the whole town will be freed of Shade occupation. Then we will easily get Flash back, wherever he is."

Brian was thinking. "Remember that Altaria that attacked us back on the road? I've got a feeling that it is one of the noble's Pokemon. There is a good chance it took Flash and brought it here."

Andy said to Celia, "See? Flash will be fine. Now, our best bet is to go with Pokemon with wide range attacks that could shoot down a flying-type in the air. Blaze has a wide Ember, Kroc could use Surf or Bubble, and Nidor has Poison Sting."

"What about Zeck?" "He's a grass-type. Grass-attacks don't do that much damage to fliers." "But what about Iron Tail?" "He'd have to jump pretty high to get that attack landed." "Oh…but what about Dekor?" "Too slow, can't jump very high to land physical attacks, and his Mud Slap doesn't affect flying Pokemon." "…"

The innkeeper walked to them with their Pokemon trailing behind him.

"Here are your Pokemon!"

Kroc jumped into Celia's arms while the others went back into their Pokeballs and into the Pokedexes.

"Ok, we are going to rest up for the night. We'll start our plan tomorrow. Goodnight…" The three walked up the staircase and into the second floor. There was a hallway that ran across to the other side. Rooms were along both walls. Celia walked to the third room on the right and went in. Andy's was one more room further. Brian's was one room back. Brian couldn't open the door. He slammed his fist repeatedly until Zeck popped out, turned the key backward, and opened the door for him.

"OOH! So that's why it wouldn't open…" He heard Celia say loudly from her room, "Morons these days…"


Inside Brian's room all his Pokemon popped out. There were two beds. Brian put his backpack on one of them and his Pokemon were on the other one.

(Pokenese)

Dekor sniffed the blanket cautiously.

"I've never experienced such softness. Cold ground and packed dirt have been my beds for my whole life." He plopped down contently and fell asleep in the center of the bed. Claws went to the pillow and slept there. Zeck jumped on Brian's bed when Brian went inside the small restroom to take a bath. When he came back out, Zeck had fallen asleep. Brian smiled and laid down on the bed next to Zeck. He closed his eyes and sleep came to him shortly.


(Normal)

"AAAhhh…" Brian yawned as he woke up. Claws, Dekor, and Zeck were still asleep. Brian changed in the restroom and then returned all his Pokemon. He walked outside and down the staircase to join Andy and Celia.

"What took you so long Brian?" Celia fumed.

"Jeez, just trying to get some more sleep…" They walked into the dining hall that was across the hall from the lobby to get breakfast. (so convenient…a dining hall)

After eating, they walked out of the inn and into the street. People were walking around everywhere with their daily things.

"Hmm… There's the town hall. Let's go!" The three went to the hall and stopped in front of it. Two Shades were standing next to the door.

"Let's find another way in." They circled the building to find another entrance. Andy found a door on the side of the building. He motioned for Brian and Celia. Blaze burned the padlock on it and they went in.

"Wow, so many paintings." Celia stated.

They walked down a corridor that led to a hallway with many rooms. A maid walked out one of them. She stared at the three, shrugged, then walked into another room. They continued until they came to the tall red door at the end of the hallway.

"I guess this is it…" Brian turned the knob and walked in. He saw a man in his early thirties or so. The man had white hair. Probably dyed it… Brian thought. He was wearing a grey cloak over a black shirt and grey pants. His blue eyes looked at them curiously.

"How did you three get in?"

"Well, there kinda was an unlocked door at the side of the building." The man sighed.

"I keep telling them to lock it, but no… who are you people?" Brian stepped forward.

"We're here to challenge you to a Pokemon match so we can beat you and free Rivet Town of the King of Shadow's evil!"

The man smile. "Well, my name is Eric… I'll accept that challenge. If you lose though, I'll have to put you in prison. Now, I suppose I'll have to battle all three of you. Okay, a four on four match. You guys can use any combination of four Pokemon in your party. We'll go to my private battle court."

They followed him out of his room and back into the hallway. Guards came out at the sight of the intruders, but Eric just waved at them and they stopped. Then they turned at the corridor into a yard. They walked until they saw a rectangle area surrounded by bleachers. The grass had been cut off and it was covered with stone slabs all over. There were boxes for the combatants to stand in.

"Bring me my Pokemon." A servant went up to Eric, kneeled, and presented him with four crystals on top of a cushion.

Brian looked at the crystals, then remembered that the noble's assistant had one. Brian noticed that the noble's assistant was standing in the back, watching his boss. The bleachers soon filled up with common people to watch the noble battle.

A man with brown clothing walked out to the center of the field.

"This match will be of coliseum rules. To win, you must knock out all four of your opponent's Pokemon. The noble is unable to recall Pokemon while the challengers are. If a Pokemon leaves the field, they are disqualified. Understand?"

Brian, Andy, and Celia nodded. Celia said, "I'll start." She walked up to the box while Eric pocketed the four crystals.

The judge said, "Begin!" Celia threw her Pokeball into the air. It opened up a white light shot out that formed into a Totodile. Eric smiled. "I choose you, Golbat! He pointed his crystal at the field. A multicolored beam shot out that materialized into a blue bat with a huge mouth.

"Gol!" The crowd booed him. "You suck Eric! Your Pokemon suck too! Leave Rivet now!" Several Shades walked into the crowd and started whacking people with sticks. The crowd soon stopped.

Celia looked uncertain. Golbats can suck health, right? "Kroc, Water Gun!" The little crocodile blasted a stream of water out at the bat. The Golbat was still standing in one place with both its wings covering its face.

"Now Golbat!" It flew into the air and narrowly dodged the stream of water.

"Leech life!" Green fangs appeared at the side of Golbat. It pointed both its wings at Kroc. Then the fangs flew at her.

"Look out!" Kroc shot out water in self defense. The attack neutralized the Leech Life.

"Hm… you aren't all that bad. Air Cutter now!" The Golbat slashed its wings and blades of air rushed at Kroc. They connected into her and blasted her backward.

"Scary Face!" Kroc glared at the Golbat with menacing eyes and all her fangs showing. She even dripped saliva.

The Golbat was startled by the attack and for a moment it stopped beating its wings. That left the perfect opportunity for Kroc to blast it down with a Bubble attack. The bubbles flew straight at the Golbat, exploding on contact. It dropped to the ground.

"Bite!" Kroc lunged at the bat Pokemon and clamped down on its wing with her sharp fangs.

The Golbat winced in pain, then shot out strong sound waves that hit Kroc, confusing her. She wobbled around with a dreamy look on her face.

"Kroc! Try fighting back with another Bite!" She stared at her tail and bit it. The jolt of pain knocked her back to her senses. But the Golbat had already taken advantage of Kroc's status problem. Green fangs appeared and they all flew at Kroc. When they pierced into her, they melted away into energy strands that went back into Golbat, healing it.

"Oh no! Kroc!"

"Finish it with Steel Wing!" Golbat's wings turned grey. It then flew into the air and dove at Kroc. Just before it hit, Celia returned Kroc, safe in her Pokeball.

"That was close… I'll save her for another round. You go, Brian…"

The judge spoke. "The challenger has swapped Pokemon in hopes of having one of her teammates be strong enough to win. Let's see who her teammate's Pokemon is."

Brian took Celia's place in the box. He whipped out his Pokeball and threw it. The light had turned into an Aron.

"It's an Aron! Eric's in trouble now! Most of his attacks won't do that much!"

"Go Dekor! Use Metal Claw!" Dekor's right paw grew into a grey claw. He jumped and slashed at Golbat. But unfortunately, Dekor couldn't jump high enough. He was short about five feet and he fell down on the ground.

"Fly down there with Steel Wing!" Golbat's wings grew grey and it flew down at the Aron. But Dekor jumped over the attack and landed on the Golbat's back.

"Dekor! Now that you have the chance, weigh it down with mud! Use Mud Slap!" Dekor clung on to the desperate Golbat as it tried to lose its unwanted passenger. Dekor sucked in air and spat a large glob of mud at Golbat's wings. They stuck on and Golbat couldn't stay in the air. It steadily went lower and lower until it collapsed on the ground.

"Mud Slap again!" Another glob of mud hit the Golbat. It splattered over its eyes, blinding it.

"Golbat, try shaking the mud off!" "Metal Claw it now!" Golbat futilely shook himself to get the mud off. Dekor charged in with two Metal Claws that tore through Golbat's thin, muddy wings. The claws then grew slightly bigger.

"Oh yeah, the attack boost! Metal Claw again!" Dekor repeatedly slashed Golbat with his two powerful Metal Claws. After a claw to the head, Golbat toppled over in defeat.

The judge cried, "And the winner is the challenger's Aron!" The crowd cheered.

Eric was slightly surprised. "Wow. You're pretty good, I'll tell you that. Now, can you beat this?" He shot out a beam that materialized into a bird with short hair. It flew into the air and cried, "Pidgeoooo!"

"Go Pidgeotto! Show them what a REAL Mud Slap looks like!" The bird flew down and spat out mud into the air. It then slapped the mud at the Aron with its wings. The mud hit Dekor in the face, blocking off his sight. It was also supereffective, which means it weakened Dekor considerably.

"Dekor, scratch it off with Metal Claw!" Dekor ripped the mud off with his Claws, then scanned the sky to find his opponent. The Aron looked confused because he couldn't find the bird.

"BEHIND YOU!" "Pidgeotto, Steel Wing!" Dekor turned around and saw the Pidgeotto charging up its wings to a shiny grey color. Then it flew toward Dekor with astonishing speed.

"Hit it with a…" Dekor opened his mouth and fired a shower of rock pellets at Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeooo!" it cried as it suffered a supereffective shot.

Brian was obviously confused. "What just happened?" Andy answered, "Your Aron just learned how to use Rock Blast. It's basically a rock-type Bullet Seed."

Brian smiled. "Rock Blast!" Dekor again fired rock pellets. But Pidgeotto flew higher and higher until the pellets couldn't reach it.

"Steel Wing." The speck in the sky glinted in the sun. It then grew bigger and bigger until a flash of grey slammed down on Dekor. After the dust cleared Pidgeotto was standing on top of the Aron with both of its wings having a sliver glaze.

"NO! Dekor!" "The winner is Eric's Pidgeotto!" The crowd loudly booed.

"Cmon Kroc you're up again!" The blue crocodile came back on the field with a new determination in her eyes.

"Aerial Ace!" "Bite!" The bird flew into the air and then spiraled down with both its talons extended toward the small crocodile. But before it could land a hit, the Totodile opened its mouth and clamped down on one of the talons. Pidgeotto flew up in pain with Kroc literally at its heels.

"Shake it off with a Gust!" The bird spun around and around until it was a tannish blurry tornado with a streak of blue near the bottom. Then the blue part flew off and the Totodile slammed into the ground, hard.

"Kroc! Are you ok?" Kroc stood up and grinned at her trainer. "Good! Bubblebeam!" A flurry of small bubbles flew up at the Pidgeotto.

"Blow them away with Whirlwind!" The bird flapped its wings tremendously quickly and a strong wind blew the bubbles back at Kroc.

"Use Rage!" The bubbles hit the crocodile just as her eyes grew red. They grew a darker red after the bubbles hit.

"Heh, use another Aerial Ace!" The blur of tan flew down and struck a blow on Kroc's back. The attack left a gash on her back.

"Hold your ground…" "Aerial Ace! Again!" Pidgeotto continued to launch torpedo-like strikes to the seemingly helpless Totodile. But with each attack Kroc's eyes grew a more intense red.

"Finish it with Aerial Ace!" Time seemed to slow as the Pidgeotto flew down to defeat its opponent. It was met in mid-air by a red-eyed demonic tail slam. The bird spun around 720 degrees before falling to the ground. It slowly got up.

"Kroc! Use a… uh… don't be so rough…um…we don't want to KILL, do we? Kroc? Hey Kroc stop!" Kroc's eyes returned to normal and she turned around and grinned sheepishly. The Pidgeotto was covered in bite and scratch marks. Feathers were strewn about everywhere.

Brian stared. "It won't be flying for some time…"

"The winner is the challenger's Totodile!" The crowd cheered again. "Kroc! Kroc! Kroc!"

Eric returned his badly torn up bird, then reached for another stone. In a flash, a red lizard appeared. A horn stuck out from the back of its head. It was the evolved form of Charmander, Charmeleon!

Celia stared. "Um… aren't you a flying type fanatic?" "This… was my first Pokemon. Eventually he will become a magnificent Charizard! Let's start this already! Ember now!" "You made a mistake using a fire-type against Kroc! Water Gun!"

An orange fireball flew toward the Totodile as it sucked in air and spewed out a stream of water. The Water Gun neutralized the Ember attack instantly.

"Use Rage!" "You too, Kroc!" The two Pokemon's eyes both grew red. Then they both charged at the same time. But Charmeleon was faster, therefore landing a slash mark on Kroc's shoulder. But then she slammed her tail at Charmeleon's stomach, toppling him over. The two attacks beefed up both their Rages even more.

"Keep it up, Kroc!" "Finish her off!" The two collided in clawfights and tail whippings. Charmeleon lashed out his burning tail which narrowly missed Kroc's head. Her own tail slammed into his face and he spun 360 degrees. He landed on one of his feet and twisted around to gain balance. Then he slashed upward, catching Kroc on her chin. She lashed back with her own slash, only to be intercepted by a burning tail to the face. Kroc did a backflip and a landed on her stomach.

"Oh no! Kroc! Use Surf!" Kroc slowly got up. But Charmeleon was faster. He lunged forward, the red in his eyes intensely dark.

Kroc reacted on her own and fired a point blank Water Gun. The attack hit head on and Charmeleon was flung back by the force of the water and its supereffectiveness on him.

"Surf, now!" Kroc used both her arms and grabbed at the air above the ground. She slowly lifted them; her face showing deep concentration.

"To…to…DILE!" She lifted her arms straight into the air. A wave of water burst through the ground and fell on Charmeleon. After the water resided, a Charmeleon with squiggly circles for eyes was seen against the wall of the arena. It's tail flame was flickering lightly.

The crowd went wild. They were screaming hysterically. Even the judge was surprised.

"And…and…the wwwwinner iiis the Totodile! The noble has one Pokemon left while the challengers have 3, including Totodile."

Celia said, "Eric, you should tend to him quickly. He's close to dying."

"Why would you be concerned with an evil person's Pokemon?"

"Controlled by an evil person or not, it's still a living Pokemon. And I know all Pokemon have some good inside somewhere."

"Well, we'll see if you change your attitude once you see my next Pokemon. It's over you kids. It's time to kick it up a notch. Cloud Dragon, come forth!" The crowd gasped. The judge stepped back. The noble's assistant in the back looked up, surprised.

However, Brian, Andy, and Celia were clueless. "Cloud Dragon?" Eric smiled. "Yes, and this battle is the last battle your Pokemon will ever face!" He held up his stone, and a beam of pure dark blasted into the air. A moment later, a devilish screech was heard. The dragon's form was blue. It's wings were cloudlike, but they were dark colored. Thin strands of dark flame came from the head. It flew around in circles before landing in front of Eric.

Brian yelled out, "That's the Altaria that attacked us earlier on! Be careful, it's very powerful!"

Eric raised his eyebrow. "You've met the Cloud Dragon alre…you must have been the unidentified travelers! The Cloud Dragon captured a Pikachu from that group."

"FLASH! You better have not done anything bad to him!"

Eric laughed evilly. "I don't think the guards have been too rough with it."

Celia gasped. Then yelled, "YOU HEARTLESS DEMON!"

"Hmph…Cloud Dragon, Dragonbreath!"

The Altaria flew up and blasted silky green flames at Kroc.

"Water Gun!" Kroc was panting heavily, but managed to shoot a stream of water at the approaching attack. The Dragonbreath immediately passed through the Water Gun, nullifying it.

"Wha…" The flames hit Kroc dead on. She fell on the ground, but still refused to give up.

"Kroc, let's fight this for Flash! Bubblebeam!" "Black Shadow!"

A dark silhouette rose up from the Altaria's body. It swirled into an orb that floated above the battlefield. The Cloud Dragon's eyes suddenly turned red.

"Shadow Wing!" The Altaria's wings burst into black flames. It dove down at the Totodile who was shooting a stream of bubbles to defend itself.

The Cloud Dragon slammed one of its wings and it negated the Bubblebeam. It slammed the other wing onto Kroc. She fell over, finally defeated.

"KROC!" Celia went to the middle of the battle field. She picked up her injured Pokemon. After consoling it for a bit, she returned it and walked toward Brian and Andy.

Boos from the crowd echoed as the three discussed what to do next.

Brian said, "Give Zeck a chance!" Andy cut in. "It's too suicidal. One flying attack and Zeck's out." "You're underestimating him." "Yeah, but now's not the time to test how strong he is." "Give me a chance!" "You got one with Dekor!" "Zeck can fight!" "I don't doubt that, but can it fight a superior superPokemon?" Celia cut in. "Give Brian another chance and see how well Zeck does. If Brian has any good qualities, it's determination, and if he puts his mind on it, he can do it." "Thanks Celia…wait, what do you mean 'has any good qualities?' Man, I have other-" "Just go and fight!"

Brian walked to the trainer box and zapped out Zeck's Pokeball.

"Make me proud…" Brian muttered as he flung his Pokeball in the air. After the usual light and everything Zeck was standing in front of Brian. It took one look at the Dragon, then spit on the ground.

The crowd went "oooh"

The Altaria perked up its head and screeched. It acted on its own and flew into the air, both flaming wings outstretched. It flew down and aimed for the Treecko. But just as it was about to connect, the Treecko jumped and landed on the Altaria's neck.

"BULLET SEED!" Zeck unleashed a flurry of energized seeds at point blank range. They all hit their target, causing moderate damage.

"Keep it up!" "Shake it off!" Zeck continued with his chain of Bullet Seeds while the Altaria spun around and around, attempting to throw Zeck off.

Zeck held on but then lost his grasp when the Altaria unexpectedly twisted its head and Zeck flew off.

He cushioned his fall by landing on his tail. But before he could react, a gust of wind blew him into the air where the Altaria was waiting.

"Shadow Wing!" Both wings flared up and the Altaria flew toward the Treecko suspended in the air by the Gust.

"Iron Tail when it's close!" Zeck's tail grew intensely white while the shadowy flaming dragon approached.

In a split second, Zeck had flung his tail out and the Iron Tail connected with the Cloud Dragon's skull. But not before it flung its wing out and slammed it across Zeck's body, sending him flying to the ground at a high speed. When he landed, he was out cold.

"The challenger's Treecko is out, the Cloud Dragon is the winner!" "BOOOO!"

Brian sullenly returned his Treecko and walked back to Celia while Andy went to the trainer's box.

"I'm going to take you down Eric, and your little pathetic dragon. Go Blaze!" Andy's faithful Charmander entered the battleground.

"Oh, and you're calling my Dragon small, eh?"

"The challenger has chosen a Charmander! Begin!"

"Blaze, Ember!" Blaze shot out fireballs from his mouth. They were surprisingly fast. Altaria couldn't react before part of its body was slightly singed from the attack.

"Wing Attack!" "Flamethrower!" The Altaria spiraled down with both its wings outstreatched. It flew down like a tornado toward the small fire lizard.

Before it reached Blaze, he opened his mouth and a stream of fire rushed out and hit the incoming Dragon. After getting hit by the Flamethrower, it was forced to turn.

"Shadow Wing!" The Altaria circled around and came back for Blaze.

"Use your tail!" Blaze jumped up and spun his tail around crazily. He looked like a flaming tornado. The Altaria came closer and closer until it raised one of its wings and slammed down. It connected with Blaze and he fell, not before roasting the Altaria's wing with his tail flame.

Blaze crashed down on the ground with a sickening thud. But he got back up and still had plenty of energy left.

"Now, finish off the brat with your Hyper Beam!" The Altaria gathered white orbs of energy in its mouth. They melded into a large, single white orb that was growing larger.

"Counter with Flare!" Blaze's eyes turned orange as his tail flame grew and grew. He spun around and the tail flame burst forward. But at that moment the Altaria released the Hyper Beam. The white hot flame current rushed toward the powerful white beam. They connected, and then a massive explosion occurred.

"Blaze!"


Author's notes: Ooh, cliffy. I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. Too much homework, too much stuff to do…