Chapter 65:
The Elite Rematch
Location: The Pokémon League
If there was one thing that made the second time round of the Elite Four much less worrying, it was the lack of a Team Plasma presence. However, piled on top at that moment was the fact that Alder was at the end, and the Elite Four had gotten stronger. They were going to be pulling out all the big guns. After all, I'm a hero of Unova; I didn't want them to be treating me like some beginner.
Loaded on Revives and Full Restores, I headed into the large temple. I was once again greeted with the crossroads. Deciding I wanted to take the Elite Four on in a different order, I decided to take on Grimsley first.
I once again went up the giant escalator in the gothic hall to see the black-haired gentleman at the top. He had a pack of cards with him.
"I'll go the ten of clubs this time," I said.
Grimsley went through the deck and pulled out the jack of hearts instead. "Well, it seems luck might not be on your side this time. That being said, you took down N and Team Plasma; I must congratulate you. You even used some strategy; unheard of in my book. But now, we are going to put luck to the test again. Not that I have been training; my team is stronger now. Let's spin the wheel!"
Hilbert Vs. Grimsley
"Scrafty, you're first!" I yelled.
"Come out Sharpedo!" yelled Grimsley. He sent out a mean looking aquatic Pokémon that was navy and had sets of sharp teeth.
Sharpedo (サメハダー)
319 (National)
Water/Dark Type
Brutal Pokémon
5'11" (1.8 m)
195.8 lbs (88.8 kg)
Its fangs rip through sheet iron. It swims at 75mph (121kph) and is known at "The Bully of the Sea."
Carvanha -Lv 30- Sharpedo
"Sharpedo, start with Aqua Jet!" Sharpedo darted forward as water gushed past it. It rammed into Scrafty for little damage.
"High Jump Kick!" Scrafty leapt forward but missed. It hit the ground and scraped its knee.
"Now use Waterfall Sharpedo!" Sharpedo created a large pillar of water in front of Scrafty. Then, it darted down and attacked.
"High Jump Kick again!" Scrafty kicked Sharpedo in the face for lots of damage. However, Sharpedo had the Rough Skin Ability, so it did some damage to Scrafty.
"Another Waterfall!" Sharpedo darted into Scrafty again.
"Brick Break!" Sharpedo didn't need another High Jump Kick to go down, so one chop from Scrafty finished it. Not without some damage to Scrafty of course.
"Interesting. Okay Liepard, go!" Grimsley sent out the quadruped Pokémon I was more than familiar with. "Use Fake Out!" Liepard clapped in front of Scrafty, forcing a flinch. "Now Aerial Ace!" Liepard dove into Scrafty with its Flying Type move. It was Super Effective and knocked out my Fighting Type.
"Grimsley may have gotten stronger, but so have I. Go Excadrill!" I shouted.
"Night Slash Liepard!" Liepard sliced Excadrill for not very effective damage.
"Use X-Scissor!" I shouted as Excadrill swiped Liepard in the face with an X formation.
"Night Slash again!" Liepard didn't have much to do let's say. The Night Slash didn't do much either.
"One more X-Scissor!" I shouted. One more Bug Type move from Excadrill finished Liepard off.
"Maybe luck is on your side. Scrafty, go!" Grimsley sent out his own Scrafty.
"Thanks, Excadrill. Okay Chandelure, go!" I was aware that Chandelure was weak to Dark Type moves, but at least the Fighting Type moves would be useless on it. "Start with Flame Burst!" Chandelure fired a flame at Scrafty.
"Scrafty, Head Smash!" Scrafty charged into Chandelure at full pelt. It did a lot to Chandelure, almost finishing it off. But it did a lot to Scrafty to.
"Maybe we will have to chance it. Chandelure, Inferno!" Chandelure created a pillar of flames, but it missed.
"Luck is certainly not on your side today. Scrafty, Crunch!" Scrafty bit down on Chandelure, finishing it off.
"Zekrom, go!" I shouted. I was hoping it would work.
"High Jump Kick Scrafty!" Scrafty leapt forward, but it missed! Scrafty kept going and crashed.
"I guess luck isn't on your side!" I said, mimicking Grimsley's posh voice (awfully to). "Use Fusion Bolt!" Zekrom charged into Scrafty covered in electricity, and it was down.
"Impressive. Okay Drapion, you're next!" Grimsley sent out a threatening purple Pokémon with sharp claws on its hand and tail.
Drapion (ドラピオン)
452 (National)
Poison/Dark Type
Ogre Scorp Pokémon
4'03" (1.3 m)
135.6 lbs (61.5 kg)
Possessing a sturdy build, it takes pride in its strength, taking down foes with toxins.
Skorupi -Lv 40- Drapion
"Okay Zekrom, Fusion Bolt!" Zekrom charged into Drapion covered in electricity, but it surprisingly didn't do much. Drapion had quite high Defense.
"Poison Fang!" Drapion's jaws started to glow purple as bubbles started surrounding them. It went over to Zekrom and bit down. Upon impact, Zekrom was badly poisoned.
Knowing enough was enough, I switched strategies. "Excadrill, come out!" After recalling Zekrom, I had Excadrill come out to take another Poison Fang. Being a Steel Type, it didn't feel a thing. "Now use Earthquake!" Excadrill made the entire Pokémon League shake, and blasted away a lot of Drapion's HP.
"Fire Fang Drapion!" For crying out loud. Drapion's fangs caught fire, and it bit Excadrill.
"Rock Slide!" Excadrill made rocks fall from the sky, and it finished Drapion.
"Maybe luck isn't on MY side. Until now! Krookodile, go!" Grimsley sent out his Ground Type, gaping mouth and all.
"Come back Excadrill. Samurott, come on out!" My Water Type would wash away Krookodile.
"Use Outrage!" Krookodile's eyes started to glow red. Then, it thrashed at Samurott.
"Hydro Pump!" Samurott fired a large amount of water at Krookodile. Critical Hit! Krookodile was finished.
"Okay Bisharp, go!" Grimsley said.
I recalled Samurott for Scrafty. I wanted to finish it off. "Use High Jump Kick!" Scrafty kicked Bisharp in the face, almost knocking it out.
"Nice try. Bisharp, Metal Burst!" Bisharp fired a metal ball at Scrafty. When it hit, the ball exploded. Scrafty was down. "You think you got lucky didn't you. Metal Burst does 1.5x the damage as the move used on the Pokémon last."
It didn't matter; Bisharp was almost down. "Zekrom, go!" I shouted. "Fusion Bolt!" One more electronic tackle and Bisharp was down.
"Well, you got lucky a couple of times. But I will admit that you used some strategy to, and I will commend you for that. You certainly didn't get lucky becoming a hero did you. Okay, I will stop delaying you. Onward to your next opponent!"
The next opponent I decided to take on was Caitlin, the first Trainer I took on during my first challenge.
Unsurprisingly, she was asleep again. But she woke up.
"You… woke me. Oh, it's you. The hero of Unova. Funny, I was having a dream about another hero. One who took on my previous servant at one point. Will our battle be just like that one? Well, let's see."
Hilbert Vs. Caitlin
"Excadrill, you're first!" I shouted.
"Musharna, go." Caitlin sent out her floating sleeper.
"X-Scissor!" Excadrill attacked Musharna with its Super Effective Bug Type attack.
"Use Reflect." Musharna created a shield around itself, meaning that X-Scissor's damage would be halved. Great.
"Just keep at it. X-Scissor again!" Excadrill got in another X-Scissor. It was a Critical hit, and Musharna just needed one more hit in.
"Use Hypnosis." To my horror, Musharna started sending sleepy waves at Excadrill. To my delight, it missed!
"Now use Sandstorm!" Excadrill created a sandstorm on the field that took away the last ounce of health that Musharna had.
"Sigilyph, go." Out came the Flying Type which was as weird as the day I fought N's.
"Rock Slide Excadrill!" Despite the Reflect, the Sand Force did wonders and did half damage to Sigilyph.
"Ice Beam." Sigilyph shot a white beam at Excadrill, dealing the first bit of damage to Excadrill in the entire battle.
"One more Rock Slide!" Excadrill made rocks fall from the ceiling once more, and defeated Sigilyph.
"Well, we are at an interesting point. Go Bronzong." Out came a grey Pokémon with red eyes on its abdomen. It looked like a bell and was floating.
Bronzong (ドータクン)
437 (National)
Steel/Psychic Type
Bronze Bell Pokémon
4'03" (1.3 m)
412.3 lbs (187 kg)
It brought rains by opening portals to another world. It was revered as a bringer of plentiful harvests.
Bronzor -Lv33- Bronzong
"Earthquake!" Excadrill used its strong Ground Type move, but it didn't do a thing.
"Nice try, but Bronzong's Levitate means that it won't be feeling any Ground Type moves. Use Psychic." Bronzong lifted up Excadrill telepathically, then threw it on the ground.
Whilst not very effective, I decided that it would be a bit harder to take down. So, I sent out Scrafty to tank a Psychic which did nothing. Thankfully, the Reflect had disappeared at that point. "Use High Jump Kick!" Scrafty kicked Bronzong, which did a bit more than a third of damage. Bronzong had high Defense.
"Use Charge Beam." Bronzong fired a yellow electrified beam at Scrafty. It didn't do much, but Bronzong's Sp. Attack rose.
"Another High Jump Kick!" Scrafty attacked Bronzong again successfully.
"Flash Cannon." Bronzong fired a large white beam at Scrafty that did quite a bit due to the stat raising.
"Finish with Crunch!" Scrafty bit down on Bronzong, dealing the final blow.
"Impressive. Go Reuniclus." The green blobby Pokémon entered.
"Crunch it!" Scrafty chomped down on Reuniclus, who's Defense also fell.
"Focus Blast." Reuniclus created a ball of energy in between its palms. It fired it at Scrafty, and finished it in one shot.
"Scrafty!" I shouted. I didn't have too much to worry about mind; I was winning. "Chandelure, come out!" My Ghost Type entered. "Shadow Ball!" Chandelure fired the black ball at Reuniclus, almost dealing with it.
"Thunder." Reuniclus created thunderclouds above Chandelure. Then, a bolt of lightning hit it dealing a lot to it.
"Chandelure!" I yelled. "We have this. Shadow Ball!" Chandelure fired one more Shadow Ball at Reuniclus, and it was finished.
"Wow, you are strong. Really. Okay Gothitelle, go!" Caitlin shouted.
"Shadow Ball!" Chandelure fired another Shadow Ball, which did a LOT to Gothitelle.
"Use Shadow Ball back." Oh drat. Gothitelle's Shadow Ball ended Chandelure.
"Urgh. Strong. Excadrill, come out!" I shouted. "X-Scissor!" Excadrill swiped Gothitelle in an X formation. That's all she wrote.
"Time for my newest and strongest Pokémon. Go Metagross!" The final Pokémon was a four-legged Steel behemoth with terrifying claws and an X on its face.
Metagross (メタグロス)
376 (National)
Steel/Psychic Type
Iron Leg Pokémon
5'03" (1.6 m)
1212.5 lbs (550 kg)
Metang combined to form it. With four brains, it has the intelligence of a supercomputer.
Beldum -Lv 20- Metang -Lv 45- Metagross
"We have a strong one Excadrill, but we also have a Type advantage. Use Earthquake!" Excadrill made the entire ground shake, and Metagross took about half damage.
"Earthquake back!" Oh crud. Metagross made the ground shake in return, knocking out Excadrill.
"No!" I shouted. After one move, I could safely say I was terrified. But I wasn't going to lose. "Samurott, go!" I shouted. "Use Hydro Pump!" Samurott fired water at Metagross, which just about brought it down to red.
"Giga Impact!" Metagross charged into Samurott at hull pelt. Samurott flew back in front of me, barely getting up.
"You okay?" I asked. "Metagross can't move for another turn. Let's use this opportunity to win. Surf!" Samurott created a large wave that crashed into Metagross. "And one more!" Samurott used it once more, finishing off the living computer.
"Yes, I can see that my hero dream was foreshadowing our battle. Thank you for this. I will go back to sleep and start dreaming up my next strategy for another Trainer. Thank you. Onto your next challenge; you're halfway there."
Shauntal was the next Trainer I decided to take on. She was the fourth one on my first attempt, and now she was the third on my second attempt.
I was lifted up with the wisps of the haunted house room that she resided in. I saw her at the top, going at it on a typewriter.
""Do you know Thunderbolt?" That was his first greeting to me. It wasn't until after we battled that I learned his name was Volkner. That is part of a book I am writing. As you can tell, it is about Electric Types. Now, since you use arguably the strongest Electric Type in history, I feel a battle will help shape a new direction for my story. Let's start with the beginning."
Hilbert Vs. Shauntal
"Chandelure, go!" I shouted.
"I choose Cofagrigus!" Shauntal shouted back, sending out her golden Ghost.
"Start with Shadow Ball!" Chandelure fired a Shadow Ball at Cofagrigus. It did about half damage.
"Shadow Ball back!" Cofagrigus fired back its own Shadow Ball, though that one wasn't as strong.
"One last Shadow Ball!" Chandelure finished off Cofagrigus with one more move.
"We are at an exciting point in the story. Jellicent, go!" Out came the pink Water Type.
"Thanks!" I told Chandelure, as I sent out Gothitelle. "Use Psychic!" Gothitelle lifted up Jellicent with its mind, then slammed it down. However, the Cursed Body disabled the Psychic; just what I wanted.
"Jellicent, Hydro Pump!" Jellicent fired a large jet of water at Gothitelle. It was a direct hit; Gothitelle was drenched but standing.
"Thunderbolt!" Gothitelle fired a bolt of electricity at Jellicent. It was not only a direct hit, but Jellicent was also paralyzed! It couldn't move!
"Great move," Shauntal said.
"Thunderbolt one more time!" Gothitelle fired one more jolt at Jellicent, knocking it out.
"If this battle was a story, THIS would be the exciting part. Froslass, come out!" Shauntal sent out a floating white Pokémon with a red ribbon round its stomach. It was quite creepy to look at.
Froslass (ユキメノコ)
478 (National)
Ice/Ghost Type
Snow Land Pokémon
4'03" (1.3 m)
58.6 lbs (26.6 kg)
It freezes prey by blowing its -58 degrees F (-50֯C) breath. It is said to then secretly display prey.
Snorunt -Dawn Stone (Female)- Froslass
I brought Excadrill out. "Froslass, Blizzard!" Froslass fired a snowstorm at Excadrill, freezing away a good chunk of its HP.
"Excadrill, Sandstorm!" Excadrill created a large sandstorm that filled the room.
"Ice Shard!" Froslass fired a chunk of Ice at Excadrill.
"Rock Slide!" With the power of Sand Force, the Rock Slide was a powerful Super Effective hit that took down Froslass in one.
"Impressive. Go Golurk!" Out came the coalossal blue titan of Shauntal's.
"Earthquake!" Excadrill made the ground shake, doing a fair amount of damage to Golurk in the process.
"Use Hammer Arm!" Golurk came over to Excadrill and slammed its fists down onto it. Excadrill was finished.
"We're not done yet," I said. "Samurott, go!" Samurott was sent out. "Hydro Pump!" Samurott fired a huge jet of water at Golurk, finishing it off with a Super Effective blow.
"Drifblim, I choose you!" Shauntal sent out a purple Pokémon that was flying. It had a large yellow cross in its centre and a small cloud on its head.
Drifblim (フワライド)
426 (National)
Ghost/Flying Type
Blimp Pokémon
3'11" (1.2 m)
33.1 lbs (15 kg)
At dusk, swarms of them are carried aloft in the winds. When noticed, they suddenly vanish.
Drifloon -Lv 28- Drifblim
"We can do it Samurott. Use Hydro Pump again!" Samurott blasted water again, resulting in a direct hit to Drifblim.
"Use Shadow Ball." Drifblim fired a Shadow Ball at Samurott. It was a Critical Hit. Samurott was on the cusp of red health. Well, it was down to red health because of the Sandstorm.
"Surf it!" Samurott created another wave that crashed into Drifblim. It knocked it out. Suddenly, Drifblim exploded and knocked out Samurott.
"Aftermath, Drifblim's Ability. It deals damage to the opposing Pokémon when it is knocked out. Okay Chandelure, come out!"
You might ask why I didn't use Zekrom for Drifblim, but I wanted to give a good finale to Shauntal's story. So that's what I did. "Zekrom, Crunch!" Zekrom chomped down on Chandelure, doing lots to it.
"Chandelure, Shadow Ball!" Chandelure let out the strongest Shadow Ball I had ever seen. Zekrom took a few steps back from the impact.
"Finish with Fusion Bolt!" Zekrom dealt with Chandelure with an Electric Type move, a fitting end to the story.
"I think I had a good direction to take this story. Thank you, Hilbert. As for your story, you have one more challenge before Alder; that being Marshall. Thank you; you've helped me with my works."
Did I save the best for last? Well, I was about to see. Out of all the Elite Four members, I'd always found Marshall to be the most ambitious. He was trained up by Alder after all.
I got to the top of the boxing ring to see Marshall in a fighting stance.
"Thanks again for taking down Team Plasma Hilbert. The first time I challenged you, you won. The next time you challenged me, you won. It seems that we are at even points. This will be our biggest battle yet together."
Hilbert Vs. Marshall
"I choose Breloom!" yelled Marshall.
"Go Chandelure!" I replied. "Use Flame Burst!" Chandelure fired a flame at Breloom, which did a lot of damage to it.
"We don't have much to counter it. Seed Bomb." Breloom fired some seeds at Chandelure which exploded on impact.
"One more Flame Burst!" I shouted. Chandelure fired one more flame, finishing Breloom off.
"Bad decision on my part. Sawk, I choose you!" Marshall sent out Sawk, quite frankly a faster Pokémon. "Stone Edge!" Sawk fired multiple stones at Chandelure. It was a Critical hit and knocked Chandelure out in one.
"You have gotten stronger. Go Gothitelle!" I shouted.
"Poison Jab!" Sawk's right hand started glowing purple. Then, it jabbed Gothitelle. Gothitelle was poisoned.
"You alright? Okay, use Psychic!" Gothitelle blasted Sawk with Psychic energy. What would have knocked it out in one wasn't to be as Sawk had the dreaded Sturdy Ability.
"Another Stone Edge!" Sawk fired another Rock Type move, which thankfully missed.
"Psychic once more!" One more blast and Sawk was finished.
"Throh, I choose you!" shouted Marshall.
"Gothitelle, Psychic!" Gothitelle fired a Psychic at Throh. Throh had more HP than Sawk so it did about half. Throh's Sp. Defense fell as well.
"Throh, use Retaliate!" Throh, remembering its fallen partner, attacked Gothitelle. It was down.
"Nice move. Samurott! Come out and use Hydro Pump!" Samurott entered the ring and blasted Throh with water. It was down.
"Good strategy. Toxicroak, you're up!" Marshall sent out the Poison Type.
"Let's switch to Excadrill," I said as I did just that.
"Use Earthquake Toxicroak!" Toxicroak went first and made the ground shake. Excadrill just about survived. Aside from putting Breloom first, Marshall was clearly a man who always came prepared; I could respect that.
"Earthquake!" I replied as Excadrill used its own Earthquake. It took out Pokémon Toxicroak in one.
"You have gotten stronger. Mienshao, come out!" The nimble purple entered. "Use Aura Sphere!" Mienshao made a blue ball of energy in its palm. Then, it fired it at Excadrill. Excadrill was down for the count.
"Good job, especially at a Type disadvantage. Okay Scrafty, you're next!" Scrafty, also weak to Fighting moves, I knew wasn't going to last.
"High Jump Kick!" Mienshao kicked Scrafty hard. Scrafty pulled up its pants to soften the blow just enough to survive.
"Come back with your own High Jump Kick!" Scrafty kicked Mienshao in the stomach. It went rolling across the ring but got up.
"Aura Sphere!" Mienshao fired an Aura Sphere at Scrafty, finishing it.
"Good job my friend. Okay Samurott, go!" I shouted.
"Aura Sphere!" Mienshao fired one last Aura Sphere at Samurott. Samurott took it perfectly.
"Surf attack!" Samurott drenched Mienshao in a large wave. It was down for the count.
"Yes, you are strong indeed. But can you defeat Conkeldurr?!" Marshall sent out his final Pokémon, the mighty Conkeldurr.
"We can! Hydro Pump!" Samurott fired water at Conkeldurr. Conkeuldurr try to block it with its stone pillars, but it blasted through.
"Hammer Arm!" Conkeldurr went over to Samurott and punched it downwards, finishing it off.
"Samurott!" I shouted. "Okay, last chance. I will beat you then beat Alder. Zekrom, go!" I shouted as Zekrom came onto the field, giving a mighty roar. "Zen Headbutt!" Zekrom headbutted Conkeldurr, taking it down.
"That was a fair match," Marshall said. He recalled Conkeldurr. "With that, you have beaten the Elite Four once again. Now, without any Plasmaric* interruptions, you may take on the Champion. Beat Alder, and you will be Champion, the highest honour a Trainer can receive."
*He had made that word up.
With Alder down, the statue in the middle of the main room was glowing again. I went over to it and it ascended to the large stairway. I walked up, ready to face my destiny. Wait, was Team Plasma my destiny? I didn't know.
"Welcome," Alder said when I reached his room.
