After a long wait, the next chapter is finally here. So sit back, grab a snack and let's get on with it!
The five trainers exited Rock Tunnel and arrived at a small hilltop clearing that overlooked Lavender Town. There was a young man with short brown hair and a red/blue soccer uniform already there with a large penguin like pokemon standing with him. The group didn't seem to notice this trainer.
"Finally!" Diego said excitedly, "It feels great to be out of there."
The trainer heard Diego and turned to see the group, he seemed surprised to see them.
"Hm? How did you all get here? Nobody's ever found my secret training spot before." He said, the group instantly recognized who this trainer was.
"Woah, you're Anthony aren't you?! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the League?" Ray asked.
"Not really, the League is getting ready for the tournament that trainers will compete in for a chance to face us. Until then, the Elite Four have an opportunity to train until that day comes." Anthony explained. "So my Empoleon and I are here doing some training."
"So one of us might challenge you someday." Snow noted. Julia scanned Empoleon with her pokedex.
'Empoleon; the Emporer pokemon: The three horns that extend from its beak attest it's power. The leader has the biggest horns.'
Something struck Julia as odd when she saw the picture the pokedex provided her for Empoleon. The one in the pokedex was a different color than the one Anthony had with him.
"Hey Anthony, is your Empoleon... a shiny pokemon?" Julia asked.
"Yeah actually, it is. It's my partner pokemon, I got it from Prof. Rowan in the Sinnoh region and it's been a reliable friend to me ever since." Anthony explained. Diego's face began to glow with excitement, he seemed to have an idea.
"Anthony, I challenge your Empoleon!" He said excitedly.
"Are you sure that's a good idea Diego, he is a member of the Elite Four!" Renée warned.
"Hahaha! It's not a problem, I'm always up for a challenge!" Anthony said with a smile. The two of them took their positions, the others stepped back a few feet. They knew this battle was ure to be intense...
From below the hill, Jack exited out of Rock Tunnel through the normal exit.
'Ok, not much farther to Lavender Town. If I keep moving, I should be there by sunset.' He thought to himself.
"Hello? Jack, can you hear me?" Gallade asked, Jack looked around for a bit with a confused look on his face. He never released Gallade from his pokeball. "Don't be alarmed Jack, I'm speaking to you telepathically from my pokeball."
"How did you manage to do that?" Jack asked.
"I harnessed my psychic powers and established a link to your mind, I did the same with the rest of our team, so they are also able to hear you!" Gallade explained.
"Hey there Jack! How ya' doin!" Mightyena asked cheerfully.
"You doing alright there Chief?" Fearow questioned.
"I'm doing ok guys, we're almost at Lavender Town. We should be there by-"
"By sunset, we know." Ivysaur finished for him. "Sorry, it was rude of me to cut you off like that."
"Haha, no problem Ivysaur." Jack replied.
"It kind of stinks that were close to the city though, I liked being in nature. The tall trees, the soft grass, the pretty flowers..." Ivysaur lamented.
"You're only saying that because you're a grass type." Mightyena remarked smugly, the 5 of them shared a nice laugh. It was the first laugh that they shared since Jack separated from the others
"Hey Jack, when are we going to battle again?" Fearow asked in excitement.
"Well there is a gym in Lavender Town, maybe you'll get your chance there." Jack answered.
"Sweet! Is it a Bug-Type gym? I bet it's a Bug-Type gym!"
"Well Lavender Town is famous for its Pokemon Graveyard, so it might be a Ghost-Type gym." Jack stated.
"...Damn..." Gallade cursed.
"Ghost-Types? No problem!" Mightyena remarked confidently.
"Well I guess we'll see when we get there." Jack said.
Back on the hilltop, Anthony and Diego had already begun their battle. Anthony seemed to (obviously) have the upper hand.
"Golbat use Acrobatics quickly!"
Golbat flew towards Empoleon at blinding speed and attacked him, though Empoleon didn't seem to react to the attack, it was almost as if it didn't take any damage at all!
"Empoleon, take him out with an Ice Beam!"
Empoleon opened its mouth, a bluish white orb of energy formed in it. This orb then turned into a beam of ice cold energy that rushed into Golbat, hitting it dead on. Golbat didn't stand a chance, it plummeted to the ground.
"Ok well, maybe sending Golbat out first wasn't a good idea. But with this next pokemon I definitely have the type advantage. Pikachu, come on out!" Diego said, sending out the electric mouse.
"Sending an electric type out against a water type, you certainly know how typing work at least." Anthony taunted.
"You know it! Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!" Diego ordered. Pikachu leaped into the air and sent out a large electric shock towards Empoleon. Sensing the dangerous attack, Empoleon leaped out of the way, avoiding the attack.
"Nice going Empoleon, now use Hydro Pump!" Anthony commanded. A large blast of water gushed out of Empoleon's mouth and engulfed Pikachu, knocking it out.
"Woah! I knew the Elite Four was strong, but I never knew they were this strong!" Ray said in shock.
"If Anthony's this tough, then how strong is the Champion?" Snow pondered.
"What's wrong Diego? Send out your next pokemon!" Anthony said. Diego hesitantly sent out his Charmeleon. "Oh, so that's why you were so hesitant. Makes sense, since Water beat Fire."
"Well I guess we have no choice but to keep battling then... Charmeleon, use Flame Burst!" Diego called out. Charmeleon spit out a scarlet colored flame that rocketed towards Empoleon, even managing to get a hit! The blast managed to do a noticeable amount of damage but Empoleon still stood strong.
"Not bad, but it won't be enough to bring us down! Empoleon, use Hydro Pump!" Anthony commanded, the surge of water was blasted towards Charmeleon, who just barely managed to dodge the attack. Chermeleon's fist then began to burn with a blue flame, Diego seemed to recognize the attack.
"Charmeleon, use Draco Bullet!"
Charmeleon dashed towards Empoleon at break-neck speeds, once it was up close it punch Empoleon in its abdomen, knocking it back several feet.
"Not bad for someone with only 3 badges!" Anthony praised. "But that doesn't compare to the power power of the Pokemon League! Empoleon, use Aqua Shock!"
Empoleon opened its mouth again, it sent out a ball of water at Charmeleon, but this water ball also had sparks of electricity coming from it. The attack connected, both soaking and electrocuting the Lizard pokemon, knocking it out. Diego recalled his pokemon and sighed.
"Hey, don't feel bad Diego." Julia said, trying to cheer up her friend.
"Yeah, Anthony's a member of the Elite Four, none of us could've beaten him!" Snow added.
"Yeah, but it does prove one thing..." Diego began. "I need to become stronger! If there are trainers with pokemon as strong as Anthony's Empoleon, then I need need be strong enough to beat them all!"
"Now that's what I like to hear!" Anthony said with pride. "Lavender Town is only a ten minute walk from here and we have plenty of time to take it easy so..." Anthony reached into his bag and pulled out a soccer ball with the design of an Ultra Ball. "Who's up for a game?"
The six of them began playing soccer and taking it easy for the rest of the day...
Hours later, the sun had gone down, Jack had finally entered Lavender Town.
"We're finally here guys!" He said to his pokemon.
"Can we head to the Pokemon Center now? I'm starving!" Mightyena complained.
"Yeah, I'm beat!" Ivysaur added.
"Sure guys, I think we could all use a rest." Jack answered. Jack entered the PC and checked in for the night, nobody seemed to be too alarmed about Jack's disguise as they've all seen weirder things (in the Pokemon world, weird isn't always that weird). Unbeknownst to him, Julia and the others were staying in the Pokemon Center as well.
Julia caught a glimpse of Jack in his disguise, but she didn't get a good enough look to confirm that it was him...
In the TDS building, the 5 grunts were getting ready to start their reconnaissance mission.
"Ok, is everyone ready?" Sandra asked.
"Are you sure we should be doing this Sandra?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, what if we get caught?" Pandora added.
"Don't worry, I've taken the liberty of getting a few Smoke Balls from the Game Corner, if anybody sees us then we can just use the Smoke Ball and run. I've also added a night vision mode to our masks, with it we'll be able to navigate the building with ease." Sandra explained.
Pandora looked down for a moment. She thought about her Uncle Sidney, and her parents. Max noticed Pandora looking distraught. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
'Y-yeah, just a bit nervous." Pandora answered.
"Well we all are, if we stay quiet then we can get this done and go to bed." Max said.
"Ok everyone, we're heading out now. Try to find any information about our bosses." Sandra said, the group then left the room and began their investigation...
With all of the characters in Lavender Town, will Jack rejoin the group? What type of Pokemon does the gym leader use? How did you feel about Anthony by the way, does him being a member of the Elite Four excite you?
New moves:
Draco Bullet: Dragon-type, Physical
40 Power
100 Accuracy.
The user strikes the foe at blinding speed with the power of a dragon. This move always goes first.
Aqua Shock: Water-Type, Special
70 Power
95 Accuracy
The user sends out a pulse of electrically charged water. Has a 10% chance to cause paralysis.
