Author's Note:
Here it is, the return of one of the rivals in homage for what I consider one of the toughest rival battles in any Pokémon game. Forget about Whitney and her Miltank, this was the difficulty spike that stumbled me back in the day. I do want to clarify something, I did change Electrike shortly from my original plan to pay homage to the story which inspired me to start my series. Obviously, it went to a different character here but originally, he was going to have a disability relating to his ability to discharge electricity. Nothing to major but I felt like the change would be nice to show, at least a version of the character story started in that series. We also get a look at the last two members of team magma with a three-part arc on the way, it's a set up for that. Anyway, this chapter is a battle chapter and is pretty much here to help expand on one of the rivals. Don't forget to vote in the poll, and with that, let's begin.
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Rival Battle for Love
Ash picked up a hand towel and wiped his forehead with it. The bright Hoenn sun shone down on the grassy field where they set up a camp site for lunch, now to do some training. Picking up his water bottle, he sprayed some of the refreshing drink into his mouth and looked around at the others. Duskull was next to him, panting as well. While he was working out, the pure ghost was working on the new move hex to compliment will-o-wisp.
He first saw May stood behind Torchic as they partook in a battle against Serena's Dustox. Ever since they visited the trick house a few days back, she has been serious in her commitment to her starter. He was looking stronger every day, as was their battling as a whole. While her Poochyena was nearby, learning to control electricity from Pikachu for the move thunder fang. Clamperl was practising her water performance, as Minun worked on her own performance, which seemed to be a cheer routine.
A shake on the ground drew his attention over to Donphan, who smashed on the ground after trying to rollout into Beautifly. The bug flying type tried to counter with a silver wind, which she recently learnt but it hardly affected his armor Pokémon. Nearby he spotted May's Mawile and Serena's Sylveon, working on teaching the deceiver Pokémon a new fairy moves. The steel fairy type only seems to get anything done when she can't attract those nearby for attention.
Continuing over the opening, he noticed Brock sat on a picnic blanket, with his newly caught Electrike. He has really taken on the role of a carer for the poor guy. Even if they don't know what caused his missing limb, the eldest in their group has taken extra care with him. With Slakoth snoozing next to them.
His Steelix took up a large portion of the ground behind him. He had his trail raised taking two water guns from Mudkip and Lotad respectively as well as blocking a pin missile from Cacnea. Clearly the three young Pokémon were trying to work on team work to overcome a powerful opponent. Although it appeared their strategy left a lot to be desired. Swiping his tail down, it narrowly avoided hitting them, but the wind knocked them backwards.
Smiling at the battle he turned his attention towards his own team. Taillow was in some sort of battle with Serena's Meditite, far from the female birds choice of opponent. She has been pinning for the chance to battle Steelix since Brock brought him over. The meditate Pokémon was floating over the field and locked in an aerial combat with his female bird. Although the off part of the battle was Hitmontop. He was down on the floor, calling out instructions but getting ever frustrated with his girlfriend's lack of effectiveness. Sure, he and Serena helped each other trainer but never have they gotten mad like this.
He wouldn't want to pry but Hitmontop doesn't seem to have the same feelings that he has for Serena. Let alone what Pikachu feels for Sylveon or even what Houndoom have for Quilava.
The fighting psychic type tried to swipe to the side as Taillow soared back, but the female bird turned on a heel. Whacking her wing into Meditite's back.
She landed on flat on her back and struggled to push herself up. Hitmontop came over and loomed over her, giving out some harsh criticism.
As he took a step to intervene with them, he stopped as Taillow slammed down. Knocking the handstand Pokémon backwards.
He watched as the two of them entered a battle of their own. He'll be sure to speak to Serena about it later but guess Taillow can knock the attitude out of him already. Deciding to just leave them be, continued to scan their campsite.
The first battle which caught his attention was Corphish and Aron. The two Pokémon were close up, matching crab hammer and metal claw, respectively. While his Treecko faced off against Serena's Kabutops, working on a speedy battle on the move.
His eyes travelled out across the nearby lake where he knew Serena was. She had decided to go for a swim with Feebas to work on a swimming routine. Part of him knew not too, as he'd be unable to look away, but he soon saw her swimming around with the pure water type. She dived underwater with her long-pointed legs stretched out of the water before disappearing out of sight. Swallowing hard, he forced his attention away before she resurfaced.
Lying down on floor, he locked his knees at a ninety-degree angle with his feet flat on the floor. He raised his knees up to his chest without changing the locked position of his legs. Far enough to raise his hips off the floor. Once sure he reached the maximum he could achieve, he held it for three seconds before lowering them back down onto the floor. His feet barely touched the ground for a second before performing a second reverse crunch. His rep continued until he performed ten in a row, resting in the starting position as he looked to the side.
He prepared to perform his second set of the exercise but stopped when a new face looked over him. It was a light-ish blue round face with beady-orange eyes and a dark blue mohawk fin over the top of its head. With two orange cheeks, which had pointed out gills at their ends.
"Hello?" he asked, sitting himself up into a seated position.
"Hi," the Pokémon replied, "you're that guy, aren't you?"
"What guy?" he blinked.
"The one my trainer doesn't-"
"Marshtomp? Where did you go?" A vaguely familiar voice called out. Turning towards the source, he found Brendan walking towards them, with his eyes narrowing into a frown, stopping just in front of Ash as he stood up, "oh... it's you again."
"Hey Brendan," he smiled, "how's it going?"
Instead of answering, the boy seemed to be scanning the campsite as many of the trainers and Pokémon stopped doing what they were doing to look at them, with Serena even making her way back onto land. She wrapped a towel around her lower half as she joined May and Brock, who approached.
"Which of these Pokémon are yours?" his voice cut through him, as his head snapped away from his girlfriend.
"Oh, erm," he stuttered slightly, "Pikachu, obviously. But Donphan, Taillow Treecko. Then Duskull and Corphish too."
"I'm guessing that Donphan evolved from the Phanpy you had at the lab?" he replied.
"Yeah, and he's getting ready for a go at the Mauville gym," he replied, "so what about you."
"How about I show you in a battle?" he challenged, "a best of five Pokémon, and you use the four Pokémon you caught in Hoenn along with Donphan."
"Why can't Ash use his Pikachu?" May asked as they three closed in, "that hardly seems fair."
"He knows that I'd win," Pikachu pipped up, "makes sense. Give himself the best odds possible."
"Because I want to prove something to Ash," he replied, locking eyes with the raven-haired boy.
"And what's that?" Serena asked.
"That you might have more experienced Pokémon thanks to being older, but I am the superior trainer," he replied, "this way, all most all the Pokémon have been under our care for the same period of time so the main deciding factor would be how we've raised them."
"We'll we never turn down a challenge," Ash smirked, "so all of us will be ready to battle you."
"Good," Brendan nodded, "I'll give you five minutes to get everyone healed up. Wouldn't want this to be unfair because your Pokémon are tired from training."
With a quick word of thanks, he took off to a group of his five Pokémon that'll take part in his battle. Quickly, getting to work using potions to help energise his team as his friends made up a spectator area for them, along with all their teams. Even Pikachu joined them. He glanced over to Brendan, who sat on the grass a little bit away, rubbing his chin in thought with a quirked eyebrow.
Shaking his head, he turned back towards his team of five, "right, I know he's got Marshtomp, Nuzleaf and Zigzagoon from his battle on Dewford."
Ash took a deep breath as he looked across the makeshift battlefield. It was a trimmed grassy patch with a lake to the side without much of anything else to the make-up. The Hoenn native stood opposite him with narrowed eyes, his hands in his pocket as his friends lined up the side with Brock acting as the ref.
"Alright Ash," Brendan called out, "since I issued the challenge, I'll select my Pokémon first."
"This will be a best of five battle between Ash and Brendan!" the doctor-in-training declared, raising both arms up, "with no time limit, substitutions can only be made between each round where both sides must. The first trainer to win three out of five of these matches will be the victor. Brendan shall go first."
"Go Linoone!" the young boy shouted.
In a flash of light, the slender-bodied, quadrupedal Pokémon materialised on the grassy field. Most of his fur was a white colour but mixed in with several brown stripes. One long stripe stretched the length of his body before ending in an arrowhead shape atop his forehead. There were additional stripes on each side of its bushy tail and on his cheeks. He had sharp, elongated claws and small pointed teeth, which showed as he let out a low, threatening growl. His ears were small and tuft-like. He also had long cheek fur and blue eyes. Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon:
Linoone, The rushing Pokémon. Final evolved form of the Hoenn variant of Zigzagoon. Linoone always runs full speed and only in straight lines. If facing an obstacle, it makes a right-angle turn to evade it. This Pokémon is very challenged by gently curving roads
"Linoone here was the first Pokémon I caught, Ash," Brendan informed, as he put the device away, "as a small Zigzagoon who came to my campsite on my first night as a trainer."
Going over his team of five, none of them even know a fighting move for an advantage. Taillow's flight could be useful but it's completely possibly he has a long-ranged attack to keep her at bay. Treecko would be best saved for his Marshtomp, but Corphish could make the most of the lake... although that's not exactly opponent specific. While Donphan also made a lot of sense, being able to take many hits. As the only evolved Pokémon, he has an advantage most of his other team members lacks. Guess there is only one way to truly counter a normal type like Linoone.
"Then I'll go with my first Pokémon caught in Hoenn," Ash smiled, tossing his Pokéball into the air, "Duskull, I choose you!"
His pure ghost type appeared over the grassy field, floating around in a spooky fashion. While not the best match up he could've asked for, it was far from the worst. Hopefully, the battle style they've been trying to perfect will prove enough to handle this opponent.
"A ghost type?" Brendan asked, "well you certainly know how to keep things interesting. Linoone, we've not faced this sort of Pokémon before so let's approach with caution."
The pure normal type gave a small nod, crouching low with eyes locked forward. Although he was already so low to the ground, it was difficult to tell.
Ash narrowed his eyes as well. Despite admitting they haven't faced a ghost type before; he doesn't seem concerned in the slightest. A new trainer is usually more cautious, especially around new types of opponents... but not Brendan. He hated to admit it, but these also doesn't seem to be the sort of over confidence that Gary use to have. They've had both Pokémon for roughly the same time so maybe this won't be as easy as he originally thought.
Brock cleared his throat and both of them cautiously glanced to the side, where he raised both arms. Taking turns to make direct eye contact, Ash gave a small nod to answer the unasked question, with the white hat wearing boy doing the same.
"Linoone verses Duskull," he declared, "let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Ash: Round one
He watched his pure ghost type float around in a spooky manner. Blue balls of fire formed around him, adding to his haunted stature, orbiting around him, like some sort of celestial system. With an eerie cry, he sent the balls flying across the makeshift field, one by one.
Linoone charged forward. Quick on his heel, he avoided the will-o-wisps, which imploded into small fires over the grassy field, burning out seconds later.
He continued on a direct path for Duskull. Giving one giant leap, he held a claw out as it burst with energy. Black extensions with a purple outline formed.
"Shadow sneak to get away!" Ash shouted.
His requiem Pokémon dived into the ground, creating a black shadow on the grass. With their opponent landing behind, swiftly spinning to face him.
"Alright Duskull, that's the move," Ash informed, "now back to the plan."
The red-eyed Pokémon jumped back out of the ground, creating several more will-o-wisps. He raised higher into the air, sending the down in a flurry.
"Intercept!" Brendan called out.
Their opponent leaped into the air, spinning in a circle. A barrage of small white pins with a hint of green shot out. Bursting through the incoming fire balls, they continued upwards, destroying the attacks that they passed through.
Duskull covered his face with his arms as the pin missile struck him. A wall of dark type energy formed in front of him.
The bug type pins struck the wall, as the ghost type grimaced. Black beams of dark type energy shot out of the shield, landing directly on Linoone.
"Payback?" he questioned, "so you can actually touch Linoone. Colour me impressed."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
Instead of answering, he turned his attention towards his normal type. Giving a small nod, which his rushing Pokémon returned. He took off across the field once more with incredible speed. All Ash could make out was a white blur thanks to his long-slender body.
Duskull surrounded himself with will-o-wisps once more and dived down. Soaring barely above the grass, he carefully followed the normal types movements.
Ash knew the higher he was the safer he was but if they want a chance to hit Linoone, especially at this speed, he'd need to get in close.
The pure ghost type launched the fire balls once more. They soared over the field with blue blurs, imploding on the grass as their opponent dodged.
Brendan's first caught Pokémon charged straight ahead. Moving directly into one of the will-o-wisps, he burst into flames as he disappeared from sight leaving a trail of fire in his path. Re-emerging moments later, directly in front of his first Hoenn capture with a powered-up shadow claw.
"Disable!" Ash shouted.
The ghost attack slashed straight down and sent the pure ghost type spinning backwards. As he came to a stop, his single red eye glew and a red outline surrounded their opponent, who landed on the floor. Flames still burning around him.
In the blink of an eye, Linoone disappeared from sight. Ash's eyes widened at the sight, reaching for his Pokédex:
Quick Feet: If this Pokémon is inflicted with a primary status condition, then their speed is doubled.
"Just great," he thought to himself, putting the device away.
Linoone shot up out of the grass moments later, a good distance away from his ghost type. Duskull already dived into the ground and shot towards him with his fastest form of travel but to no-avail. The normal type stood tall on his back legs, slamming his fisted paws against his underbelly. A red outline appeared.
"Get up and away Duskull!" he commanded.
His ghost type wasted no-time in floating up into the air. Swirling around in a spooky fashion as a payback wall formed in front of him.
Linoone gave a short leap, spinning around once more. A series of pin missiles shot up once more. It struck the payback wall and shot straight through, like bullets through a window in a wall. Smaller weak dark dots shot out as his pure ghost type fell back down to the ground.
He ran forward, narrowly avoiding the dark type move. Stopping just in front of the explosion, he closed his eyes and sniffed around his ghost type.
"Now finish it," Brendan instructed.
Linoone raised his claw up high and slash it down. His pure ghost type cried out and flew backwards. Rolling on the grass, he came to a stop with swirls in his eyes. Ash blinked in surprise, how quickly Linoone turned that around was incredible and a little hard to understand.
"Duskull is unable to battle," Brock declared, "making the winners of this round Brendan and his Linoone."
He reached to his belt and weakly grabbed the Pokéball. Tearing it off, he enlarged the device and held it out. A red light shot out and engulfed his requiem Pokémon, sucking him back into safety. Sighing, his eyes lingered on the device.
"Rest up, buddy, we can work on it later," he muttered, "and thank you. You did a good job."
As he clipped the device back to his belt, he looked across the field to see Brendan kneeled down and scratching the top of his normal types head, who appeared to coe under his affection. He really didn't know what to make of this guy, the way his just dismantled Duskull was reminiscent of Paul and his arrogance during the battle was how Gary use to be, but he clearly cares for his Pokémon, and they seem to care for him just the same.
The Hoenn native stood back up and pulled out a Pokéball. Recalling the rushing Pokémon back to the device, he clipped it to his and turned to look straight ahead. His eyes narrowed and the corner of his lips flicked up into a smirk.
"I expected better from a league finalist," he called out, "you've made the mistake of thinking of me as a new trainer. And putting my level as such."
"You are a new trainer," Ash called out, "in case you forgot, I was there when you got your starter."
"I'm new to having Pokémon... of my own," he corrected, "but for as long as I remember, I've been studying Pokémon. My dad, the Professor, took me to his lab most days. I've been studying Pokémon longer than you've been a trainer. Studying training techniques, the different species in my home region and their capabilities in battle. How do you think I knew what your little Duskull was going to pull?"
"So, you think your smarter and better than me?" Ash asked.
"I don't think, I know," he replied, "this battle just proved it. Zigzagoon are very common Pokémon in this region. A trainer of your level should've thought ahead to research such opponents in case of facing one. Without any prior knowledge, I was able to take advantage of his quick feet ability, then set up belly drum to neutralise his burn hindrance. All the while, keeping you scared of shadow claw when my real trump card was hidden away... safe."
"Your gonna regret taunting me like that," Ash scoffed, taking a Pokéball in hand.
"Promises, promises," Brendan smirked, "now unless I'm mistaken, it's your turn."
"I choose you, Corphish!" Ash shouted, tossing his Pokéball into the air. In a flash of light, his pure water type landed on the grass in front of him. A hardened glare across the makeshift field, snapping his claws in a threatening manner.
The beanie-wearing boy seemed in thought as his hand hovered over his belt. Taking a device off his belt, he held it out, "go Nuzleaf!"
A red light shot down and a bipedal Pokémon with a single green leaf atop his head materialised. The leaf was of decent size. He was mostly brown with a beige mask marking on his face. His bulky thighs were also beige and have thin striations, and there were two black dots on his chest. His arms were thin with mitten-like hands. His triangular eyes were narrowed. He pulled out her Pokédex and scanned his opponent:
Nuzleaf, The Wily Pokémon. An evolved form of Seedot. Nuzleaf live in densely overgrown forests. They occasionally venture out of the forest to startle people. This Pokémon dislikes having its long nose pinched
Putting the device away, he inwardly frowned. While he trusted all his team, he knew this would be difficult for Corphish on the type side of things but also the bright sun would hinder him. After all, many other grass types he's faced seem to flourish under a harsh heat wave. They'll need to use this location to their advantage. Glancing to the side, he saw Brock scanning the field. Brendan, Nuzleaf and Corphish gave a small nod to the unasked question.
Taking a deep breath, he did too. Quickly refocusing his attention ahead as the grass dark type smirked and crossed his arms. While his eyes locked with the opposing trainers, where he saw them burning with hatred... what did he ever do to this kid to harbour such harsh feelings?
"Nuzleaf verses Corphish," Brock declared, "let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Ash: Round two
He watched the wily Pokémon take a deep breath. A flurry of small yellow seeds shot out and crossed the field. He didn't even need to issue a counter as his pure water type acted with his own long-ranged attack. His claws opened up and two streams of fast-paced bubble beams shot out.
The two attacks clashed somewhere in the middle of the field. Countering each other, they evened out, but it was un-nerving it took both streams to match it.
"Switch to overpower," Brendan instructed.
Nuzleaf swung the leaf on top of his head around and launched out three razor sharp leaves. They spun across the field, slicing through the bubble beams.
"Harden and charge in!" Ash instructed.
A shimmering light covered shone over his ruffian Pokémon. He charged forward, straight into the oncoming attack, which bounced off harmless.
The grass dark type smirked and leaped high into the air, straight over Corphish. His water type didn't stop, however, and dived straight into the lake.
"Grr," his opponent growled, "whilst their hiding, let's use the opportunity to boost up.
Brendan's wily Pokémon nodded and sat down, taking up a meditative stance. Not to different to how Serena's Meditite sits when focusing on her psychic abilities. His body seemed to shimmer under the bright Hoenn sun.
Carefully scanning the water, he inwardly smirked as a tiny red dot emerged from the water. A claw raised up and shot out a spew of brown watery mud.
It landed directly on their opponents face, knocking him backwards. He pushed himself up, dripping in mud as Corphish leaped out of the water, claws spewing with water as he flew across the field. The grass dark type tried to leap out of the way but moved a lot slower than before.
Ash's pure water type delivered a gut punch, stopping the escape in the moment. His second claw opened up and snapped around the ankle.
He was frown back into the muddy puddle as Corphish landed on top. Relentless, he smashed his claws down on the wily Pokémon in a frenzied manner.
The ruffian Pokémon was sent flying by a second barrage of bullet seeds. He landed halfway between Ash and the water as Nuzleaf rolled over onto his stomach, pushing himself up into a starting position for a race. He quickly took off across the field, glowing with synthesis.
"Harden then close-quarters," Ash instructed.
His pure water type tensed up and the hardening shimmer shone once more. Nuzleaf slammed into and began unleashing a series of punches and kicks.
Taking the assault head on, his eyes darted around. As one of the fists moved in, Corphish snapped his claw up and trapped the grass dark types wrist.
Using the moment to his advantage, he knocked the wily Pokémon off balance and spun on the spot. Tossing him over shoulder, he sent Nuzleaf straight into the lake. Without missing a beat, he took off after him and leaped into the water.
Brendan's Pokémon was already attempting to swim back to shore... but was dragged under the water.
Seconds later both Pokémon emerged in some sort of fight although this time, it was clear Corphish had the advantage, as their opponent was gasping heavily for air. They disappeared back under the water, which settled on top.
A blast of water shot out with Nuzleaf following it. He landed flat on the grass and coughed up some water on the ground. He attempted to stand up but kneeled over onto the floor with swirls in his eyes. Corphish walked out of the lake seconds later, with a smug expression on his face.
"Nuzleaf is unable to battle," Brock declared, "making the winners of this round Ash and his Corphish."
Ash smiled as his pure water type ran across the field. He waved his claws around in a boasting style, as he let out cheers. Kneeling down on the ground, he smiled and reached out to scratch the top of his ruffian Pokémon's head.
Corphish cooed under the show of affection. While he can be rough round the edges and boisterous, he isn't a bad mon... just a little overzealous.
"Well done, Corphish," he smiled, "you did great."
Smiling at the praise, he replied with a pat on the back... promptly knocking Ash onto his face.
"Well that just goes to show that the battlefield plays as large a part in the battle as either trainer or Pokémon does," Brendan declared, cradling his fallen grass dark type, "rest up buddy. You did great, like always."
"So how do you like that, Brendan?" Ash called out, "guess I'm not as predictable as you thought."
"Just because your Corphish handled itself, doesn't mean you can take credit for his use of the battlefield," he replied, unclipping a third Pokéball of his belt and holding it out, "and just so you know, this next Pokémon is my latest capture. Barely had him a week. Go Electrike!"
In a flash of light, Brendan's pure Electrike type appeared in front of him. He looked slightly smaller than Brock's but had all four legs. The canine crouched low, growling threateningly. Not to different to how May's Poochyena or his own Houndoom take up a stance. He pulled out his device and scanned it:
Electrike, The Lightening Pokémon. Electrike stores electricity in its long body hair. This Pokémon stimulates its leg muscles with electric charges. These jolts of power give its legs explosive acceleration performance.
Putting the device away, he went over his three remaining team members. The only other Pokémon he can be sure his opponent has is Marshtomp, as his starter. While Treecko would do well here, he's best saved for that match up. Out of the other two Pokémon, Donphan makes the-
A flash of light shot off his belt. Taillow materialised right next to Corphish on the ground, "I call dibs!"
"You want to battle Electrike?" he asked.
"You know he's an electric type, right?" Corphish added.
"Of course," she rolled her eyes, "and that's what dibs means. I can't be certain of his other members so this might be the best challenge I get."
"You know he said he only caught Electrike recently," Ash informed, "he might not be the challenge you're expecting."
"Before I met you, I ran a flock. Battled my way to that position," she replied, "joining your little group didn't change that fact. Who knows what jolts there did beforehand? He could've been a runaway from that electric gym near here, for all we know."
"Fine, I'm not arguing," he sighed, holding his hands up, "you can face him if you want to, Taillow."
A smirk formed on her beak as she turned around and leaped over the field, taking up a battle stance on grassy field. She narrowed her eyes without making a sound. Their opponent let out a bark, but she refused move or react to the intimidating factor.
"So... could I watch the rest of the battle?" Corphish asked, drawing his attention.
"Sure," he shrugged, "just go sit with the others."
The pure water type smiled and scattered over the grass towards his friends, who were sat on a picnic blanket behind Brock. He hopped up and took up a spot on Max's lap. He smiled at the sight of his friends before turning back towards the field.
"Electrike verses Taillow," Brock declared, "let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Ash: Round three
He watched as Electrike howled, surrounding himself in a field of electricity. His eyes lingered on Taillow, already knowing what she's waiting for. Deciding not to argue with her, he just watched as a ring of electricity shot out, catching his normal flying type... not that she tried to dodge.
Shaking her body, the electricity passed, and she seemed mildly amused. Kicking off the ground, she shot off towards the lightening Pokémon.
"I know I told you to try to thunder wave opponents early on to get an advantage Electrike but don't," Brendan called out, "Taillow could have the guts ability and that would just make her more dangerous. Let's just hit her hard and fast!"
She closed in with glowing wings, smashing one straight into the canine's face. Knocking him onto his back, she landed on his chest, pecking his face.
A field of electricity surrounded them as she coated both wings in metal. Smashing them down on the opponent, she appeared to revel in the shocking.
Thrashing around on the ground, he knocked the female flock leader flying. He rolled onto his legs, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Adjusting her wings, she shook her entire body as if to shake of the shock. Entering her own quick attack, she too disappeared out of sight.
The two Pokémon remerged seconds later as a glowing wing smashed into the grass field. Electrike was leaping high over her with electricity crackling out of his mouth and two large fangs infused with it down. He fell down, clearly extending a direct hit, but she rolled to the side as both kept moving.
Taillow coated her wings in metal, switching attacks as the electricity from the thunder fang sparked ever closer. She smashed to the side, striking his head.
Brendan's electric type snapped his thunder fang down on her small body. While taking the steel wing in his side.
Both Pokémon were knocked sideways and turned to face each other. Static electricity sparked over her body as she extended both wings in an intimidating manner, with a red outline surrounding her body. While the canine was panting heavily.
"Finally," she smirked, grimacing from the clash.
"Alright, we need to approach cautiously," Brendan called out, "quick attack."
The pure electric type disappeared in the blink of an eye, but Taillow hardly seemed concerned. She closed her eyes and tilted her head down, as if listening to the surrounding area. A bolt of lightning shot out and hit her dead on.
She took the blow head on and reviled in the blast. Her eyes burst open as the green canine appeared in front of her, ready to tackle her.
Using her wings, she skipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. Her wings glew and hit the opponent, knocking him sideways into the ground.
Jumping onto his side, a red outline surrounded her body. She unleashed a massive assault onto the electric type. Whether it was her clawed talons, wings, or beak. Facade continued despite the canine's cries of pain. After about half a minute, she soared over towards Ash.
Revealing the lightening Pokémon knocked out on the grass behind her. She landed on his shoulder, looking mildly annoyed.
"I had higher expectations," she muttered, "those sparks are almost as weak as from spark plug."
"Hey!" Pikachu cried out.
He chuckled lightly at the little interaction as he glanced over the field. Both Brock and Brendan moved closed towards the fallen electric type before the doctor-in-training raised a hand in his direction.
"Electrike is unable to battle," Brock declared, "making the winners of this round Ash and his Taillow."
He watched the Hoenn native pick up his fallen lightening Pokémon, cradling it like a child before walking back to his original starting position, whispering some words which he couldn't quite make out. As he turned back, he returned the canine Pokémon in a red light.
"Well how do you like that, Brendan?" Ash asked, scratching his female bird under the chin. She shook herself as sparks jumped off her body before gliding over to the group, "just one more victory and this battle will be over."
"Heh, whatever you say," he replied, "now unless I'm mistaken, it's your turn to choose your member first."
Ash's hand fell to the belt where he hovered over the two remaining Pokéballs. His eyes widened when he realised that his plan to use Treecko against Marshtomp has failed. Brendan already knows what his two Pokémon are and has complete control over the last two team members.
"So, you finally realised that your options are pointless?" Brendan asked, "even if your Corphish caught me by surprise, I had this ending planned from the start and you were unable to stop it happening."
"And your Electrike?" he asked.
"I never expected him to win, like I said, he's a new capture," he replied, "it was a test to see what we need to work on. All Corphish did was make this a three-two win rather than four-one. Either way, I've already won."
"Not if we've got anything to say about it," Ash declared, snatching the Pokéball off his belt and tossing it high into the air, "I choose you, Donphan!"
His pure ground type materialised in the air and smashed down onto the ground with an after quake following. He let out a battle cry while raising his large trunk up in an intimidating factor. It wasn't common to see the armor Pokémon so worked up but it's not that he can blame him.
"Then it's up to Marshtomp," he smirked, holding his own device out.
In a flash of light, his water ground starter appeared on the ground. Whacking his closed fists against his chest whilst letting out a battle cry, the mud fish Pokémon seemed to smirk and lowered down onto all four limbs, with a glint in his beady eyes. Ash pulled out his Pokédex for a quick refresher:
Marshtomp, The Mud Fish Pokémon. The evolved form of Mudkip. The surface of Marshtomp's body is enveloped by a thin, sticky film that enables it to live on land. This Pokémon plays in mud on beaches when the ocean tide is low
As he put the device back into his pocket, he narrowed his eyes. Despite both being ground types, he knew Marshtomp held a strong advantage, and they'd need to be careful. Either way, they can make Brendan regret thinking he could lead them into a trap. He glanced over to see Brock, who was looking at him with a silent question. Giving a small nod, the breeder turned towards their opponent who did the same. As did both Donphan and Marshtomp.
"Marshtomp verses Donphan," Brock declared, "let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Ash: Round four
Ash watched as his pure ground type took off over the grassy ground. Leaping to reach his top speed, a small after shock was felt trembling across the floor and a power barrier formed around him. He smirked as he felt the power tingle through his fingertips.
Marshtomp stood his ground and crossed his arms over his chest. A semi-transparent green shield surrounded him, taking the attack.
Clenching one of his flippers into a fist, it glew white and he charged forward. He delived a rock smash right into Donphan's side, knocking him back.
His armor Pokémon slide on his side, dragging up the grass in his path. He stopped nearby and stood back up, shaking his body.
"Alright Donphan, defence curl then builds up some momentum," he instructed.
Nodding in agreement, he curled up into a ball. A shimmering light travelled over his body as he took off, rolling around.
Turning towards their opponent, Marshtomp made a move off his own. Taking off across the field, he dived into the nearby lake.
"Bulldoze!" he shouted.
The pure ground type made a beeline for the water and uncurled. Using his trunk and the momentum he leaped high into the air. Landing right on the water's edge, he smashed onto the ground, creating creators where his feet stood.
Looking across the water, he saw waves violently thrashing around. Marshtomp resurfaced struggling against the currents as he swam back to shore.
His armor Pokémon took off as his tusks glew white, extending. Meeting their opponent on the edge of the water, he dug in and sent him flying backwards.
"Heh, guess you do have some surprises," Brendan shrugged, "but not for long. If we can't use the water, make the field to our liking."
Marshtomp pushed himself up off his stomach and stood on all fours. Opening his mouth, he launched multiple blobs of mud onto the grass. Following up with a blast of water gun, a muddy marsh pit surrounded him, covering the once grassy field.
Donphan wasted no time in taking off across the field. With a leap, he curled up back into a ball and trampled across the makeshift battlefield.
Their opponent charged forward across his homemade marsh land. Leaping himself, he held his hands together and formed a sphere of water between them.
"Quick dodge-" he tried to call out, but it was to later.
The mud fish Pokémon launched his water pulse head on and it smashed into the ground in front of his pure ground type. Exploding out into a wave of water, it washed the armor Pokémon back, landing right on his side.
Brendan's starter continued onward in his charge. With one last leap, he clenched his fist tight as ice began to form over it.
He punched him right into his side and the ice spread over his body. Soon Donphan laid still in a block of ice.
"The longer ice punch has contact with an opponent, the higher chance it'll freeze the target," Brendan informed, "but I'm sure someone of your experience already knew that. Right?"
"Donphan!" he cried out, "can you break free?"
"Help him out," Brendan replied.
Marshtomp clenched both fists tight and they both glew. One after another, he pummelled him with multiple rock smashes.
With the ice shattering around the pure ground type, the starter walked back towards his trainer. Leaving the fully evolved Pokémon on his side, shivering in a slightly melted pool of icy water. Swirls replacing his eyes.
"Donphan is unable to battle," Brock declared, "making the winners of this round Brendan and his Marshtomp."
Ash took off across the field and kneeled next to his semi-frozen ground type. Carefully reaching out, he touched the shivering armor Pokémon and lowered his head. Swallowing hard, he glanced to the side to see the Hoenn native kneeled by his starter, congratulating him. Their eyes met and he stood back up with a smirk on his face. Recalling his starter to his Pokéball, he walked closer with an air of arrogance surrounding him.
"Had you somehow forced me to use Marshtomp sooner or have Treecko face him, that was our back up plan," Brendan informed, "so what do you say, Ash, you sure you want to continue with this last round?"
Sighing, he turned his attention back to his fallen ground type. Reaching to his belt, he picked off the device and held it out, recalling Donphan, "rest up buddy, you did great."
Not paying attention to the beanie-wearing boy, he stood up and walked over to his friends. Serena stood and took the device off him. She offered a sad smile as she looked deep into his eyes, her inner voice echoing, "don't worry about him. We'll take good care of him, just go and wipe that smirk off his face."
Hardening his gaze, he gave a small nod and turned back around. His hand already gripping his final Pokéball. While the boy certainly seems confident in his ability to win. Treecko has determination unlike this boy has ever seen. Brendan already used his first three Pokémon caught, that he had back on Dewford island so just like with Electrike, this will be a newer capture. Not wanting to give an inch, he watched the boy return to his starting position.
"Treecko, I choose you!" Ash shouted.
In a flash of light, his pure grass type appeared on the muddy-marsh field with his arms crossed. The twig rolling around in his mouth as he watched the boy with a hardened stare. His tail slowly moved side to side, as if he were waiting to charge already.
"Guess we will be going the full way," he scoffed, holding out a final Pokéball, "go Makuhita."
A red light shot out of the device and on the marshy field materialised a bulky-built bipedal Pokémon. Most of his body was yellow, but he had a black marking on his chest that extended around his neck. He had round hands, which resembled black boxing gloves, but his feet were yellow and had two visible toes. On his cheeks were red, ring-shaped markings, and he had slit eyes. On top of his head was a knot, which made this Pokémon resemble a sort of punching bag.
He watched the pure fighting type step forward, throwing one leg in front of the other like some sort of sumo wrestler. Leaning forward, despite his small size he seemed to have an intimidating factor. He pulled out his Pokédex to scan the opponent:
Makuhita, The Guts Pokémon. Makuhita is tenacious—it will keep getting up and attacking its foe however many times it is knocked down. Every time it gets back up, this Pokémon stores more energy in its body for evolving into Hariyama.
As he put the device back into his pocket, his mind flashed back to the Dewford gym and his Granbull's battle against the pure fighting type. He knew they were slow and powerful, just like his Snorlax back at the lab but being the pre-evolution means he lacks a lot of the bulk from before. His pure grass type turned to the side and took the twig out of his mouth. Flicking his wrist, he planted it by Ash's feet. Turning back to their opponent, he adjusted his footing and moved his arms into a starting position. Brock scanned each of them and both trainers and Pokémon gave a small nod to indicate they were ready.
"Makuhita verses Treecko," Brock declared, "let the battle begin!"
Brendan verses Ash: Round five
He smiled as his grass type charged off, around the makeshift field. With a battle cry, he launched out a barrage of bullet seeds.
Makuhita crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head down. The yellow seeds hit him head on but didn't appear to do anything.
Undeterred he turned on his heel and charged forward. Disappearing in the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of the pure fighting type.
Their opponent reached out and grabbed the wood gecko's hand. Rolling onto his back, he launched him overhead and sent him flying. Performing a complete roll, the guts Pokémon ended up back on his feet and Treecko landed in the marsh-pool, face first.
Pushing himself up on all fours, mud dripped down his face as he turned round. The yellow eyes clouded for a moment as a series of leaves surrounded.
Charging forward, a small tornado of leaves surrounded him. Treecko leaped up and dived down, the leafage attack consuming both Pokémon.
The plump yellow body could be seen through the tornado of leaves, unmoving. Moments later, Treecko came flying out and the leaves settled around him.
"Your Treecko can't harm Makuhita, Ash," Brendan called out, "we spent a lot of time with Brawly on Dewford island. We knew his greatest weakness was his lack of speed, so we came up with this style to avoid being hurt by such Pokémon. The harder you hit, the stronger our rebuttal."
"We'll just see about that!" Ash shouted, as he looked towards his downed grass type, "get up Treecko! We just need to deliver a blast he can't return!"
With a small growl, the wood gecko pushed himself and they locked eyes. Smiling at him, he glanced back to see Makuhita gesturing them to come at him.
"We're gonna use slam!" he explained, "but first get some air."
His pure grass type took off with great speed. Stopping a little in front of the fighting type, he performed a summersault and smashed his tail down overhead, with their opponent pushing his arm up. The two moves collided and Treecko used the force to leap high into the air.
Performing forward rolls as he reached the apex. He entered a straight diving position and began falling. Making his body as narrow as possible, he sped up.
At the last possible second, he swung the tail around one last time. The momentum from the fall adding to his force.
Taking the blow on his shoulder, Makuhita grunted in pain as a red outline surrounded his body. With the wood gecko landing in front of him, the pure fighting type punched forward, delivering a powerful counter directly to his chest. His entire body glew white and expanded in size as Treecko went flying.
Ash ran to his would be Hoenn starter as he landed flat on his back. Attempting to push himself up, he winced in pain as their opponent expanded in size.
As the glowing faded, stood a much taller Pokémon than Makuhita. From what he remembered of Brawly's pure fighting type; this one was slightly smaller but not by much. Either way, it still massively overshadowed his wood gecko Pokémon. Pulling out his Pokédex, he scanned it for a quick refresher:
Hariyama, The Arm Thrust Pokémon. The final evolved form of Makuhita. Although they enjoy comparing their strength, they're also kind. They value etiquette, praising opponents they battle
"You wanna keep going, Treecko?" he asked, putting the device away.
Without a word, he gave a small nod his head. Narrowing his eyes, they locked forward.
"Alright Treecko, if its countering that this Hariyama does then we just need to make sure he can't," he informed, "get in close and keep moving. We're gonna need to get in as many attacks as possible but we can't get caught."
"You still think you can pull this off?" Brendan asked, "even before the evolution the battle was decided. This has just increased the time we'll save."
Grunting in annoyance, the wood gecko took off across the ground. With incredible speed but still visible as his body glew a bright green.
Balls of green energy shot off the arm thrust Pokémon as he threw his open palm on to meet Treecko. The absorb balls landed directly on the grass type.
He stopped just in front of the fighting type and jumped, avoid the force palm as it smashed into the ground. Landing on the arm, he crawled up the fighting types body and launched a swift bullet seed direct to Hariyama's face. He stumbled backwards as Treecko disappeared by his back.
The pure fighting type rolled over on his back, like when he took the previous quick attack. With Treecko crawling between his legs, avoiding being crushed.
With Both Pokémon standing up, they stared each other down. Each Pokémon narrowed their eyes with hardened expressions.
"Alright, let's finish this already," Brendan declared, "high and low, sand attack."
Letting out a loud battle cry, Hariyama held both open padded hands out and began thrusting them into the ground. Spews of mud and sand flew high over both Pokémon, stopping any sort of escape through the air.
Treecko looked above him in amazement, stunned by the show of power. Ash, however, saw the massive fighting type charge forward.
"Look out!" he tried to call out, but it was too late.
Brendan's arm thrust Pokémon tackled him like some sort of professional sports player. Rolling forward whilst holding his wood gecko close to his chest, it became difficult to make out due to the falling sand over them.
Rolling across the ground, it was clear Hariyama delivered a powerful body slam of sorts and left Treecko as he ended up on both feet.
The pure fighting type turned around and made his way back across the makeshift field, towards his trainer. Leaving the pure grass type, flat on his back, buried slightly within the self-made marsh, with swirls replacing his eyes as the final bits of mud and sand rained down over his body.
"Treecko is unable to battle," Brock declared, "making the winner of this round and the battle as a whole, Brendan Birch!"
Running across the destroyed grassy field, he skidded down by his pure grass type and picked him up. His eyes slowly fluttered half open as he stood up. He couldn't bring himself to say anything and he made his way back to his battling position. Picking up his stick, he placed it in the wood gecko's hand.
He clenched it tight before putting it back in his mouth. With a sad smile, he pulled the device off his belt and recalled him, "thank you."
Clipping it back to his belt, he turned around to see his rival needed next to his fighting type, giving it some congratulations. It was a weird feeling; he wasn't angry like when he lost to Paul or even Gary before he humbled. It wasn't the same as when he tied with Drake back in the Indigo league. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something just felt off. This was unlike any loss he ever suffered.
Making his way across the field, he stood over the Hoenn native who looked up at him. A smirk formed on his lips as he reached to his belt, recalling his pure fighting type before standing up to meet him, putting his device back onto his belt.
"What is your problem with me?" he asked, "what did I ever do to you to make you hate me."
"You really don't know?" he asked.
"I've faced jerks and stuff before, whether I won or lost, it was different to this," he replied, "you clearly care for your team and back when we met at your dad's lab, I thought we were friends. You even said you watched me compete in the Silver conference so what happened?"
"Let me tell you a story," he sighed, "imagine your back in Kanto. Your friends with Serena but not where you want to be, and everything is going well. Then this good looking, cool trainer, who made it to the final in the league shows up. At first, it's awesome, seeing his Pokémon, learning some quick tips before heading off on your own journey... but then he turns his attention to Serena."
"What does-"
"He already has a girlfriend but that doesn't bother him," he continued, "heh, his girlfriend doesn't even care about his lack of loyalty. But he sweeps Serena off her feet and takes her along on his travels. Ruining your plans to travel with her. Your plans to be with her, even if not in an official relationship."
"...I'm guessing May is Serena is this scenario," he blinked.
"Wow, you can actually use your head," he praised with a sarcastic undertone, "but obviously you're the great Ash Ketchum. You never would do something like that. Your perfect, so perfect that girls throw themselves at you wherever you go."
"You need to know that on our first night camping out, May confessed her feelings to me but I turned them down," he replied, "I didn't set out to hurt-"
"Talk about rubbing salt in the wound," Brendan cut him off, "not only do you mess up our travel plans but you take my crush from me then through those feelings aside. You mentioned that I don't seem like a jerk because of how I treat my Pokémon but the way you treat people means I can't say the same."
"I'm sorry how that turned out but from what I've been told May already turned you down," he replied, "I don't see how I can be blamed for that."
"She turned me down because of her old man, our journey was the chance to start fresh and ruined it," he replied, turning around, "and from what I remember. You hadn't exactly reciprocated Serena's feelings before your journey together, so things can change."
He raised his hand to reply once more but couldn't. The Hoenn native began walking away, directly towards his friends as they approached them.
"May," Brendan greeted, "I know you wanted to learn from Ash on your journey but as this battled showed, I am the far superior trainer. What do you say, let's travel together like we originally planned too?"
"Thanks, but no thanks, Brendan," she rolled her eyes, "one victory doesn't mean anything. Besides, you hardly have the same experience in contests as Serena so I'm better off staying here."
The beanie-wearing boy turned on a heel and began quickly walking away. The fainted trickle of a tear escaping down his cheek could be seen.
Ash, however, couldn't focus on him for long. He made his way over to the blanket where Serena laid Donphan out. He was still shivering as she sprayed a super potion over him. Taking a seat next to her, he carefully stroked the ground types head. He wasn't even bothered that his girlfriend was still in her bikini as his thoughts rushed back over the battle and the conversation.
Had he known what would transpire, he might not have agreed to Professor Oak's request back when leaving for this region. After all, that one decision affected so many people. Was it really fair for him to take away the opportunity for Brendan and May to have what he has with Serena?
He's always tried to do what's right but... this - this doesn't feel right in the slightest.
She blinked as her eyes scanned the screen. After confirming the research, she acquired for a third time, she hit the print button. The large square box next to her desk turned out and shot out several pages, double sided. Stacking them all together she placed the sheets into the hole punch before moving it into a folder. Turning back to the screen she locked the desktop and stood up.
Holding the folder tight, she set off through the lab. The cold metal grey shone with the bright lights. She noticed several other scientists working on separate projects but paid them no mind. She soon came to a stop in front of a door with the name card, 'Professor Maxie'.
Stopping in her place, she held her hand over the metal door. With three consecutive knocks she dropped her arm to the side. She glanced down to her feet, purposely moving the left foot to be in perfect line with her right. Her head rose and looked straight ahead at the door once more when a voice sounded.
"Come in," the voice of her mentor instructed.
Reaching for the handle, she pushed it open and stepped inside. Once in, she let go of the outer door handle and grabbed the inner handle, closing the door with the exact same energy. Turning around she scanned the room she just entered. A couple house plants added colour to the metal grey walls with a single fluorescent light above. A metal bench sat in the middle of the room with an old-fashioned wooden desk, neatly decorated with stationary. A bookshelf covered the wall behind, but the main focus was her teacher who sat behind, reading something on his desktop, he glanced up.
"Courtney," a soft, pleased smile formed on his wrinkled lips, "too what do I owe this visit?"
He had pale red hair, medium length and slicked back in a formal style. A pair of glasses covered his eyes, which had thick black frames. His red trenchcoat was hung over the back of his chair and a red turtleneck jumper covered his top, with a black outer vest.
"My report on the millennium comet," she explained, handing over the folder she carried in, "its due to pass over Mauville in eight days and I've calculated a seventy-two-percent chance that it will land in the mountain range between there and Vurdenturf."
"Seventy-two-percent?" his eyes looked over the top of the folder, "why that percent precisely?"
"It's too far away to get a proper measurements," she explained, "a variance of a couple millimetres can change calculations by hundred kilometres."
"So, you wish to take a team and salvage this meteor?" he asked.
"If it lands, the cosmic energy radiating off it is thousands of time stronger than what we need to power the device," she explained, "as the reports that we obtained from Oceanic Museum indicate. We have found the resting place and now we only need a decent power source. If nothing else, it's worth the chance to take this step towards the final goals of magma."
"Hmm, it is certainly intriguing," he mused, "but as you know, I prefer the slower and proven routes to our goals. Less room for error."
"There is also chatter from the lower levels," she added, "Archie has already deployed a team to the same location."
"How would that sort of power source benefit him?" he quirked an eyebrow up.
"I doubt it would," she replied, "but his goal is the legend around the meteor. I believe you know the one."
"Ah, the wish maker. Archie always was an old sea dog," he replied, "he'd believed any old legend but in actuality, Jirachi is meant to show up for any meteor that could cause disaster on this planet at a massive scale. It drains the energy and helps protect us from such catastrophise such as Rayquaza."
"You don't sound convinced," she encouraged.
"Most of these so-called legends haven't been seen in centuries," he explained, "I believe most of them are related to current species of Pokémon but evolved through natural selection to being unrecognisable. Give it two hundred years and Pokémon like Salamence and Metagross will be legendary."
"So should I prep an exploration team?" she asked.
"I'm unconvinced that we'll achieve anything substantial," he reasoned, "but the chance to give Archie a run around is enticing. I used to admire his idealism but in my senior years I've come to learn to look to the future. Yes, prep a team but one for combat and take Tabitha with you."
Nodding her head, she took the folder out of his hand. Turning around, she walked back out of the room.
Once out of the room, she ensured the door was shut before leaning against it, sighing in relief. She felt herself slip slight and wiped her forehead. Her hand rested over her chest as she tried to regain her breathing. It took nearly a minute, but she stood up and continued down the path.
She met the professor just over two years ago at her university. He was always so formal and precise; it was like he'd only take you seriously if you were an emotional robot. It made sense, of course, emotion is the downfall of the society. Women who have partners cheat on them could ruin their lives due to an emotional outburst or the like. The criminal justice system has a whole stack of evidence with their crimes of passion. You need to look no further than the likes of team aqua. They have some naive emotional attachment to the world's oceans and are trying to turn humanity behind in exploration of those ideals.
While she knows magma's ultimate goal for the betterment of all of mankind is truly worth fighting for. Sometimes, her emotions slip back in. No matter how much she tries to force them down. After all, he opened her eyes to the true crises of this world and gave her a purpose in life.
Courtney made it to a far room and stepped inside. It was a large sports hall which the squads use for training. She reached to her belt and took out a combination of Pokéballs. One by one she released her team. Blaziken, her starter. She had picked Torchic up shortly before starting the professor's class and with his creation of magma... well it must've been fate. Ninetales was a gift from her parents, as a small Vulpix. While she misses them, cutting ties with that life until this future is set in stone was vital. Not only do they hold an emotional attachment but it's possible the authorities could track down her team through that connection. It's not worth the risk. Rotom, he was a gift from the professor to help run her devices whilst working for magma. It even prefers to remain in its fire form to prove both of their devotions. Flygon and Claydol she met whilst working on an extra-curricular project out in the Hoenn desert. Her final member, Camerupt, she added him to her team after seeing the professor's partner.
Tabitha is meant to be in charge of their training but he's nothing more than a thug for hire. The professor only keeps him around as he proven useful in his missions, but he couldn't care less out the plans magma has for the future. Had Archie dangled the money in front his face, he'd be working for aqua's idealism. Simpletons like her fellow commanding officer require incentives because they lack the drive to create a better tomorrow.
"Team," she instructed, all of them lining and paying full attention to her, "we have been given the greenlight of project wish maker. The professor sees it as a chance to disrupt those of aqua and so we have to take the brute with us but regardless of what he says or does, our mission is to retrieve that meteorite."
A series of nods followed.
"If we achieve this than magma's goals will be fast tracked. We've already located the resting place of our main target," she continued, "and the quickest way to eliminate aqua as a threat is to move forward with better tomorrow. So, know that we are going to achieve our goals."
Another series of nods followed. The corner of her mouth twitched up before she forced it back down. Quickly recalling her squad once more.
"Then once this is complete and our better tomorrow is in place, the professor will see how useful I was in his endeavours," she thought to herself.
Stepping back out of the room, she set off back to her office. Already filling out the tactical sheets ready for the mission. While this is again Tabitha's area, she knows he wouldn't fulfil his duties as a commander. Everything needs to be perfect for this mission. It's her chance to show Maxi-erm-the professor what she is truly capable off.
Reaching her desk, she logged back in and quickly loaded up the maps for the possible landing areas. She knew aqua's manuvers inside and out so picturing their layout wouldn't be too difficult. With a large lake right in the centre, it's clear that would be their main hive. Although it's a large area, even expanded outside of the water source so she'll need to prepare Flygon for long distance travel in case they need to move for the crash site.
Soon she filled out the possible layouts for their combatants and three counter manuvers to use against them. With these, even Tabitha couldn't mess up her retrieval mission. Printing the back out, she neatly organised them into a separate file. Setting off into the headquarters to find her fellow commanding officer.
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