~ Chapter 24 ~

Battle Royale, Part 2

"We continued to travel along Route 205. As we passed by the rolling hills, we eventually reached a wide-open field of grass. It wasn't much higher than our knees, but when the wind blew across the field, it looked like a green ocean of emeralds. Eventually we reached a Pokémon Centre where we had another battle—unfortunately this one wasn't a three-way battle as before. Due to my sudden illness, it was only Jeremy and Alyssandra fighting that day, but it really did give me something to think about after. These battles, that we continued to have for the rest of our travels, helped us prove to each other how far we'd come since the last battle, and how far we all had to go before we became masters. Let me tell you now, becoming the best doesn't come from skill alone, it comes from how hard you're willing to work and how much you're willing to put into your dreams."

The group sat in the two-sided booth, enjoying their breakfast.

Niya had just returned to the table from the buffet with her breakfast and they were now enjoying a quiet meal together.

Everyone was tired from their late night last night, spent helping Nurse Joy batten down the hatches for the rainstorm that ended up keeping the group up half of the night. It came out of nowhere and left not a single trace of its being there save for debris and puddles, but it cut the power, causing the group to have to sleep with Nurse Joy in the lobby.

Sam still couldn't explain it; but he felt like the storm was connected to him somehow. Sam wanted to run out into the storm last night, without any reason; it worried him, but he kept his worries to himself.

Worst of all he had the same dream again, a dream that had recurred to him thousands of times in his life over the years, ever since Sam was old enough to remember his dreams.

These dreams cost him sleep often and would send him running to his grandparent's bedroom when he was younger or would keep him awake with thoughts and questions when he was older.

Last night, the dream was the same as always, if not more vivid than before.

Suddenly, Sam felt himself transported elsewhere just by thinking about it, as if he had left the table, and he was once more in his dream.

He was walking through a thick, white mist; a fog so thick that even his own hand was a shadow in front of his face. Sam could tell there were trees, he heard them as every so often a small breeze would blow through their branches, but wouldn't clear the fog away, and once and a while they appear in Sam's path, only for Sam to pass through them like a ghost.

Sam kept walking, not even conscious that he was doing so, and realized that he wasn't walking; he was being pulled by something invisible, something that wanted him to follow somewhere important.

Then, Sam was in a ruined hall—something that might've been the dining hall of a castle or manor once—and the mist was gone.

He looked around him and could see the sun and sky poke through holes in the ruined ceiling where burnt beams hung precariously over the stone floor. Windows were shattered all around him, and most of the walls had crumbled away from age and decay.

Whatever this place was it was in ruin for many long years before Sam had arrived.

There was a clicking noise, and Sam wheeled around, looking for someone. Nothing was there, nothing but a squirrel.

Sam sighed, but no sooner had he let his guard down did the trap door open beneath his feet—just like always—and he fell down into darkness.

Sam fell for what felt like an eternity before finally hitting warm sand, somewhere in the darkness. Sam called out, yelling into the darkness but no sound came out of his mouth. Then, everything lit up as the ceiling was pulled away with a loud creak of chains.

Sam was standing in a black dome and the night sky was staring down on him, with a full moon that seemed to fill him with an unknown strength and stars that glittered like hundreds of watchful eyes.

Then, a loud rumble, and the black obsidian walls of the dome shook, and out came a large, winged dragon.

The thing shone like the stars, flames and light reflecting off its iron-thick scales that were as black as the obsidian that comprised the dome.

The dragon was different than the ones Sam had heard fairy tales about as a child; this one seemed…human, almost sentient even.

Sure, Sam had heard stories that dragons were smart, but this one seemed more intelligent than a human.

The dragon moved slowly towards Sam, sniffing the air hungrily as it approached.

Sam gulped and tried to run, but he couldn't find it in his bones to do so. He tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Sam looked up fearfully at the dragon and watched as it raised itself to its full height.

Its wingspan seemed to almost spread across half the massive dome, and its large head was the size of a large Rapidash—two maybe.

It was old, but not too old as far as dragons were concerned, but definitely old enough to raze a small city to the ground in a few minutes. The dragon let out a deafening and ground-shaking roar, and as it lowered its head, it let loose a white flame over Sam and everything went black, the flames engulfing him.

Sam's eyes shot opened, and he realized he had fallen asleep again and everyone was staring at him.

"Are you okay?" asked Jeremy as he watched Sam cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," shrugged Sam, "Just tired, that's all. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you were muttering something in your sleep," said Niya gently, "We couldn't really understand it—we think it was some kind of weird language but…it doesn't sound like anything we've ever heard before. It could've been anything, really."

"I'm fine, just a little tired. Drifted off into a daydream, that's all," said Sam assuredly, "I don't remember muttering anything. I didn't say anything while I was daydreaming."

In this Sam was truthful, though he was not okay and was thoroughly freaked out, he didn't remember muttering in his dream, either him or something else.

In fact, as far back as Sam could remember he never remembered muttering, let alone in another language.

"So, what was your dream then?" asked Alyssandra, eyeing Sam suspiciously.

"I beat the Pokémon League," he said simply; he knew very well how to lie to his friends by now, years of practice had helped, "I just defeated Valentina…and then the ground slid away, and I woke up."

Niya raised an eyebrow and looked at Jeremy and Alyssandra. The two of them shrugged, if they believed him or not, they didn't say, but they didn't press further into the matter.

Sam had never told anyone about this dream, nor did he ever plan to.

"So, what do you want to do today?" asked Sam, "The road's blocked up ahead because of the storm last night, so we'll be stuck here another night."

"We could go exploring?" suggested Niya, "Route 205 is vast, and there's so much here to see."

"Exploring sounds good," said Alyssandra with interest, "I want to know if there are more Eevee in the area."

"I don't know, Lyss," said Jeremy, "Eevee are pretty rare Pokémon to begin with; wild Eevee are almost impossible to find. I wouldn't bet on it."

Alyssandra frowned but didn't let it upset her. She expected that, but it didn't hurt to try. Ever since she had caught that Eevee the other day she had been fawning over it like it was her own child.

Sam still remembered it like it was yesterday.

A young Eevee wandered into camp, scared and alone—about a day after the group had left the Fuego Ironworks—Alyssandra instantly took a liking to it, and since then the two had been inseparable. Alyssandra even went and made it a permanent member of her team.

"We could call home?" suggested Jeremy as he bit down on a sausage, "Personally, I think it's been a while since we last spoke to our families; and I'd really like to see how my parents are doing."

"We can't," sighed Niya, "Storm knocked out the phone lines, it's amazing we have electricity back so soon. That storm even managed to overload the generator."

"Was the storm really that bad?" asked Jeremy in astonishment, "I mean, I know we were in it, but still. I'm surprised it wasn't a tornado or something."

"I know," said Alyssandra as she finished her breakfast, "It seems almost impossible that anyone wasn't hurt after all of that damage."

The rest of the conversation was blurred to Sam and disappeared into his subconscious as his mind went off into its own world again. The last thing Sam remembered anyone saying was Jeremy and Alyssandra discussing having another three-way battle again—four way this time with Niya involved.

As he fell into his own subconscious, Sam could tell he wasn't sleeping this time, simply running the dream over in his head.

What did it mean? Why the dragon, and why was it so large? Why the hell did it keep happening the same way? Why was it so real? What the hell were those ruins about? Sam's mind hurt with all of these questions…no, it wasn't the questions.

It was something else.

Something was rubbing against his mind, weighing it down like a stone; practically crushing it.

Sam's head swam with pain, and his vision blurred.

He fell over in his seat, leaning against Niya—not even realizing it.

Niya grabbed him, shook him, yelled something at him that was inaudible. Then the pain was gone, and Sam came back.

He was lying on the bench of the booth, everyone bent over him worried. He could hear them—just barely over the loud ringing in his ear—and sat up in his seat.

"What happened?" he groaned as he cracked his neck.

"You nearly passed out," said Alyssandra, "You fell onto Niya; you turned pale and clammy and looked really sickly. Then we laid you down and you woke up."

"Yeah, you looked really bad," said Jeremy, "More so than normal."

Jeremy let out a laugh, and Sam attempted to mimic it; feigning strength.

"I think I need to rest a bit," he said. Sam was stubborn, but not stupid. He didn't have the strength to keep going right now. He needed to lie down.

"I'll keep an eye on you," said Niya, "We'll take you up to one of the rooms; Nurse Joy will understand. Jeremy, Alyssandra, you can go battle yourselves, we're going to bow out for today."

"Are you sure we can't help you guys?" asked Alyssandra worriedly, "I'm sure I can do something to help his…whatever it is."

"No, no," smiled Niya, grabbing Sam under the shoulder and supporting him, "I'm sure he'll be okay. It won't take much; you go battle. We'll see you after."

Niya quickly led Sam from the dining hall without another word to Jeremy or Alyssandra.

Sam smiled at her. "Thanks," he said, "I need the rest."

"Don't thank me just yet," sighed Niya as she half dragged Sam towards the elevator, "Besides; I didn't buy any of those lies you gave us earlier. I want you to tell me what's going on, and I don't want another lie."

Jeremy and Alyssandra stood across from each other, while Pikachu sat on Jeremy's shoulder.

Lately Pikachu had been fickle about where it wanted to stay. It was either extremely for or against being out of its Poké Ball, and just a few moments ago had broken free and decided to sit on Jeremy's shoulder.

Though the fickleness of Pikachu sometimes wore on the groups' nerves, it was always nice to have someone extra to speak to when they travelled.

Jeremy and Alyssandra rushed around the field and readied it themselves, clearing off the branches and leaves that covered it. Though they did not have a referee this time, as Nurse Joy was busy trying to get the Pokémon Centre up and running again, it meant nothing to either of the two friends, who trusted each other not to cheat.

"All right, shall we make this a one on one?" asked Jeremy, "Not quite so much fun as a three-way double battle, but that wouldn't be much fun without Sam either."

Alyssandra nodded. "Yeah, I suppose," she said, drawing a Poké Ball from her belt, "I've made my choice then; do you know who you're using?"

Jeremy nodded, also grabbing a Poké Ball of his own. "Oh yeah," he smiled, "Go Grotle!"

"Grotle!" cried the large turtle Pokémon as it landed heavily on the ground.

The Pokémon slammed its heavy foot into the dirt, and bit down on the air in a strong nature.

Alyssandra, nervous as she was, was prepared herself for the fight, and as soon as she tossed the Poké Ball, she—much like in her contests—entered her focused state. "Go, Eevee!" she cried confidently.

As soon as Eevee landed lightly on its feet the battle began.

Jeremy attacked first, sending his Grotle in for a Tackle.

Alyssandra called for Eevee to dodge, and Grotle, large and slow as it was, skidded as it attempted to stop its Tackle, but was too slow to react to Eevee's next attack.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!" commanded Alyssandra.

Eevee struck Grotle in the side, and the large Pokémon shook slightly, but if it took any major damage it didn't show.

Alyssandra was prepared for that though; the hard exterior of Grotle was good for deflecting attacks, and the differences in size between Grotle and Eevee meant that Grotle would have an easier time of hold its own against Eevee's attacks.

But prepared as Alyssandra was, it still frustrated her inside, knowing that she had made a terrible choice, only for the sake of bonding with Eevee through battle.

Still, she knew she had made a choice and that she must now stick with.

"Grotle, recover and use Razor Leaf!" called Jeremy.

This time it was Alyssandra who was caught off guard. Her Eevee was still in close proximity from the last attack, and Alyssandra forgot to recall it afterwards. At a farther distance, the Razor Leaf would be much easier to dodge, but at such a close range there wasn't as much reaction time, and Eevee was struck almost instantly, and sent flying back across the battlefield.

It stood up; however, at the call of Alyssandra's voice, and prepared to continue battling. "Okay, Eevee, let's step our game up," she told it, "Use Quick Attack and get close to it!"

Eevee nodded. "Eeveeeee!" it cried and dashed towards Grotle with all of its speed.

The small brown Pokémon ran, and ran, while Jeremy did his best to counter.

"Grotle, Razor Leaf on Eevee, knock it back!" he called.

But Grotle's Razor Leaf was too slow for Eevee, who dodged left and right to avoid the leaves that flew at it. Eevee finally reached Grotle, and Alyssandra quickly called another attack.

"Now, stop your attack and use Sand Attack!" she called.

Eevee nodded, and jumped, using its tails to flick sand into the eyes of Grotle.

The sand stung at the Pokémon's eyes and blinded it temporarily. Grotle's eyes were shut tight and it swung its head wildly to get the sand out.

"Grotle! Gro! Grotle!" cried the Pokémon desperately.

Alyssandra smiled as she unleashed her final move. "Eevee, use Tackle!" she called, "Full power!"

Eevee bent its body down and slammed itself into Grotle's forehead. There was a small pause after a loud cracking sound. The two Pokémon paused, head to head with each other, pain shooting through their bodies like a shockwave and their eyes shut and teeth gritted.

Then, Jeremy laughed, a small laugh, and calmly and coolly spoke. "Grotle, Absorb."

Grotle opened its eyes and a red light shot from its body and surrounded Eevee, and the Pokémon had its energy drained and transferred to Grotle.

Eevee fell back, and the attack ceased as it fell unconscious on the ground.

Grotle let out a magnificent cry of pride and stamped its feet brusquely into the dirt again.

Jeremy jumped and cheered his victory and ran down to hug his Grotle while Alyssandra cradled her unconscious Eevee in her arms and promised it did well, returning it to its Poké Ball with a deep gratitude.

"I'll admit," smiled Alyssandra as she looked up at Jeremy, "You got me there; I thought we actually had you."

"I've come a long way since our last battle, Lyss," said Jeremy as he and Grotle met Alyssandra halfway across the field, "We all have. I'll admit though, up until that last second you did have me. I didn't think of anything while you were using your combination, but then just as your Tackle landed, it came to me. If it hadn't you'd probably have won."

Alyssandra and Jeremy shook hands but were cut off guard as Grotle let out another cry and was engulfed by a white light.

This time, they were prepared for this light, as they recognized it as the light of evolution. From the light burst a mighty Torterra, large and ground shaking as its feet caused shockwaves to rumble across the battlefield with each step.

Jeremy hugged his new Torterra, happy with its evolution, and after thanking it for a job well done, returned Torterra to its Poké Ball.

Sam watched eagerly from the window of his room. He hated having to miss the battle, but he knew he was in no state to command himself, let alone a Pokémon.

Though his queasiness and vertigo had improved, the ringing in his ears was still there, and the something that had brushed up against his mind before was still there…faintly, but not as painful as before—it still hurt though.

"So that's everything?" asked Niya, "Are you sure?"

Niya had been grilling Sam with questions ever since the two of them had arrived at their room.

Sam had only been half there when she started, and even now his mind was elsewhere even though the battle was over.

"Yeah," he said, "That's everything. I've never told anyone else before—and I hope you don't."

"You know I won't," said Niya with crossed arms, "That's why I volunteered to bring you up here. I knew you would confide in me—just like that time at Café Etoile."

Sam laughed, weakly, but still a laugh. Niya was right, and he knew it, even if he didn't at first. "Fine, fair enough," he said calmly, "What do you think it means?"

Sam was hoping Niya, in her seemingly infinite experience and wisdom had the answer to this question. But when she shrugged and gave him a sad look, Sam's heart only deflated.

He couldn't have expected much, he supposed, but at the same time, he was hoping that something would reveal itself to him, anything! It had only been about twelve years since these dreams started torturing him and his sleep cycle. It was only fair they gave him some sort of clue.

Sam sighed, life was rarely ever fair—or so he learned after his defeat at the hands of Team Galactic recently—and although these answers might never present themselves to Sam, all he could do was be patient.

Sam tore his mind from his troubles. "Come on," he said, using the nearby dresser to help himself up, "Let's go congratulate those two on a battle well done."

Niya looked at him with disdain. "You should rest," she said simply, "If what you tell me is true, you'll need your strength and your sleep."

"I can sleep after!" cried Sam protesting Niya's orders, "Just let me see them first, please? I will not be made an invalid because of this—not yet anyway."

Niya sighed and relented. "Fine, but hurry up," she said, "Or I'll forget about sending Lyss up here to care for you."

Sam simply laughed as he slowly made his way to the door. Niya always had a way of using words to make Sam feel better—no matter how hurtful others might take it.

Sam was grateful Niya had come along.