~ Chapter 58 ~

Pastoria City Gym, Crasher Wake

"Crasher Wake was a hardened man. Hardened by years at sea, and years wrestling in the ring as a masked wrestler. No one ever saw his face—and anyone who ever had in his youth couldn't remember what it looked like. Many were convinced Crasher Wake didn't have a face, and he wore the mask as a permanent part of his skin, or that the mask covered disfigurements, and his real face had been ruined in a fight years ago. Some others even believed that Crasher Wake had sewn the mask to his face and promised to never rip it off until he had tasted defeat in the ring. Whatever the truth was, Crasher Wake wore a mask, and he was tough—those two are the only truths in the sea of fables."

Sam and Wake squared off.

They had skipped the formalities before the battle. Crasher Wake didn't say much. He was quiet, cunning, and watched his opponents' every move.

He preferred to wait, and counter strike against whatever his enemy threw at him.

Sam figured he would battle the same way he fought in the ring.

Sam had only been at this Gym for five minutes—the battle had already started not too long ago—but things were taken slowly here.

Sam and Wake stared at each other.

Their Pokémon, Sam's Luxray and Wake's Gyarados, also stared at each other.

Gyarados, half submerged in the water like some massive sea dragon. While Luxray waited, perched atop the tiled pieces of dry land scattered across the Gym.

Then, suddenly, Crasher Wake called out. "Gyarados! Waterfall!"

Sam was not prepared for the torrent of water Gyarados sprayed as it charged towards Luxray. Waterfall was faster than Sam had expected—no doubt Crasher Wake had trained Gyarados to move faster than most Pokémon normally did.

But Sam wasn't backing down just yet.

"Luxray, stand your ground!" cried Sam, "Hold!"

Niya looked at Alyssandra. "What the hell is he thinking?"

Alyssandra shrugged. "That's a new one to me," replied Alyssandra, who had trained with Sam on their way into the city. "Whatever Sam's planning though, he's probably got an ace up his sleeve. He would never leave his Pokémon in danger like that."

Niya nodded. "Yeah, you're right I suppose. I just hope he knows what he's doing."

"Come on, this is Sam we're talking about," laughed Jeremy, "You should know better than that."

"I know…I just worry," sighed Niya, "If he beats Crasher Wake that means he's going to challenge my Aunt Fantina next. She's going to spend that entire battle scrutinizing not just Sam, but me, because I taught Sam. She's going to spend the whole battle nit-picking every little mistake I made while training him."

"You make it sound like you'll be fighting Fantina," noted Alyssandra.

"In a way, I will be," replied Niya with a shrug.

Jeremy smirked. "You worry too much. Sam's not totally talentless, you know. Have some faith in him—and in yourself!"

Meanwhile, Sam had dealt with his Gyarados problem. As the giant Pokémon neared Luxray, Luxray jumped and landed on Gyarados's back, and latched its teeth down onto the Pokémon's spine.

Gyarados let out a roar as it rampaged across the stadium.

Sam merely had Luxray unleash a devastating Thunder Fang which instantly caused the Gyarados to howl and thrash louder.

"Shake it free, Gyarados!" cried Wake.

The Pokémon became enraged.

It swatted itself side-to-side, diving deep into the water, slamming itself against the walls of the giant pool.

Finally, Luxray let go, landing in the water.

"Gyarados! Don't let that Luxray go unpunished! Waterfall again!" cried Wake.

Sam smiled. Luxray was in the perfect position. Sam called for Luxray to unleash a massive discharge attack.

Being in the water aided the attack, as the water carried the electric current towards Gyarados.

Luxray unleashed a massive amount of electricity, shocking the entire stadium. The lights that hung from the ceiling swayed and flickered—some even burst—as the electric waves bounced around the place.

Niya, Jeremy and Alyssandra had to duck behind the concrete wall that separated the lowest set of seats from the arena. Water and electricity splashed over the sides, and the water landed on top of them.

Only Pikachu faced the onslaught of electricity unafraid.

When all was said and done, and the onslaught of Luxray's electricity finished, the three teens peaked from behind their hiding place and saw Gyarados, unconscious, floating in the water like a dead fish, with Luxray shaking itself off on top of the platform.

"Holy crap," cried Jeremy, "That…that's strong attack."

"How long was Sam having Luxray charge its electricity?" wondered Alyssandra, "He said something about charging it like a battery but…shit."

"Shit, indeed," smirked Niya, "What a clever tactic. All he had to do was overpower Gyarados by preparing to overpower it. Day by day, a little bit of electricity stored away in its tail…and Luxray could do that."

"Discharge is already a powerful move to begin with," noted Jeremy, "But that was ground shaking."

"Gyarados is unable to battle!" cried the now-soaked referee, "The winner of the first round is Sam Accardi, the challenger!"

Nobody cheered however.

This fight was far from over. This was going to be a battle of titans.

Crasher Wake smirked as he reached for his next Poké Ball. "No one's taken out Gyarados that quickly before." Wake laughed. "I can see why you're a Champion hopeful. The whole League's been atwitter about you. It's been an honour to battle against your cunning mind and raw strength. Should've expected as much from an Accardi though, I s'ppose."

Wake recalled his Gyarados and reached for his next Pokémon. "I think you'll find this next Pokémon a bit of a perplexing puzzle for you. I don't usually bring him out so early but…I think it's time I played my ace."

Wake tossed the Poké Ball into the air and unleashed his next Pokémon.

A Quagsire.

"Fuck," hissed Niya, "Wake used Gyarados to test Sam's strength…weaken his Luxray. Quagsire is out to finish it. Whittle down Sam's Pokémon."

"What do you mean?" asked Jeremy.

"Quagsire is one of the few Water Type Pokémon that Water Type Trainers use to trump people who try to use Electric attacks to breeze through their Pokémon," explained Niya, "Like Gastrodon, Palpitoad, Seismitoad, Barboach, Whiscash, Swampert, Marshtomp, or Wooper. Quagsire is a Water Type Pokémon, but it's also half Ground Type. Electric attacks don't affect it. They'll just bounce right off like nothing."

"Shit," added Jeremy as the realization came to him, "And Sam doesn't have any Grass Type Pokémon to cut through them."

"Exactly," finished Niya, "It's not an impossible obstacle to say the least…but it makes life a lot harder—especially when you don't have a Grass Type Pokémon to swap in."

"So, what's Sam going to do now?" asked Alyssandra, a little worried.

Niya looked at Sam, hopeful he'd think of something. "Get creative."

The look on Sam's face showed his friends that he had quickly come to the same realization that Niya had.

He sighed, bit his lip, and withdrew Luxray from the fight.

"Time to get creative, my boy," stated Aurelio, appearing out of nowhere.

"Where have you been?" wondered Sam, who hadn't seen Aurelio since his first battle with Maylene.

"Preoccupied," muttered Aurelio, not looking directly into Sam's eyes, "Things are…busy in the spirit world."

"Uh huh," replied Sam, not buying it for a minute.

"You seem to have yourself in a corner," added Aurelio, trying to change the subject, "You should do something about that."

"I'm trying," muttered Sam as he thought over which Pokémon to pull out next. He paused and thought long and hard. There was no easy choice. It was just a matter of the easiest of the hard choices to make.

"Fuck it," cried Sam, as he drew Staravia's Poké Ball, "Go, Staravia!"

Staravia burst from the Poké Ball, flying and ready to fight. He looked to be in his prime and eager to prove himself against Wake's Quagsire.

"Ballsy," commented Aurelio, as the Bird Pokémon circled above like a hawk searching for its prey, "They say hawks eat snakes. Quagsire is kind of like a newt, and that's close to a snake…sort of."

"That…that makes no sense," stated Sam bluntly.

Aurelio merely grunted in response and remained quiet, standing behind his grandson, invisible to the world, as Sam battled Wake's Quagsire.

Sam had an idea.

But before he could put it into action, Wake had taken the chance to strike.

"Quagsire! Rock Tomb! Take Staravia out of the sky!" cried Crasher Wake.

Quagsire responded as it focused itself and started pulling up massive rocks from the bottom of the pool of water.

That water was deeper than Sam originally thought, it seemed.

Rock Tomb had two methods of attack. The first is trapping your opponent inside of a mass of rocks. That required being able to hit the opponent.

An opponent like Staravia was too quick in the air to hit with multiple rocks. Quagsire instead played it safe and decided to use option two.

It formed a massive ball of rock with the stones it gathered and hurled it through the air at Staravia.

"Do you have a plan to deal with that?" asked Aurelio.

"Working on it!" cried Sam, "Staravia, use Steel Wing on the giant rock! Cut it to bits!"

Staravia cried in response, its wings glowing white, as he flew at top speeds towards the massive boulder.

Once more Sam's friends ducked behind the wall. Worried that the falling rocks and stones would hit them otherwise. This time, Pikachu didn't try to brave the attack.

Staravia circled around the massive boulder, cutting through the rock in several places. The rock started to break apart and crumble, but Sam and Staravia wasn't finished.

"Staravia, use your wings! As strong as you can go, blast those rocks back at Quagsire!" called Sam.

"That's quite a brave—and advanced—tactic there, my boy," added Aurelio, "I didn't even think of something like that at your age."

"I'm nothing if not brave," smirked Sam, muttering to his grandfather, "Let's just hope it works!"

Staravia was able to kick up some powerful gusts and blew the massive rocks back at Quagsire. Rocks fell off and clattered to the ground or splashed into the water as they fell towards Quagsire.

Not all of them would make it to Staravia's target, but as long as a few attacks hit, Staravia could still turn this battle around and gain the upper hand.

"You've become a master at counterattacking, my boy," chuckled Aurelio, "A good Trainer doesn't just attack—they can turn their opponent's moves against them."

As if mirroring Aurelio's thoughts, Niya peaked over the wall and watched in awe. "Sam would make a really good Coordinator if he wanted to," she noted.

Alyssandra nodded in agreement. "Can you imagine how many points the opponent would lose for having their moves turned on them like that?"

The rocks collapsed on and around Quagsire.

The dust settled, and all went silent on the field. Wake stared where his Pokémon was intently, hoping that his Pokémon was all right. He didn't cry out or panic—worrying would only throw off his Pokémon if it was still up and able to battle.

Quagsire did in fact tunnel its way out of the rubble. It was weak, it was tired, but it was still going to fight. It wasn't giving up.

Sam knew one more move would end it.

"Mud Shot, Quagsire!" cried Wake.

Quagsire obliged, not a single piece of doubt or refrain in its actions. Quagsire and Wake must have trained hard together…their ability to keep going at full strength said something for their conditioning.

"Dodge, Staravia!" cried Sam.

Sam was lucky Quagsire was tired and Staravia was faster than Quagsire's attack. The blasts of mud missed Staravia—but just barely. Sam needed to end this now.

"Aerial Ace, Staravia!" cried Sam, mimicking Crasher Wake's no back down, no giving up attitude, "This is going to be the move that ends it!"

Wake knew this.

Wake also knew he couldn't fight this.

Quagsire was only going to get hurt if he tried pushing the Pokémon farther.

He let Quagsire take the hit.

With a single nod and a knowing look, Pokémon and Trainer understood one another, and Quagsire allowed Staravia to hit it.

Quagsire flew off the platform it stood on and plummeted into the water.

A moment of silence…and Quagsire floated to the top of the water, unconscious.

Wake recalled his Pokémon with high regards and gratitude for all that Quagsire had done that day. The Pokémon fought hard, and even Sam realized that.

"Your Pokémon are hardy," called Sam to wake, "And fearlessly brave. You're a strong Trainer who raises strong Pokémon. I'm honoured to have a chance to fight you."

Wake let out a bellowing laugh, as expected of a man as large and muscle-bound as he. "I could say the same of you, boy," laughed Wake, "Your Pokémon are as brave as you are mad. I mean that in the best of ways. You claim to be a Trainer, fight like a Coordinator, and use Pokémon that most people wouldn't even dream of using in type match ups people wouldn't even consider. I heard from Gardenia you used an Empoleon in a Grass Type Gym, and Roark told me you used a Flying and Electric Type Pokémon in his Rock Type Gym. And then of course there was your Rock Type Pokémon in a Fighting Type Gym. You're crazy, boy! And I like that about you! This is the greatest, most intense battle I've had in years! What I wouldn't give to hop out onto the field and battle your Pokémon myself!"

Wake laughed again, his body shaking.

Sam smiled confidently at the compliment. "I'm glad my madness precedes me," he replied, "All the best people in this world are mad, after all."

"Aye. That they are," laughed Wake, "But I ain't done yet!"

Wake grabbed his last Poké Ball and unleashed his Floatzel into the water. There was no chill with this man.

Go big or go home.

Give it all, or nothing.

That was Crasher Wake.

Sam couldn't have asked for a better, more exhilarating opponent.

Sam recalled his Staravia, thanking it for doing so well, and called out his Empoleon to battle Floatzel.

This was it. Round three.

If Sam could beat this Floatzel, he would have his Fen Badge—and that meant he could go challenge Fantina.

There was no point giving up now, especially now that Crasher Wake refused to back down. Hell, the man seemed to be going harder the longer the battle went on—and the worse it got for him.

"All right Empoleon," called Sam, "Let's get this battle over with and get that badge!"

"Come get it if you can, kid!" cried Wake.

"Come on, my boy! You've got this! Don't let him get to you!" called Aurelio from behind his grandson.

Pikachu called out from the stands. "Pika-pi!"

Jeremy and Alyssandra cheered for Sam, whooping in support of their friend. Crying words of encouragement and success.

Niya, however, remained silent. She watched Sam with a proud smile.

Maybe he was ready to battle her aunt. And if he could beat her…she would have nothing left to teach him. Sam would have surpassed her as a Trainer.

Even Niya hadn't overcome Fantina, to this day. As Coordinator or a Trainer.

"Empoleon! Get in the water and use Aqua Jet on Floatzel!" cried Sam.

No one questioned Sam using moves the same type as his opponent's Pokémon anymore. Sam knew what he was doing—he'd proven that time and again. His methods were unorthodox to say the least, but they always came through.

"Floatzel, Aqua Jet at Empoleon! Get in close and use Ice Fang!" cried Wake.

Sam cursed under his breath. Wake had stolen his tactic. Could the man read minds too?

Floatzel and Empoleon rushed at each other. Just before they were about to collide, Sam called out to his Pokémon. "Empoleon, spin yourself like a drill! Crash into Floatzel with all your strength!"

"An old tried and true method for Empoleon," smirked Niya, "I was wondering what happened to that tactic."

Empoleon's spinning metal body slammed into Floatzel, who was unable to dodge so quickly—the Pokémon moved fast, but it was too fast to dodge ever so slightly quickly.

Floatzel flew back, taking the full brunt of the steel-coated Pokémon's attack. But Sam didn't let up on the offensive. "Empoleon, Aqua Jet again! Close the gap between you and your opponent! Do not let him get distance!"

Crasher Wake didn't respond. Instead he let Floatzel remain in the water, calmly watching Empoleon rush towards him as he floated there seemingly helpless.

Then, as Sam's Empoleon neared Floatzel, too close to manoeuvre away, Crasher Wake pounced.

"Floatzel, Ice Fang! Clamp down on Empoleon and drag it under!" cried Wake.

He was going to exhaust, and possibly near-drown Empoleon. The Pokémon could breathe underwater; so being dragged under wouldn't kill or hurt it, but it would wind and strain the Pokémon, making it easier pray for the Floatzel.

Sam, however, was able to react quickly enough. "Metal Claw, Empoleon!"

Empoleon's steel-edged fins bashed Floatzel in the maw. It's icy-coated fangs shattered—or at least the ice that covered them—and the frosty fog dissipated quickly.

"Crunch, Floatzel!" cried Wake, "Don't let up!"

Crunch wouldn't be as easy to push aside as Ice Fang.

Sure enough, Floatzel got its fangs onto Empoleon. But Empoleon had acted without Sam—something it hadn't done in a while.

It had prepared a Metal Claw and hardened its fins against the attack. Floatzel had bitten down on hardened steel. And Empoleon went in for the counter attack.

"It's amazing," whistled Aurelio impressed, "I've seen it so many times, and I still can't get over how amazing it is to see a bond this strong in action."

Empoleon struck at Floatzel with a Metal Claw, then another, then another. Then hit it with a Peck.

Floatzel's jaw was locked down on Empoleon, and Empoleon was taking full advantage of that.

Empoleon continued to press the attack and didn't let up right until the end.

When Empoleon was done, Floatzel floated in the water like Quagsire before it; unconscious, and unresponsive to Wake's call.

Wake gritted his teeth as he recalled his Pokémon, thanking it for working hard. Wake had trusted his Pokémon…and unfortunately the gamble had failed him.

Sam knew how big of a gamble any battle could be, and he respected Crasher Wake for trying.

But Sam had won his Fen Badge.

The referee pronounced Sam as the winner, and his friends, Pikachu and his grandfather started cheering excessively at Sam's victory.

Even as Sam approached Crasher Wake, while the man laughed wildly as Sam took the Fen Badge from him, the victory didn't feel real. Things felt dreamy.

But not in a bad way, or a scary way; not in a way that he didn't believe it.

Sam felt the excitement in him. He felt his heart skip a beat.

And he knew, now he was ready to fight Fantina, and win.