Chapter 27: Welcome to the Team
Roku's P.O.V.
Legend Keeper HQ
"ATTACK NOW!"
We were doing everything we could to keep our balance as the two Mega Evolved Pokémon flew at each other, sending off shockwaves that nearly blew everyone out of their seats. Latias was already charging up a Dragon Breath, ready to unleash it on the unsuspecting thunderbolt itself, and Manectric had electricity sparking from its mane.
Just as it seemed they were going to collide, we shouted our orders.
"Latias, Dragon Breath!"
"Manectric, Thunderbolt!"
The two Mega Evolved Pokémon launched their attacks, sending out another round of shockwaves that reverberated against each other, causing a small seismic disturbance and knocking us off our feet. I had to admit, that Manectric was incredible.
I scrambled to my feet and straightened myself up, thrusting out a hand and shouting, "Latias! Break away and use Mist Ball!"
Latias flew upwards as fast as she could, narrowly avoiding the arcing electricity, and firing off the Mist Ball attack, landing a direct hit on Manectric and even dropping his ability to produce special attacks.
"Come on, Manectric!" Cedric shouted. "We can't lose to them! Use Discharge!"
Manectric built up as much electricity as it could before releasing it in one massive burst, covering the entire field in electricity. Latias tried her best to avoid it, but she got caught up in the dome of electricity and jolted around before falling.
"Latias! Are you OK?!" I shouted as she hit the ground with a massive thud.
"Ugh…that one didn't feel good…" she said, slowly hovering back up.
"Hahaha! How's THAT for clipping the bird's wings?!" Manectric shouted.
I saw Latias tense up, and I knew that Manectric had struck a nerve.
"I'm not a bird, you glorified lightning bolt," Latias said roughly. She flew right up to Manectric, her nose right up against Manectric's forehead, and shouted, "I'm a DRAGON!" before blowing her Dragon Breath in his face, sending him sprawling back enough for Latias to nail him with a Mist Ball attack, dropping his special capabilities again.
The heat of the battle grew from there. Both Manectric and Latias were exchanging blows left and right, from energy attacks to special attacks. Eventually, the two were engaged in another battle of will between Dragon Breath and Thunderbolt.
"Don't give in, Latias! You can beat this guy!" I cheered.
"Don't you dare quit, Manectric!" Cedric shouted.
Reia's P.O.V.
Legend Keeper HQ
Reia was absolutely beside herself. The battle between Roku and Cedric had proven to be better than she'd anticipated. Even Zuki and Calem, who were seasoned Trainers, were impressed with him.
"I really do hope he wins this," Zuki said. "We could use someone with his skills on our team."
"I agree," Calem said. "He's able to coordinate moves flawlessly and come up with strategies right on the dot. He's got my vote."
The entire crowd cheered as Roku pulled off another powerful strategy, sending Cedric's Manectric flying.
"Yeah, go Roku!" Reia cheered.
Just then, Reia saw Cedric's Manectric running up to Latias as her back was turned. She already knew what was going to happen.
"Latias, watch out!"
Roku's P.O.V.
Legend Keeper HQ
The battle of will ended with Latias flying up and activating her camouflage, flying behind Manectric and slamming him with another Mist Ball. Manectric flew back and hit the ground, sliding all the way back to Cedric. The crowd cheered loudly and, me being who I am, waved to the crowd, the cockiness taking effect.
Latias flew back to me, where she used Recover and healed her wounds from the last attack. But as she did, Manectric had closed the distance almost instantly and latched onto her with a Crunch attack, his fangs sinking deep into her neck.
"NO!" I shouted, knowing that this was a potentially fatal blow. Manectric was clamped on tight, but Latias was making it hard to stay that way, slashing at him with her small but sharp claws. Eventually, Manectric was so roughed up that he had to release his grip, and Latias floated back, her breathing heavily compromised.
"Latias, we need to fall back," I said, walking up to her. "You're in no condition to fight."
I was surprised when Latias shook her head, saying, "I'm not giving in."
"But, you could die from this!" I shouted. "I lost you once, I'm not going through that again!"
Latias turned around and looked me straight in the eye. The determination I saw in her bright yellow eyes gave me the answer I needed.
"…OK. I believe in you," I said. I looked Cedric straight in the eye as Latias turned back to the field and locked onto Manectric.
"So you're gonna keep going, eh?" Cedric said.
"Latias and I won't let something like this stop us," I said confidently. "Do your worst, Cedric."
"Very well," Cedric said, cracking his knuckles. "Manectric, Crunch!"
Manectric ran at Latias again, but she sent a wing across and slapped him back, charging up an attack I hadn't seen her use before. She unleashed it in the form of a large purple beam, enveloping Manectric in pure draconic energy.
"Whoa! Was that Dragon Pulse?!" I shouted in surprise.
Manectric was struggling to stay standing after the attack. Latias floated up to him, her breathing growing heavier, before giving the Electric-type another slap with her wing, knocking him out cold.
"Manectric is unable to battle!" the announcer shouted. "Latias is the winner! The victory goes to Roku Kimura!"
I hit the ground, on my knees, breathing heavily. I was so nervous that it was compromising my breathing as well. Latias was in worse shape, though, for she was still coughing up blood.
Manectric's energy returned to Cedric's Key Stone, and he was frozen like an icicle. I smiled, for I knew he was defeated.
I slowly moved to the now grounded dragon, her Mega energy returning to my Key Stone and returning her to her original form. I embraced her lightly, saying, "You did great. You didn't have to do this, you know."
Latias put her head up to my ear and whispered, "Never give up," before collapsing.
The medics rushed in, putting Latias on a stretcher and whisking her away to the infirmary. I saw my friends rush down from the stands before my vision started fuzzing out and I, too, collapsed.
Later that evening…
I woke up to find myself in a bed with my belt and Poke Balls lying on a table beside it. I sat up, still a little woozy from the exhausting battle, and got a look at my surroundings. I was in some sort of hospital room, but it wasn't quite white enough to be one.
Soon enough, Reia, Zuki, and Calem walked in, relieved that I was OK once they saw me sitting up.
"Hey," Reia said softly, sitting beside me on the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"A little dizzy, but I'm OK," I said. Then I remembered. "Latias! Is she OK?!"
"Latias is fine," Zuki said reassuringly. "She's still recovering, but she'll be OK."
I sighed with relief, knowing that I would feel guilty for the rest of my life if Latias hadn't made it out of that battle. I tried to stand, but the dizziness took effect, putting me back on the bed.
"You need to rest, too," Zuki said. "You took a pretty big hit of exhaustion yourself."
"I'm fine," I said stubbornly.
"Cedric said you need to rest," Calem said. "He doesn't want his new Legend Keeper to be moving around too much."
My eyes lit up at that news. Cedric had accepted me as one of his teammates.
"Oh, right!" Reia said, snapping her fingers like she remembered something. "As soon as you're feeling better-"
"And that's without the dizziness," Zuki interrupted.
"Cedric wants to see you in his office," Reia continued. "He has something for you."
"OK," I said, trying to get up again. But Zuki beat me to it, sending out one of her Pokémon to use Hypnosis on me. I gave her the evil eye as I slowly sank into a deep sleep.
The next morning…
I woke up once again, sitting up and not feeling dizzy at all. However, I didn't want to get up, for Luna was lying on my lap again.
The first thing that went through my head was how the hell did she get there?
Just then, Luna stretched and yawned, turning her head and gasping.
"Roku! You're OK!" she said excitedly, standing up and rushing over, wrapping her front legs around my neck. I hugged her back, and we stayed that way for a few minutes.
"I thought you weren't going to recover," Luna said sadly. "I was really worried about you."
"No need to worry," I said softly. "I'm OK."
We let go of each other, and I asked her, "So, how did you get out here? Last I knew, you were still in your Poke Ball."
"Once we were healed, Reia released me to help Latias stay awake," she explained. "If she had fallen asleep while the medics were doing their thing, she wouldn't have made it."
I nodded. "Thank you," I said.
"No problem," Luna replied, smiling. "Anything to help your girlfriend."
"What?!" I shouted. "No no no, you've got the wrong idea!" Then I stopped for a bit. "Wait, are you talking about Reia or Latias?"
"Oh, then I guess I should say your girlFRIENDS," Luna said, grinning wolfishly.
I shook my head and got up, noticing I was still dressed in my usual attire. I eventually found out that the room I was in had a washer and dryer, so I spent the next couple of hours getting my clothes clean.
Once that was finished, I remembered that Cedric wanted to see me, so I put my belt back on and walked out, heading to Cedric's office. However, I didn't exactly know where I was going, so I got one of the Legend Keepers to show me to his office.
Once I got there, a wave of nervousness hit me. I didn't know how to act in front of Cedric, especially when it meant possibly getting my badge. I took a deep breath, and after a confident look from Luna, walked in.
"Uh, you need to see me, Cedric?" I said shakily.
Cedric turned around and smiled once he saw me.
"Ah, Roku!" he said cheerfully. "It's good to see you're OK. You took quite a fall the other day."
"Reia told me you had something for me," I said.
"I see, straight to the point," Cedric said. "I like that. Actually, I have two somethings for you. The first is this."
Cedric pulled out a shiny new badge with the Legend Keepers' insignia on it: a silver sword with yellow wings on a black triangle background. He handed it to me, saying, "I hereby grant you with this badge, proof of your new status. Welcome to the Legend Keepers, Roku Kimura."
I took the badge, looking it over like a kid who just got a new toy. I was instantly feeling proud of myself that I had made it this far.
"The second is a gift from Steven," he continued. "He left while you were unconscious, so he couldn't give it to you in person."
He handed me a silver bracelet with a Key Stone implanted in it.
"Your very own Mega Bracelet," Cedric said.
"Heh…guess I can give Reia's Mega Ring back to her now," I said, taking the bracelet and replacing the Mega Ring with it.
"Last I knew, Reia was in the infirmary, checking on Latias," Cedric said. "By the way, I don't think Latias is ready to travel with you yet. She's still recovering from my partner's mistake."
I flinched. Cedric blamed his Manectric for Latias' injury? I figured he'd done it on purpose, but his Manectric did seem a little overaggressive.
"I understand," I said. "I'll wait until she recovers before I leave."
"While she's in recovery, why don't you head out and see the sights?" Cedric said. "Ecruteak's got a lot of historic sights to check out, and you can challenge your next Gym Leader. That is, is you're feeling OK."
"I'm fine, Cedric," I said. "I'll go check on my partner."
With that, I stepped out and made my way to the infirmary.
Author's Note: And on that note, this chapter comes to a close. Please read and review!
Strato Abyss signing out.
