Chapter 41: Lucas vs. the Elite Four
Several months ago Lucas was just a delinquent kid sent to live with a brother he hated rather than go to Juvenile Hall for a third time. He was rude, foul-mouthed, bad-tempered, violent and had looked at life with nothing but resentment and hopelessness. He had no real talents, his parents only looked at him with pity and disappointment and the one thing he ever truly cared about was taken by the person he hated the most: the person he was sent to live with, his older brother John. But all that changed with a sick Eevee found abandoned in the woods. After that day he was given a second chance at life and the dream he carried in his heart since he was a small child. With that Eevee by his side he had built a Pokemon team made of creatures that risked their lives for him as much as he for them, creatures that he protected, saved and became his true partners. He had made new friends, gained the admiration of brilliant professors and the best Trainers in Sinnoh and now he sat in the Pokemon Center in Sunnyshore City with a case full of eight badges and the honor of facing the Elite Four granted to him.
He would be seventeen soon and he could still be sarcastic, swear like a sailor and throw a nasty punch if the situation called for it, but during his Journey he managed to rediscover the kindness and goodness in his heart he long thought was gone. It was that kindness that made everyone admire his battling style. He was the Trainer who would protect his Pokemon at all cost, and through his battles would put their needs above his. It was because of this he was difficult to read and even harder to predict, and allowed him to defeat opponents who were training Pokemon, in some cases, longer than he had been alive. Now was the time to master his style once and for all, go up Route 223 to enter Victory Road and face the final challenge of the Sinnoh League that waited for him there.
Part of him wanted to rush to the League and face the Elite Four immediately, but he knew better than that. The small mistakes he made during his fights for the Gym Matches would prove disastrous against the best Trainers in the region. He only knew the specialties of two of the Elite Four members, Flint and Crasher Wake, and knew nothing of the other two members or the Champion. Lucas had no realistic way of discovering this information, so like against the Gym Leader Barry, he would be going in blind and would have to prepare for every contingency. But unlike the catastrophic Gym battle, the Mohawked teen would have to make sure he was even more prepared than his Pokemon. Sorting through his current team, the Pokemon in the PC and the TMs the Trainer accumulated during his travels, the teen would have to make some hard decisions. He would have to weigh loyalty against strength, speed against type advantage, how long a member had been part of a team against what the stats would say would guarantee a victory. The process was more difficult than Lucas could even anticipate as he was forced to decide who was the best amongst Pokemon he loved and admired equally.
After several days of contemplating, training, second-guessing, mixing and planning, the teen Trainer prepared his team against the massive challenge ahead. In the end his team would be made of Franky the Gyrados, Sparky the Rotom, Jaws the Garchomp, his female Haunter, Donna the Espeon, and last but not least, his very first Pokemon, Gizmo. Armed with what Lucas thought would be the ideal attacks and items, the teen left Sunnyshore City for the Sinnoh League in the north.
The waters of Route 223 proved to be the first hurdle of the final leg of the Sinnoh Challenge. The water was choked with Tentacruel and Tentacool, the only set of Pokemon species Lucas had a genuine hatred for. The bay also was the location of dozens of Trainers waiting to ambush any passersby that had escaped the jellyfish Pokemon onslaught. Despite the constant distraction and the teen's hate of Tentacool, Lucas managed to capture a Mantyke and found his way to the Pokemon Center at the foot of the waterfall that led to Victory Road. This waterfall proved to be the second challenge all wannabe Champions had to face on their way to the League. Not only was Waterfall a move only accessible to Trainers who had completed the Gym challenge, the natural obstacle could only be crossed by a high-level Pokemon that had the strength and the stamina to fight against gravity and the force of the rushing water. Once his team was healed, Lucas attempted this challenge for himself.
Franky had been taught the move in Sunnyshore City when a grateful citizen gave the teen the HM in appreciation for freeing the town from Team Cosmic's clutches. Now the two could finally test the move outside of battle. Lucas took his usual spot on the Gyrados' head just at the nape of the long Pokemon's neck and clung to spines that jutted out of the water-type's skull, the teen's Eevee on his shoulder. With a serpentine dive, Franky slide into the water from the shore just in front of the Pokemon Center, swimming away from the waterfall to make room to build up speed, before turning around and rushing back to the waterfall with all his might. With a dramatic splash the water-type began pushing himself and his Trainer up the cascade with all his might. The normally happy Pokemon's face was locked with determination and gritted teeth. Slowly, steadily the Gyrados worked its way up the waterfall, the water constantly pushing back down, countering the Pokemon's effort with equal force. Lucas continued to shout his encouragement to his Pokemon as the Pokemon Center below became smaller and smaller, but half-way up the massive waterfall, the Gyrados' strength began to fail. The speed at which Franky slid down made a mockery of the slow crawl they endured to get up as far as they did, but the teen refused to give in and let his Pokemon slide all the way back to the sea below. "C'mon Franky! You've got this!" Lucas screamed as the massive water-type started lurching back up the almost entirely vertical wall of water. The tattooed teen leaned himself forward to try to swing the momentum back up, Gizmo flattening his ears and leaning forward as well to help his teammate. "Go! Go! You can do this, pal!"
Franky let out a roar and with his second wind leapt up the waterfall. With the continued rhythm of lurch-lurch-leap, the Pokemon soared above the edge of the waterfall and landed with a splash in the river that fed from the mouth of a cave. The Gyrados cruised over to the mouth away from the edge and the rushing water, panting to catch his breath. Lucas patted the creature in congratulations, his own breath heavier as all his energy went into cheering on his loyal Pokemon. The second leg was over. They had made it to entrance of Victory Road. Once they passed this place and whatever obstacles lied within, their final stop would be the building that housed the battle arena for the Elite Four and the Champion.
Once inside the cave, Franky could properly rest as Lucas had to switch to moving on foot. The Pokemon of Victory Road proved to be as dangerous as the Trainers who were also on their way to face the Sinnoh League Challenge. Golbat seemed to ambush him almost incessantly and high-powered Rhydon, Onix, Gabite and Machoke made the artificially overpowered Pokemon of Iron Island seem less unreasonable. And just when Lucas thought he could catch a break away from the strongest wild Pokemon in Sinnoh, some of the strongest Trainers would face him instead. Like him, they all had defeated Roark, Gardenia, Fantina, Barry, Maylene, Candice, Byron and Volkner, and like him had the ambition of being the next Champion. To his opponents he was nothing more than a guinea pig to test out their strategies against the Elite Four, and did not hesitate to use their best moves. Lucas was forced to give everything he had to survive, but he held nothing personal against his opponents. With each defeated Trainer, the teen from Cherrygrove City proved he deserved to be there. And through the day and night without sleep, Lucas pushed himself further and further through Victory Road, passed more opponents, more Pokemon, rushing mountain streams and massive boulders until he exited to a clearing dimly lit by the not yet risen sun, following a road that was paved with white granite blocks and bronze statues of Pokemon. In front a second, even larger waterfall, stood two Pokemon League officials.
Upon seeing Lucas the two men approached him and greeted him cordially. The man on the left held out his hand and began his speech, "Welcome to the Pokemon League Headquarters of the Sinnoh Region. In order to enter you must prove that you are a Trainer worthy of facing and defeating the Elite Four and the current Champion. In order to prove this you must present the eight badges of the eight League-certified Gyms of the region as well as your Trainer ID card to verify you are who you claim,"
Wordlessly, the increasingly exhausted Trainer reached into his vest and presented the badge case and his Trainer Card to the waiting official. The badges shimmered as the sun finally began rising. The official observed the items carefully to make sure they weren't counterfeit, and once he was satisfied snapped the case closed and handed the badges and card back to Lucas. When the first official stepped back, it was the other man's turn to speak, "Once you go up this waterfall you will arrive at the Pokemon League building. There you can heal your Pokemon, restock supplies and rest. Be sure you are prepared, because once you start the challenge you cannot quit until your team is defeated. You must face all the members of Elite Four in a row. You will not be able to go back to the Pokemon Center between matches or change your team at any time, and all matches will start immediately as you enter the next Member's room. Do you understand the rules?"
"Yes," the teen answered simply. Satisfied that the rules were understood, the two officials went back to their posts and let Lucas pass. To get to the building that housed the Elite Four required going up one more waterfall in Franky's back. Only this last obstacle prevented him from reaching his goal. Nine years of heartache and frustration in his brother John's shadow, months of trudging across Sinnoh through mud, heat, cliffs and snow, going from town to town, battling Trainers, Leaders and Team Cosmic, facing and defeating personal demons and shortcomings all lead up to this moment. As the teen's loyal Gyrados seemingly flew up this second, larger waterfall, Lucas could feel his heart pounding, and the biggest smile spread across his face. Within moments, the Pokemon crested over the cliff's edge and like a shining beacon, illuminated with spotlights and the rising sun, appeared the Pokemon League.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, our next challenger for the Sinnoh League Champion: Lucas from Cherrygrove City!" a booming disembodied voice roared his announcement over a PA system as Lucas stepped through the doors to the first room of the Elite Four Challenge. Dozens of cameras all aimed at him as the exploits of the next potential Champion would be broadcast and commentated on on TVs and computers across the region. With a confident stride, the teen walked forward, ignoring the comments and explanations from the announcer. He had been waiting for this moment all his life, from the moment his parents' old friend let the boy play with his team and his obsession with Pokemon began. Though this moment had been delayed by John's selfishness and the teen's own bad behavior, nothing would take away the glory or excitement of what was happening, regardless of how the situation ended, "Lucas has made waves over the past few months with his unique style and unorthodox team. This teen superstar is actually the little brother of former Champion John, who took the Pokemon world by storm almost a decade ago. Does Lucas have what it takes to face our current Elite Four and follow in his brother's footsteps?"
"You bet your ass," Lucas said quietly as stopped in the middle of the room. His heart was pounding from a flood of excitement, exhilaration and nervousness. He knew in his heart that he deserved to be there more than anyone. There were few people who loved Pokemon as much as him, and John didn't show a moment's interest in the creatures until his birthday and the sudden decision to become a Trainer. And if a preening, self-centered golden boy such as Lucas' older brother could become a Champion, for the teen it meant the title was practically his destiny. Even so, he knew his opponents were no one to underestimate, and so he concentrated his nervous energy into laser-like focus, his brown eyes hardening like they did before any fight. As soon as the teen entered the center of the arena the blank, white walls lit up to a misty blue color that swirled in a way to give the effect he was underwater. The floor opened to a glass surface, underneath revealed an aquarium full of fish and water-type Pokemon swimming below. A second set of spotlights flashed at the front of the room as the first of the Elite Four arrived.
"Well, well, I was wondering when you were going to show up. The kid that Barry told was useless as a Trainer," a stocky, muscular man with a mask over his face stepped down from the podium. It was the famous wrestler and former Gym Leader, Crasher Wake. Lucas had stood up to the intimidating bulk of a man in Pastoria City, defending the obnoxious tween boy that insulted him. Now the boy would face the man Barry had idolized and claimed Lucas would have no chance against, "It takes a lot of skill and a lot of guts to get this far, but the Elite Four is a whole other level. It's impressive that you got this far, but this is where your challenge ends! Go! Quagsire!"
And with that action the Elite Four Challenge officially started. Time seemed to no longer have meaning as the man's Pokeball flew into the middle of the arena and released his first Pokemon. Part instinct, part developed reaction, Lucas threw his own Pokeball into the fray, "Go Donna!"
"Quagsire, Earthquake!"
"Donna! Toxic!" The swift Espeon reached her target first, spraying the Pokemon with the powerful poison before she leapt against the walls to avoid the dramatic lurching of the room that seemingly threatened to bring down the building and shatter the glass floor. Though Quagsire's simple facial expressions made their emotions difficult to read, its drooped body proved the toxin was working in full effect.
Neither Trainer broke their poker faces as they exchanged commands to their powerful Pokemon. The Espeon alternated between Psychic and Dark Pulse attacks while Crasher Wake tried to use his Quagsire's high defense to his advantage. A calculated turn to use an Antidote to stop the poison's progression gave Lucas an edge to use one final Dark Pulse attack to bring the water-and-ground type to its defeat. The next round consisted of Crasher Wake's Floatzel, an opposite in speed and strengths to the slow-but-bulky Quagsire. This pure water-type allowed Donna to use her Charge Beam attack, but the Floatzel's Crunch attack nearly side-lined the psychic-type in one hit.
Lucas recalled his Espeon and sent Garchomp to the field. Though part ground-type, its dragon attribute neutralized any extreme damage even a Hydropump had to offer. Speedy Dragon Claw slices and Headbutts took out the Floatzel once and for all. The next round proved dragon against sea monster as Crasher Wake sent his own Gyrados to the field. This beast of a water-type clearly didn't have the same kind of sweet temper Franky exhibited, but instead had the warrior's heart like Hotrod did. The battle-lusting Garchomp became invigorated by the challenge. The two attackers wailed against each other with devastating blows of sheer power, but the round went to Crasher Wake. The teen opponent reacted instantly as Franky appeared before his same-specied rival. The two Gyardos threatened to tear the room apart, but neither Trainer backed down. With a powerful Hyperbeam, Franky came out ahead.
Both battlers recalled their Pokemon for their forth round, a fresh start in a tense match. "Go Vaporeon!" Crasher Wake called out.
Lucas had only one Pokemon he would use against an Eeveelution, his own first Pokemon, "Gizmo! Show them what you're made of! Use Shadowball!"
"Aurorabeam, Vaporeon!" As the tiny Eevee shot out a ball of energy at his opponent the mermaid-like Pokemon countered with a beam of rainbow-colored ice. The two waves of power clashed together to form a powerful explosion, but one that left neither fighter harmed. Once again, a fierce fight of rivalry began. Gizmo's speed and varied attacks clashed against Vaporeon's high special attack and amazing evasiveness. When attacks hit, they hit with extreme force, when they missed, they missed spectacularly. Crasher Wake seemed confident that it would be his creature that would come out the victor of this match, but Lucas had complete faith in Gizmo. The tiny normal-type was above all a survivor, and would survive this match just he survived ones even more difficult. Gizmo dove underground to dodge a Hydropump and crashed back up underneath his opponent. Though at a type disadvantage, Gizmo managed to score a critical hit. Now the infamous wrestler was down to his last Pokemon.
In a fitting tribute to nostalgia and Lucas' perseverance and stubbornness, Crasher Wake's final Pokemon was a Tentacruel, the Pokemon that no doubt inspired the type specialty of the only Gym Leader the teen ever lost against. The Trainer's chest tingled in remembrance of the sting he received as a small boy from the only species of Pokemon he actually hated. But this fight would not end in the same way it did with Barry when Lucas first had to encounter this kind of Pokemon in battle. Recalling Gizmo to save his strength, the tattooed Trainer sent out what he thought was the ideal Pokemon: Sparky.
Lucas smiled when the Pokemon appeared on the field. It still examined its surroundings and its opponent's Trainer before bothering with the actual match. The teen had learn to accept his Pokemon's oddity, because even if the Rotom was spacey, its loyalty was never doubted. The jellyfish Pokemon attempted to swat the other monster out of the air with one of its tentacles but Sparky snapped to attention before the hit could collide. For the Tentacruel's ferocious temperament, it had no chance against the deceptively easy-going Pokemon. Crasher Wake and Lucas continued to bark commands to their creatures, and each Pokemon exchanged spectacular attacks, but Sparky's lackadaisical style was the one that triumphed. Leisurely dodged attacks would be countered with blasts of high voltages and in a few shorted rounds, the hated jellyfish Pokemon collapsed onto the glass arena floor.
The pumping adrenaline caused a rushing in Lucas' ears and didn't hear the announcement above declaring the match go to him. It wasn't until Crasher Wake recalled his Pokemon and gave the teen a hearty bow that he realized he was victorious. He had actually done it, he had defeated a member of the Elite Four, "Congratulations, young man. Like Barry I had underestimated your talent and your drive. Though I don't know if you can defeat the rest, you have my full respect for your skills in defeating me,"
Though the victory provided an exhilarating rush, Lucas had no time to drink in this victory. The rest of the Elite Four and the Champion waited for him and with a small respectful farewell, the teen healed his Pokemon and stepped through the next set of doors.
"The wunderkind from Johto is off to a fine start, taking out our favorite wrestler and water-type hero, Crasher Wake. But things can only get harder for our potential Champion as each Elite Four member increases in difficulty. Things are going to really 'heat up' with the second member of the challenge!" Once more blank walls and floors transformed as the tattooed team came to face his next opponent. Sweat instantly formed on the back of his neck as he was hit by a powerful blast of high heat. The lights transformed into a glaring red and the floor opened to a single corridor surrounded on either side by flowing lava.
"Yo! Brohawk! Great to see you again, dude. This fight is going to be awesome, I can feel it!" from the podium above, Flint came bouncing down to greet his opponent. Lucas couldn't help but smile to see a friendly face again, but he knew better than to let his guard down. The two had partnered in battle in the Cosmic assault against Sunnyshore City and the boy had seen Flint's team in battle, and of all the Elite Four members, knew most what the deceptively cheery-mannered man was capable of. With pleasantries out of the way, the battle began. Flint sent out his Rapidash first to which Lucas responded with his Garchomp. The horse-like Pokemon would constantly use the flying move Bounce to avoid attacks, and its speed made touching it difficult. The Garchomp would miss more often not, but when successful, the Rapidash would get badly hurt. The drawn out battle finally went to Lucas, as the land-shark eventually took out its equestrian opponent.
Next Flint sent out his Flareon, a challenge Lucas could only respond with Gizmo. The Elite Four member was no fool, and having seen the tiny Eevee in action knew better than to underestimate to normal-type. Dig attacks would be sabotaged, Shadowballs would be dodged. As the Afroed man read the other red-head's attacks, Lucas seriously considered calling Gizmo back for another Pokemon. But seeing the determined Eevee in action decided on a different course of action. Though Flint had seen most of Gizmo's attacks during their time together, the teen boy had taught his Pokemon a new move before coming to Victory Road. Using a TM, he taught the Eevee a move he thought would best suit the teen's relationship with his Pokemon. "Gizmo! Use Return!"
Return, a normal-type move that was more powerful the more the Pokemon loved its Trainer. Lucas and Gizmo had faced all sorts of obstacles and challenges together, including once again seeing the Trainer who had abandoned the Eevee in Eterna Forest. If there was one thing that the teen knew above all else, it was that it was that his Eevee loved him with everything he had. He knew, because he felt that way about the tiny brown creature that became his dearest friend. It was an easy bet that paid back in spades. The Return attack slammed the Flareon almost into the lava, and finally giving the round to Lucas.
The tattooed boy could see the corners of Flint's mouth twitch, an increasing anger behind his easy-going facade, he knew he would have to be careful for the next Pokemon to be summoned. The red-head with the Afro next summoned out his Infernape, a Pokemon with fighting powers in addition to its fire attribute. Even with Gizmo's Return power, Lucas knew a switch would be best. The teen brought out the female Haunter next. Her ghostly attacks made short work of otherwise unstoppable Pokemon, and the Elite Four member was down to his last two Pokemon
Flint sent out a Houndoom next, which Lucas answered with Franky. This too would prove to be a short round and now the older man was down to his final Pokemon. This was the creature that had Lucas concerned since the beginning of the match, the powerhouse compliment to Volkner's Electivire: Magmortar.
Lucas knew this fight would be the most difficult, and knew he would probably lose most of his Pokemon in this fight alone. Though a prospect he disliked intensely, he saw no way around it. Like a army division against a powerful military complex, Lucas worked to chip away at the Pokemon's defenses while trying to keep his loses to a minimum. He tried cursing, poisoning and confusing the massive Magmortar while he would take turns to revive and heal his Pokemon. Flint would respond with Full Heals, but Lucas would just start again. Though the fight was hell between the Pokemon's vicious attacks and the room's intense heat, all of Lucas' team continued their part of the strategy, accepting the pain they endured while Lucas tried everything in his power to do his best to help them avoid it. After a countless number of turns, the titan-like Magmortar fell and now Flint, too, was defeated.
The Elite Four member's reaction was not what the teen was expecting after his lose. The man was no longer smiling, and refused to say anything. Lucas began to question what was wrong when a second figure stepped out from the podium reducing the boy's voice to a choked squeak. It was Volkner, "Nice to see you again, Lucas,"
"L-likewise." the teen stammered.
After the cheerful greeting, the blond man approached his best friend and flicked him painfully on the ear. Flint mumbled something the Mohawked teen couldn't hear and then Volkner turned back to the Elite Four member's opponent, "Sorry about this. Unfortunately, Flint's sort of a bad loser. So don't let the hissy fit bother you. He really is happy for you. Good luck with the next round,"
With an unfortunately goofy smile, Lucas said goodbye to the two best friends and proceeded to face the third member of the Elite Four.
"With the hippy hot-head defeated, Lucas had made it through half-way of the Elite Four challenge. Just two opponents remain before this young man will meet our current Champion. But before facing the current one, this sensational Trainer must face one of our former Champions. Let's see if can survive her!" The white room's lights instantly dimmed and a strange mist began filling the area. Lucas had no idea who his next opponent was, and worse yet, what his next opponent's team would be like. While the first two members of the Elite Four were difficult, he at least knew what to expect. Now the real challenge would begin. Taking a deep calming breath, the teen stepped towards the podium where his opponent sat. In the darkened room he could not see the person's face, but upon hearing her voice could feel his face flush as badly as it did when he saw Volkner again. It was a deep, throaty voice that belonged to an older woman, "I told you we'd be seeing each other again soon, Lucas,"
The next member of the Elite Four was Cynthia, the woman he had met in Celestic Town and saw during the Cosmic battle.