Chapter 61: Lucas vs Wattson
"Lucas! How's my favorite spokesman doing?" Steven Stone, the CEO of Silph/Devon Inc., the company responsible for almost all Pokemon Training goods, crossed the battlefield that was formerly the break room of the New Mauville power plant, carefully stepping over broken glass and scattered papers towards the teen Trainer, his massive Metagross following behind.
After stumbling across his ex from Cherrygrove City, Marcia, Lucas and Skyler arrived in the Gym town of Mauville City to discover a disaster caused by a massive blackout that paralyzed the city. With the electric type Gym Leader and his Junior Trainers exhausted and stretched thin by the crisis, and the Pokemon League caught outside the city limits from the blackout's traffic related fallout, Lucas volunteered to go to New Mauville, the city's power plant, to investigate the incident and check on the employees. With his friends and Gabby the investigative reporter in tow, Lucas, Skyler and Marcia discovered the blackout was a cover for a Team Cosmic operation, and that Marcia, the girl who broke Lucas' heart years ago had betrayed him again by revealing she was now the high ranking Cosmic officer, Captain Rose. After a brutal battle Lucas was able to stop the operation just as the Pokemon League came in as reinforcements. Now it was time to sort out exactly what was happening.
Lucas was happy to see the wealthy young man again. The teen thought fondly of the executive, even though he exhibited a slightly malicious, underhanded streak. With all the adrenaline gone, the teen sunk to a pile of rubble, his friend Skyler dumping himself next to him, "Steven, man I am thrilled to see you. You got here just in time,"
"So what exactly is going on?" the gray-eyed man looked around the ruined room as investigators and paramedics spread out and started going through the chaos.
This time, it was one of the plant employees who answered, "Early this morning, right at shift change, we were ambushed by all these people in military uniforms. They took us all to the break room, took our Pokemon and set off some kind of flash bomb before turning off the plant. They told us if anyone tried to fight back they'd kill us all. Thank God that the boy with the tattoos came and rescued us. If it weren't for him they would have killed us all anyway. Now I know I'll see my daughter and wife again,"
The man's accent told Lucas that he must have been the father of punk girl Junior Trainer back in Mauville. Steven gave the man one of his warmest, most reassuring smiles before looking over the room some more and stopping in front of the now irreparably damaged sonic device and became far more serious. One of the investigators whispered in his ears and he nodded and turned back to Lucas, "The good news is outside of this room, which is not vital to the facility's operation, the plant is undamaged. Which means we'll be able to get power back online and to Mauville City within a couple of hours. What concerns me more is what actually went down here. Who was it that did this, and what is this thing?"
"It was Team Cosmic," Lucas replied. The events of the morning were wearing down on him, and his leg was starting to hurt like hell again.
Steven's expression darkened, "Team Cosmic? As in those people that caused all that chaos in Sinnoh?"
Lucas and Skyler nodded and Lucas reached into his vest and pulled out the crest from the machine in Granite Cave, "And this isn't their first operation here. I found this on a device in an abandoned lab in Granite Cave and a similar device was found in the Rusturf Tunnel. These devices emit these sonic wave things that make Pokemon super powerful, but also drive them crazy,"
The well dressed young man paced back and forth, his frown growing as he looked at the destroyed device again, "About a decade back we dealt with a pair of ecoterrorist groups who used Pokemon against one and other. They went after each other more than anything but innocent people were caught in the crossfire. On one hand dealing with one group instead of two is easier, but a single group with a single purpose is also a lot more dangerous. From what I've heard of their ideology we have to take them very seriously. As soon as I leave here I'll start getting in contact with others of the Hoenn Pokemon League. In the meantime, if you run into them again, contact me directly. I'll put my number on your Pokevice. Plus I'll be able to contact you for more Pokevice campaigns. We've been having a hard time keeping up with the demand,"
Lucas let out a small groan and then changed the subject, "I didn't want to say anything until I was sure. Not to mention outing them gives Cosmic a few advantages in terms of being able to escape. But now that I see exactly how serious Cosmic is we've got to let everyone know about this, not just the League. Too bad Ty's camera got roasted, he got everything on tape,"
"Have no fear Lucas, I'm not the number one reporter in Hoenn because of my good looks," Gabby beamed from her own seat. The journalist reached into her bra and pulled out a small portable harddrive, "We backed everything up before Cosmic found us in the wall. Plus..." Ty took off his backwards cap and revealed a second, hidden camera sewn into the banding, "We had to act as though they destroyed everything so they wouldn't search us for more stuff. Not to mention the camera getting destroyed was a huge loss. Those things are unbelievably expensive. If this story wasn't so good our station manager would have our heads on a plate. Looks like I'll have to put off that interview again, Lucas, this needs to get out,"
As Steven had said, after a few hours the power to Mauville was restored and the chaos started being sorted out. All the employees were reunited with their Pokemon, and the Pokemon fed into the sonic device were unharmed, the machine not operational long enough to do any permanent damage. The workers were returned safely home and the Pokemon League went to the business of returning the stolen Pokemon Cosmic had abandoned to their rightful Trainers. Hoenn Today aired the exclusive footage of Team Cosmic's nefarious attack on New Mauville and word of the team's infiltration had spread. Lucas knew discovery wasn't enough to stop the evil organization, but he knew that for now they'd be slowed down. He and Skyler returned to Mauville City and finally the teen Trainer got his rest. His leg was still bothering him, but with Gizmo seemingly back to normal and on his shoulder and the Gym challenge still ahead, he decided to put off dealing with the problem until afterwards.
Lucas spent a few extra days Training his team before deciding to face Wattson at the Mauville City Gym. Now that the city wasn't cloaked in darkness, the teen and his Dragon Tamer friend could really appreciate the bustling town. With the electricity back everything glowed. It wasn't just the dancing neon from the casinos, clubs and theaters, but everything and everyone seemed to be filled with energy as well. This was a city that never slept, never rested, it was why a blackout was such a catastrophe; the perfect distraction for Cosmic to employ their operation. And with all this power it only made sense that the city's Gym specialized in electric type Pokemon. Lucas had faced an electric Gym before, back in Sunnyshore City, where it was the most difficult Gym in the Sinnoh League run by one of the region's strongest Trainers, Volkner. When Lucas had first met Volkner during a rescue operation of the city, the teen Trainer developed a devastating crush on the handsome, confident young man, one that nearly cost him a Gym match because infatuation and shyness blinded his thinking. As attractive as Volkner was, he didn't hold a candle to tall, lean Skyler. And thinking back, Lucas had to give himself credit that he was making progress. As he found himself aching for his new friend more and more, the more he got to know the kind, friendly Dragon Tamer, he still managed to mostly keep a clear head, and never let his new feelings interfere with his Training.
Unlike the Gym in Sunnyshore that resembled a power plant, the Gym in Mauville looked much more like the local casinos, shining with moving neon signs and spotlights. Like all other official Pokemon League Gyms, it had a list of winning Trainers mounted on a column near the door along with a plaque announcing the Gym's leader. Wattson, the cheerfully electrifying man! The tattooed Trainer met the man before the New Mauville rescue, but otherwise knew nothing about him or what kind of Leader he was. He and Skyler stepped inside the Gym where a single Junior Trainer had stepped outside to the Gym's lobby clearly intending to take a break. His idea changed when he spotted Lucas and ran back inside. The two teens looked to each other curiously, but neither knew what was happening. The red and black haired teen stepped forward, expecting to face the first room or first puzzle of the Gym, as he had grown to expect. Instead he was greeted by a crowd of punks, workers and electronics hobbyists who applauded and whooped as soon as they saw him. The cheers rose to a roar as the crowd parted and the same old man with the beard who was so serious and commanding on his crate came through laughing and smiling with a box in his hands.
The applause continued with whistles and screams as Wattson approached Lucas with the box. The Leader raised a hand and waited for a moment for the cheering to finally die down, "Lucas, we didn't get a chance to meet properly before, but I am Wattson, Leader of the Mauville City Gym. I personally know every worker at New Mauville, and I was one of the engineers who helped build it. Every Junior Trainer here has a friend, family member, spouse or they themselves work at the plant. By helping us not only did you make sure the Pokemon Center and the hospital didn't lose anybody because of the outage, you saved every employee that was trapped there by Team Cosmic. We've heard from the League that you're on a Journey, and for that we present this to you with our gratitude,"
Lucas accepted the box cautiously. Though he resented people who judged him, open praise and acceptance were still things he wasn't used to. He was already uncomfortable with his new-found fame as Champion and as the Pokevice's spokesman, and now a crowd cheering for him left him in an experience he had no idea how to react to. The teen opened the present given to him by the Leader and frowned. Inside was a Gym Badge, prize money and TM from winning a battle. As politely as was possible for himself, he pushed the box back into Wattson's hands, "I can't accept this,"
A surprised bout of whispering moved through the crowd as the short old man in sweats cocked his head, "Why not? What you did for the city and the Gym was huge,"
"I can't accept a pity badge," Lucas replied.
"It's hardly a pity badge, son!" Wattson guffawed, "You faced dozens of grunts in a hostile situation. That's way more challenging than anything I can throw at you,"
The teen sighed and tried to explain things in a way that wouldn't offend anybody, "Listen, I understand you're trying to be nice here, but I'm not some rookie Trainer. Byron in Sinnoh tried to give me the same song and dance about challenges when he gave me his badge. I only accepted it because he was going to close the Gym for a few months and I didn't have that kind of time. But things are different here. I'm a Champion now, and this Gym isn't closing. A Gym Badge isn't supposed to be a reward for doing something nice, that's what medals are for. They are to prove that I'm a worthy enough Trainer to defeat the Elite Four by defeating Gym Leaders. If you want to reward me for helping people, that's awesome, but if you want to show me gratitude then you're going to come at me with your strongest team and give me everything you've got,"
The man gave the tattooed teen a studying look before letting out a huge belly laugh, "I like your spirit kid! You got it!"
The excitement roared through the crowd again as the Junior Trainers, Leader, Lucas and Skyler made their way to the Gym Leader's audience room. The Trainers packed the stands while Wattson and Lucas took their respective places as opponents. At his podium the cheerful old man made his Leader's speech, "Electricity is the lifeblood of our modern age and of this city, so it's no wonder that I'm attracted to the electric type. Considered a one-note type by some because of their zapping offenses, people don't realize how full of surprises electric types can be. And because of your level as Champion, you're about to witness the real magic of electricity!"
And so the Gym match began. Wattson began the fight with an Electrode while Lucas sent out his Steelix. The rock and steel type Pokemon withstood electric blasts and shocks and fought back with devastating rock attacks that made the Pokemon faint before it could let out one of its kamikaze explosions the Pokeball-like creatures were known for. For the next round the Leader summoned a high level Magneton much like Ty's. With its steel element added to the mix the punk Trainer recalled the snake-like creature in favor of Bruce, who Lucas had evolved to a Marshtomp during his Training break. While the Magneton knew a few surprise bug type attacks, it wasn't enough to take out Lucas' Pokemon.
The Gym room boomed with a deafening roar as the Junior Trainers cheered on the match, giving the fight the frenzy of a rock concert. Lucas kept his calm and his focus. His experience and his skill keept the match challenging, but never out of his control. For his third Pokemon Wattson sent out another Electrode, and Lucas tried a wild card move by sending out Diablo. Though not having any real advantages aside from his tenacity, the fierce Mightyena put some serious hurt on the living ball before Lucas switched in back to his Steelix. Now it was down to Wattson's final Pokemon. For his last effort the veteran Leader sent out a Manectric, as as Lucas anticipated knew several moves to throw his opponent for a loop. Knowing Ice Fang and Toxic, the final Pokemon naturally put up the most challenge, but Lucas never became overwhelmed.
He shocked himself with how much he was growing as a person. How despite the fact that this Gym presented a real challenge with Wattson's incredibly powerful team and being under the constant scrutiny of the crowd, he never lost his momentum. This wasn't an easy fight, this wasn't a cake walk, but in spite of the hard work that this fight presented, Lucas wasn't bogged down by fear or self doubt or inexperience. Sending out Diablo, then his Torterra and then finishing off the fight with Gizmo, Lucas won the match handily, knowing Wattson didn't hold back or patronize him. It came down to simply Lucas being the stronger, better Trainer. It was almost like he was outside the fight, watching this badass, skilled Trainer defeat an amazing opponent with dozens of people cheering for him. It was even more awe inspiring than his battle against Dawn in Sinnoh. There he had tuned out the crowd to focus on the fight. He barely registered that the fight had over, and yet another Gym badge was in his possession.
It was only when Skyler clapped him on the back in congratulation that it hit him. And once again Wattson gestured and waited for the crowd to calm down and silence, "Well, son, now we see what kind of hell you gave ol' Team Cosmic, and it was a real pleasure to fight you myself. It's a real honor to once again present you with the Dynamo Badge and the TM for Shock Wave, a powerful electric attack with amazing accuracy. You might not have felt like you earned this stuff before, but you certainly have now,"
Lucas nodded, once again back to reality and respectfully accepted the prizes from the Gym, "This time I have Wattson, and thanks,"
Lucas' Hoenn Journey was now half way over, the badge from Mauville City making his forth. Now was the time to plan his next move as he got closer and closer to his next Championship. But as he and Skyler left the Gym his plan was forced to change as an issue from earlier once again reared its ugly head. A searing, burning pain shot up from Lucas' left leg as he stepped through the Gym's doors and his body buckled from the pain, "Aw hell!" he screamed in agony.
Skyler caught his friend before he once again collapsed in a pile again, supporting the smaller Trainer under his armpit, his hand touching Lucas' forehead. The Dragon Tamer paled, "Lucas! You're burning up!"