Chapter 81: Lucas vs. Juan
The Mossdeep City Gym Match was the hardest Lucas had faced in a while. In the double-battle, Lucas had nearly lost as Leaders Liza and Tate worked together while his own Pokemon struggled to coordinate. But in the end, Diablo finally got over his jealousy issues and working with Lucas' Beautifly, defeated the twin psychics. Though twins, the two siblings were very different in personality, but in spite of their differences they managed to inspire and support one and other. And seeing their relationship, Lucas wished he could get along with his own brother half as well. After the Gym Match he tried contacting John and opening a dialog, but it was clear that his older, egotistical brother still wasn't ready to see his baby brother on equal terms, and until then a relationship other than bitter rivalry was impossible.
With this stark reality and his seventh badge, Lucas prepared to hit the road once more, and travel to the city that housed the final Gym, Sootopolis City.
Sootopolis was one of the most difficult places to access in the entire Hoenn Region. Located in the crater of an extinct volcano, the city could only be accessed by one of two ways: by small helicopter that could fly over the walls of the natural fortress, or by an undersea channel hundreds of feet beneath the surface. As that wasn't difficult enough, the particular undersea channel could only be accessed by fighting the currents that carved around the southeastern coast of Hoenn's mainland. Tourists rarely visited the area except by the subs out of Slateport and Lillycove, and only the most determined and skilled of Pokemon Trainers could make it there, making it the perfect spot for the most difficult Gym in the Region, the last obstacle that stood between a Trainer and the right to face Hoenn's Elite Four.
Lucas learned from his last match that his skills were not absolute, and that he could not take any challenge lightly ever again. Before leaving Mossdeep, he and Skyler visited Steven Stone one final time, to let him know about the Gym Match, and to get his advice about Sootopolis. His teasing tone about his own eventual facing of Lucas colored his advice, but even with his humor his intent was clear; Sootopolis was not to be taken lightly, and neither was its Gym.
His last gift was a set of oxygen tanks to be taken when they dived under the water. Lucas had some experience diving from when he had led the final assault against Cosmic. Their secret base was in an underwater alcove, and he had used his Pokemon Blobby Bob to carry a sea lab to access Cosmic's hideout. This time, however, he would not have the protection of the lab as he traveled to the final Gym.
No ferry traveled between Sootopolis and Mossdeep, the boats unable to traverse the difficult terrain of the fierce currents. Instead, the two Trainers' only option was to face the currents themselves on a Pokemon. At first, both Trainers surfed on Skyler's Gyrados, deciding to conserve their other Pokemon until the powerful sea monster got tired. With the Pokevice's map, Lucas navigated the currents, avoiding the ones so powerful that even a Gyrados could get knocked aside, but it was not easy. All the water looked equally rough, and even with the map it was difficult to tell which way the water was churning. The noise of the water made it next to impossible for Lucas to call directions out clearly to Skyler to steer his Pokemon. Progress was slow, and they often backslid as Skyler steered the wrong way, or Lucas mistook a forward moving current for a backwards flowing one. After many hours of wrong turns and struggling against the powerful water, they finally found the calm patch that marked the next leg of their journey to the final Gym.
Skyler switched out his exhausted Gyrados for Lucas' Wailord Blobby Bob. They put on the tanks Steven Stone had given them, and with a moan, the whale-like Pokemon dove beneath the surface of the water. Lucas was so in awe that the regulator from his tank almost fell out of his mouth. The water shifted from sapphire blue to almost black as they went further and further underwater. In the currents, no Pokemon had disturbed the two Trainers, not even the ubiquitous Tentacool and Tentacruel, but underwater the straits were teeming with Pokemon and other aquatic life. Corsola darted this way and that between the coral horns they had shed seasons ago while Luvdiscs chased each other playfully. Near the seafloor Corphish and their bad tempered evolutions, Crawdaunts, got into spats with the hard-shelled Clamperls that competed for food.
This was not Lucas' first time in the straits, having navigated these waters before in the hunt for Cosmic's last stronghold, but in the sea lab, his views had been limited and his focus on bigger issues. Now on his Wailord's back, he could see what previously was hidden from him just below the water's surface. Blobby Bob swam at a leisurely pace, able to hold his breath for hours as he navigated the often narrow channels that lead to their next destination. Occasionally the Pokemon swimming around the Trainers would engage in battle, and Lucas gained both experience and more Pokemon to add to his collection, but mostly they watched the humans with amused curiosity. From the corner of the teen's eye he would sometimes glance something slow moving in the thick kelp, and he had heard rumors that the seafloor here was home to one of the rarest and most unusual water types, the Relicanth, a fish-like Pokemon thought to have gone extinct. The fossil-loving Lucas hoped he could run into the Pokemon, but it seemed his chance to capture a rare Pokemon would not happen today.
In the morning they had left Mossdeep, and the two Trainers were stunned by the noonday sun that started shooting rays into the almost black water. They had navigated the channels and the light ahead told them their final destination was within sight. Once more the water turned sparkling blue and Blobby Bob breached the water's surface with a blast of air and water from his blowhole.
Lucas and Skyler pulled out their regulators and deeply inhaled the fresh air, the cleanest air they ever smelled anywhere in Hoenn as they tread water in the massive lagoon. All around were grayish walls of volcanic rock that jutted up and only permitted a nearly perfect circle of sky to be visible. Cut into this rock were equally gray houses in an incredibly old style, starkly contrasting with the lush green gardens and fields that thrived in the volcanic soil. The largest cluster of houses, as well as the Pokemon Center was just ahead of them, surrounding the black mouth of some large cave. The Trainers absorbed the view as Blobby Bob undulated towards their destination.
Sootopolis City was quiet to the point of silence, the crisp crunching of the Trainer's feet on the ashy dirt audible as the town's residents spoke softly. It almost seemed a city frozen in time, as even the youngest residents preferred the old fashioned clothes that were more practical for working in the fields. Only two modern looking buildings existed in this ancient city: the Pokemon Center and Lucas' destination, the Gym.
After the difficult trip both teens decided to rest in the Center while Lucas figured out his strategy. Sootopolis was home to the Cave of Origin, the place a legendary Pokemon was supposed to have gone to sleep after making the world. Now it existed as a shrine. Being so close to the sea and surrounded by water, water types were the Gym's specialty. When Lucas called John back in Mossdeep, his older brother made a snide remark that water types could be beaten by a faulty appliance, but Lucas knew better. Water Pokemon were largely dual typed, especially in Hoenn, and that could mean almost anything in battle.
Unlike the sparse information that existed on the other Gym Leaders of Hoenn, there was a sizable entry about the Sootopolis Leader Juan in the Pokevice. Apparently the man had taken over the Gym when his protege, Wallace, the former leader, decided to invest his focus in the Contest circuit. A member of one of the oldest families in the city, and a veteran Trainer with an extensive resume, Lucas knew Juan would be his toughest challenge outside of the upcoming Elite Four. It would take some time and experimentation before he would challenge the Gym.
Lucas had a second reason for stalling as well. As he played with his lip rings in front of the Pokemon Center's computer, examining all the creatures he had available, he looked back to watch Skyler, sitting on one of the Center's couches with a bag of snacks from the vending machine, throwing puffed rice pieces into the air and catching them with his mouth. Lucas was elated that he had won his seventh Gym match, but since leaving Mossdeep all he could think about was that he was one step closer to saying goodbye to his boyfriend. When caught by his cousin Lance, Skyler had promised he would only remain in Hoenn until Lucas had challenged the Elite Four. Then he would return to his home of Blackthorn City, and would no longer travel with the tattooed teen. On one hand that promise seemed all too long ago, on the other, it felt like they hadn't had any time together at all. Each battle brought Lucas closer to victory. Each victory meant he was closer and closer to losing Skyler.
The teen Trainer shook off his melancholy and shut the computer screen off. He then went over to Skyler and as the blue-haired boy tossed another treat into the air, Lucas snatched it before it could land in his mouth, "Hey! I almost beat my old record!"
Lucas popped the curry flavored rice puff into his own mouth with a smirk and joined Skyler on the couch, the older boy feigning rage as he began tackling and tickling his smaller boyfriend.
A few days later after some intense Training, and spending as much time and as creating as many memories as he could with Skyler, it was time to face the Gym. The largest and only other modern-looking building in the city, it was only a stone's throw from the Pokemon Center. From the outside, it was painted with muted colors and simple, unobtrusive design but the inside of the Gym was a dazzling display of design and water engineering. Massive water fountains geysered streams that almost reached the ceiling while the path to challenge the Junior Trainers was marked with tinkling streams that bubbled and shimmered. Most impressive of all was the cascading waterfall that took up the entire back wall of the Gym and hid the room that contained the Leader himself.
In addition to Gizmo, Lucas brought his Haunter, Torterra, a Cacturne he had evolved from the Cacnea caught in the desert outside the Mirage Tower, a Lanturn evolved from one of his Sinnoh Pokemon, and a Magneton captured in New Mauville. Though it could be thought as risky to use a team made largely from Pokemon he rarely used, Lucas felt experienced enough that he could use any of the huge number of Pokemon he now owned and use them to their fullest. And he would have to.
Not only was Sootopolis the toughest Gym in the entire Hoenn Region, as the current Sinnoh Champion he would face Juan's advanced team. Lucas suspected this would be his toughest fight since facing Sinnoh's Elite Four and Champion. And he was right.
The Junior Trainers of the Sootopolis Gym had two things in common, regardless of their gender or appearance. First was that both Trainer and Pokemon were ruthlessly fashionable with carefully maintained hair, clothes, fur and claws. Second, they were simply ruthless. The first Trainer looked like she could be a model: tall, thin, with sharp facial features and a killer outfit. She hit Lucas with a Sharpedo, Milotic and Gyrados that all knew Fire Fang, making the grass and steel type Pokemon on his team stay on the defensive. Next up was a man in a tailored suit so well cut it made Steven Stone seem unkempt. His Walrein, Ludiculo and Tentacruel all upped their stats to cataclysmic highs, maxing out their defense and attack power while Lucas struggled to not be outmatched. The Cacturne and Walrein knocked each other out, Lucas' Pokemon's Rough Skin taking out the last of the walrus Pokemon's HP after succumbing to an Ice Fang attack, the teen Trainer only winning by virtue of having one Pokemon left after facing all four of his opponent's combatants.
A trip to the Pokemon Center allowed Lucas to continue against more adversaries. The third Junior Trainer was a tween girl in an outfit that looked straight out of a magazine, with flashy makeup, an expensive hairdo and a plushie purse that had become all the rage. In spite of her cute appearance and her equally cute team, she was a monster in battle. Her Vaporeon went head to head with Gizmo while Lucas' female Haunter barely edged out the girl's Azumaril. It took Torterra, Cacturne and the Magneton to finally bring down her deceptively strong Corsola. The final Trainer wore the latest in Steampunk chic, a floor length brocade coat with a monocle and a walking stick set with brass waves wrapped around the staff and a stylized Kyogre grip. His Gorbyss and Huntail took turns confounding and sabotaging Lucas' team and for a finale had a Wailord that when it used Body Slam, the entire Gym almost flooded from the impact. But in spite of each and every one of these obstacles, Lucas still emerged victorious, too experienced and too determined to let even the most skilled of Trainers to completely subvert him.
After his last victory the teen Trainer approached the waterfall, and as he watched, the water parted and the doorway to the Gym Leader appeared before him. He didn't hesitate to go through.
Like most Gyms, the Leader's room was a large arena lined with benches for spectators, with a podium for the Leader at the opposite end of the area for his challenger. Smaller, more subtle water fountains punctuated the room, less grandiose than the features from the main Gym. Skyler took his place in the stands while Lucas stood and waited to be greeted by the Leader. Today, Juan was not alone.
Juan resembled his Junior Trainers in the sense that his appearance was striking, stylish and beautifully tailored. Older, his fashion choices were much more conservative but his strong, authoritative hands were well buffed and manicured, his hair immaculate and his mustache neat and dignified. With him was a much younger but taller man with foppish shoulder-length hair, a playful sailor suit and a touch of makeup on his lean, angular face. When Lucas came in it was Juan's companion that noticed the teen first.
"Ah! Master, look! It's Lucas!" the younger man swept down the podium and strode gracefully across the arena to greet the teen. He took Lucas' right hand into both of his own and shook it warmly. The teen assumed the feminine man must be the protege the Pokevice had mentioned, but he had only seen him briefly during the raids on Team Cosmic. The dandy realized this almost immediately, "Oh, forgive me, I am being rude by not introducing myself. My name is Wallace,"
"Er, I don't mean to be a jerk, but do we know each other?" Lucas responded scratching his head. In the months that Lucas had been in Hoenn he had met hundreds of Trainers, and in the chaos of the Pokemon League battles against Team Cosmic, the teen had worried he may have forgotten an introduction.
"Not personally no, but I feel like I do. You are the friend of Ashley, one of Hoenn's greatest Coordinators and one of my dearest friends and rivals in the Circuit," Wallace explained, "I saw you with her entourage in Lillycove just before that last big Cosmic blowup. She talks about you all the time. I was to meet you after her grand victory, but sadly you got hurt shortly after. And it's very uncouth to expect an introduction in a hospital. Then with everything else that happened there just never was an appropriate opportunity. I'm glad to see you better and what a pleasure it is that I get to run into you like this after coming to see my old teacher!"
Juan gave a small cough and smoothed out the collar of his waistcoat, "Wallace, I know you mean well, but I do believe the young man is not here for social reasons like you are,"
Wallace gasped with a hand to his mouth and put his other hand over his heart with an apologetic bow, "You are absolutely right, Master! And after all that effort from before to not seem uncouth. You must think me a total barbarian, Lucas!"
Lucas attempted to suppress the smirk that threatened to appear from hearing this astonishingly effeminate man refer to himself as a barbarian, and waved off the issue, "Hey, a friend of Ashley is a friend of mine. No harm done. But I would like to get the chance to challenge the Leader here,"
"Of course! Of course! We can be sociable after the match," with a gracious wave, Wallace excused himself and sashayed to the stands where he began chatting with Skyler.
Once more Juan cleared his throat and addressed his challenger, "Sootopolis City an ancient burg that has honored the beauty and savagery of nature. No better is this evident than in the power of water. Water not only gives life, but floods, tsunamis, water spouts and torrential rain can take life just as easily. I have trained generations of Trainers to hone their appearance as well as their strength through the majesty of water types. Not only are they one of the most prevalent types of Pokemon, they are amongst the most varied and powerful. To challenge me is to face the very source of life itself, and I will show no mercy in its power,"
Lucas held out a Pokeball in response, "I am Lucas of Cherrygrove City and current Champion of the Sinnoh League. Your Gym is the last challenge that lies between me and the Hoenn League. I am here for my final badge, and I intend to leave here with it,"
Juan smiled gleefully, his eyes showing this was the kind of battle he lived for and presented his first Pokeball with the flourish of a stage magician, "Go! Whiscash!"
Lucas summoned his own Pokemon and prepared for the fight of a lifetime. He knew how ludicrously powerful dopey looking Whiscash could be, the last time he faced such a challenge being the serious and dignified Bertha from Sinnoh's Elite Four, "Go! Haunter!"
Compared to the grass types Lucas had, the Haunter would seem an odd choice to a beginner. Ghost types having neither advantage nor weakness to water or ground types, but the now veteran Trainer knew exactly what he was doing. The Haunter's Levitate ability meant the Whiscash couldn't use the devastating Earthquake attack Lucas had no doubt the Pokemon knew. Juan however seemed just as prepared, "Whiscash! Knock Down!"
The walleyed fish slammed its tail on the ground and sent a large rock into the air, slamming the ghost to the ground. Knock Down nullified the Levitate ability, and allowed ground types to attack otherwise immune flying Pokemon. Lucas nodded in admiration but wasn't shaken, "Haunter, Hypnosis!"
The ghost Pokemon acted before Juan could call out another attack, no doubt a powerful ability now that the Haunter could no longer hover. The Pokemon waved its disembodied hands and the dopey fish's expression became even more vacant, and within seconds its eyes were closed. Juan considered his next move. Using an item would cost him a turn, as would recalling his Pokemon for something else. He decided to risk calling out an attack, hoping his Pokemon would come to its senses before Lucas' next move.
This time it didn't. Instead, Lucas called out a Dream Eater attack, the fish severely damaged as the Haunter recovered all her strength from her previous injury. Juan reconsidered his tactic and recalled his Pokemon. The next combatant was a Pelipper, a water and flying Pokemon capable of learning a litany of varied attacks. Lucas decided to change tactics as well, recalling his Haunter and summoning his Cacturne, "Cacturne, Ingrain!"
The move was risky, but the teen hoped the risk would be worth the reward. He could no longer switch Pokemon, the grass type digging roots into the arena's floor, but any injuries would be recovered the next turn by drawing nutrients from the earth. Juan switched Pokemon again, summoning a Walrein.
The ice type moves the walrus-like Pokemon knew were potentially highly dangerous to the cactus Pokemon, but Lucas was prepared for the long haul. Ice moves, dark moves, grass attacks and normal moves traded back and forth across the field of battle, the Walrein and Cacturne both stubbornly refusing submission. Like one of the teen's previous bouts both Pokemon were knocked out. A sacrifice on the younger Trainer's part, but also meaning that Juan only had three Pokemon left, two Lucas knew what to expect, and one of those two asleep in its Pokeball. This time Juan sent back out his Pelipper, Lucas responded with his Magneton. The Gym Leader attempted one of the Pokemon's wild card moves, but even with a rock type move, the double weakness against electric attacks meant Lucas would win this round.
Juan sent the Whiscash out again, this time choosing to use a Full Restpre to awaken and heal his own Pokemon. Lucas sent out his Torterra, feeling ground type against ground type would have the best chance, and leaving his Haunter as a backup in case Juan's Pokemon outclassed his own. The teen also realized that Juan was keeping his final Pokemon secret, and made the tattooed Trainer extra alert to what final line of defense the experienced Leader had in store for him. Lucas' Pokemon and the Gym Leader's were equally matched, neither's ground moves powerful enough to knock the other Pokemon out. Skyler and Wallace both screamed out their support for their respective champion, while Lucas and Juan both tested each other for weakness. The Torterra fell in the end, but damaged the Whiscash enough that another Pokemon could finish the job. Once more Lucas sent out his Haunter, using a ghost move to finish the fight quickly.
Juan was down to his final Pokemon, but Lucas had lost both his grass types. If Juan's final Pokemon had some form of electrical resistance, the teen knew his remaining four Pokemon would have to work even harder to survive. The final Pokemon of the advanced team of the strongest Gym Leader in Hoenn. Lucas prepared for anything.
"Go! Relicanth!" Juan summoned his final Pokemon with the same flourish as his first, his elaborate ensemble flapping around him as the creature appeared on the field of battle. Lucas eyed the Pokemon carefully. Relicanth was the rare fish Pokemon he had hunted for outside of Sootopolis with no success. It seemed slow and lethargic, and according to his Pokedex was a rock type in addition to water type. The teen feared something like this would happen. While not completely resistant like a ground Pokemon would be, rock types resisted electricity, and his Magneton and Lanturn would be at a disadvantage.
The first attack Juan called out for his final Pokemon was Stealth Rock, an ability that would cause a great deal of problems for his younger opponent. Now almost any Pokemon Lucas would send would be damaged upon entry to battle. He chose to keep his Haunter out. He called out Hypnosis, but the Relicanth could not be put to sleep. Poison moves would do little good against the rock-like hard skin. Dream Eater was unusable unless the Relicanth would sleep, so Lucas was forced to use his Pokemon's single ghost attack over and over again.
Damaged, but not as heavily as Lucas needed, the Relicanth knocked his Haunter out. The teen considered his next option. Magneton would not survive long, especially with the Stealth Rock. That left Gizmo and his Lanturn. Debate heavily battled in his head as seconds ticked by and finally Lucas called out for his own fish to face the Relicanth. As expected the water and electric Pokemon yelped in pain as it was struck by the treacherous Stealth Rock that littered the field. The turn hadn't even started yet and his Pokemon was already damaged. Lucas knew there would be no advantage in this fight, but he knew he wasn't entirely outclassed either.
In the same vein that the Relicanth's rock type diminished its weakness to electric moves, Lanturn being a water type would partially protect it from the Relicanth's other rock attacks. The two fish threw attack after attack at one and other. The already weakened Relicanth becoming more and more injured, but it still wasn't enough to pull the Gym Leader's Pokemon down. The teen now understood why the Pokemon was able to survive for millions of years. Juan called out for his Relicanth to use Water Pulse and Lanturn was thrown across the Gym in a torrent of water, but worse yet Lucas' Pokemon had become confused. Lucas called out to his water type to do one more attack, one last bit of damage now that Juan's Pokemon was so close to fainting, but the poor Lanturn could not turn the tide of battle. The confusion was too much, and the poor fish-like creature thrashed at itself, causing itself to faint.
The good news was that the Relicanth was close to defeat. The bad was that so was Lucas. Only the Magneton and Gizmo remained. For the first time in ages like his earliest rookie days as a Trainer, Lucas once more had to rely on his first and most loyal Pokemon to bring him victory in a Gym match.