A/N: Apologies that this chapter is a teensy-bit late; I've been held up with some video editing for my channel alongside some last minute adjustments to this chapter. The majority of this chapter has been written for a while, but I tried tweaking a few of the later scenes to improve them. In any case, let me present to you the final chapter of Act 9 and the final chapter of Nanka's Pokémon League challenge!
Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure Act 9 Continued Further!
With the torrent of information from Agatha in her head regarding the troubled relationship of G-Man and the Professor, Nanka was thankful for the long winding hallway she had to traverse. Her steps were purposely slow, careful steps taken in the dimly lit area as her mind buzzed with thoughts.
An yet, after passing the numerous stern faced dragon statues and arriving at a small but posh doorway, her head was still lost in a haze.
Nanka shook her head, "T-there's no use thinking about that… not now at least."
"Pika, Kachu!" Jolt nodded, looking to his trainer with a relieved smile.
The duo took their final steps from the hallway, entering a small room filled with even more dragon statues; bipedal reptilian Pokémon that exude elegance and power in their stone carved designs. The doors behind them then slammed shut, locking up with a minute clicking sound.
"Ah! Welcome, challenger!" A calm yet serious toned voice greeted them.
"H-hello! I'm Nanka and this here is Jolt!" Nanka introduced herself to the tall garnet-haired man, who looked to her with sharp piercing eyes and a confident half-smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you… Butch?"
"Who the heck is Butch!?" The caped man exclaimed; his collected composure crushed. "I'm Lance! Lance, the dragon master and leader of the Elite Four!"
"O-oh…" Nanka mumbled, stepping back from the angered bloke. "I… thought you were a flying master."
Lance grumbled to himself, scowling at the very implication, "No, miss; I'm not a flying master. As the leader of the Elite Four, I use dragon type Pokémon. The mythical, virtually indestructible dragon types that reign above all others!"
Nanka and Jolt looked to one another, confused, then back to Lance, "I thought the champion was the leader of the Elite Four?"
"Y-yes, she was." Lance said bitterly, his scowl only growing deeper. "She's not here now, hasn't been for over a year, so as the highest ranking Elite Four member I hold the position of leader of the Elite Four."
"Let us move on from talking about Anemone…" Lance said dismissively, though the name he mentioned did ring a bell in Nanka's head, "…and move onto your Pokémon League challenge! Sorry to say, but it ends with me, Nanka!"
"It won't end here!" Nanka stated confidently, before looking down to Jolt. "We won't let it, will we, Jolt?"
"Pikaaa!" Jolt cheered, punching the air as he jumped onto the battlefield. "Pika, pika, piiikaaachuuu!"
"Gyarados!" Lance shouted, his monstrous sea serpent rising out from the Pokéball in his held out hand, "Show them your Dragon Rage!"
"So you are a flying type master!" Nanka exclaimed with a delighted smile as she saw the hard scaled Gyarados roar before her. "That was very deceptive of you sir, very deceptive."
"W-what, no! I'm a dragon master!" Lance retorted. "My raging dragon's Dragon Rage will prove just that!"
"But Gyarados is a water-flying type, not a dragon…" Nanka murmured quietly, followed up by shouting out, "Jolt! Let's try a Thunderbolt!"
Jolt fired a fast Thunderbolt at the flying/water typed Pokémon, repelling his full body charge with ease. In the past, Jolt's lone Thunderbolt would not have been strong enough, but the battle-enthusiast Pikachu had managed rapid progress from his fight against Lorelei alone.
The Gyarados raised his large head up high and bellowed with a croaky, pained voice; one last shout before the blue whiskered Pokémon collapsed and fainted.
"Yaaaayyyy, Jolt! One shock was all it took!" Nanka cheered, jumping with joy as Jolt smiled proudly, his yellow paws on his hips and his chest puffed out.
"If you want a dragon…" Lance exclaimed as he sent out a long, elegant serpentine Pokémon, "…I'll give you a Dragonair!"
"It's… very pretty." Nanka noted as she gazed at the mythical aura surrounding the Dragonair. "A-anyway, Jolt, you should use Body Slam!"
Lance grinned as Jolt Body Slammed into his Dragonair, "Dragonair… Hyper Beam."
A bright orange light started to peak out from Dragonair's mouth like sunlight leaking through a window's blinds; it's bold glow causing Nanka and Jolt both to wince.
Dragonair opened his mouth, the aura around the jewel headed Pokémon intensifying as he shot forth a giant energy beam into Jolt. The rippling beam smashed into Jolt, causing the area to shake and a deafening sound to echo, the closed eyed Nanka having to shield her ears from the explosive sound.
"J-Jolt! Stop it! I know you can!" Nanka screamed out.
"It's no use!" Lance roared out as his Dragonair continued to release the powerful Hyper Beam, the energy blast still striking up against Jolt. "Nothing can stop the unstoppable Hyper-,"
"Pi! Ka!" Jolt shouted out as he continued to hold off the dwindling Hyper Beam, his back paws pressing hard into the now cracked floor. "Chuuu!"
With an almighty burst of strength, Jolt fought off the Hyper Beam, throwing his paws out wide as the energy attack fizzled out. He was hurt, but still he stood with a confident smirk.
"I-Impossible!" Lance gasped as his Dragonair froze up, exhausted from having released such a powerful attack.
Jolt took this opening with glee, kicking off the cracked floor and using a Body Slam on his unmoving opponent.
As Jolt stumbled off of the long, slender and now fainted Dragonair, Lance stood in silent; frozen in shock. As his challenger ran over to pick up and cradle the small electric rodent, Lance tried to comprehend how his awe-inspiring dragon and the overwhelming force of the strongest normal type attack… was stopped.
"You did great, Jolt, but you should probably rest for a bit now." Nanka said soothingly as she carried her victorious combatant over to her side of the arena.
Jolt frowned at this suggestion, but reluctantly nodded.
Once the two had reached the end of the dim, blue-flames lit arena, Nanka popped Jolt down to the floor and turned towards Lance and his second Dragonair, 'I should send out Amber. Her rock body will be able to withstand a Hyper Beam, which this Dragonair may also have.'
"An Aerodactyl was unexpected…" Lance mused as his Dragonair assaulted Amber with a Bubblebeam, raising his voice to add, "…but a rock type? That was too predictable."
Nanka paid Lance no heed, too focused on aiding Amber with instructions, trying to find a pattern to the Bubblebeam and forewarn her Pokémon.
"It's taking a breath! Fly high, Amber!" Nanka shouted upon noticing the pivotal moment, a moment that allowed Amber to ascend quickly and descend even quicker, slamming down upon the Dragonair and securing her win.
"I knew you could do it, Amber! No one expects an Aerodactyl!" Nanka cheerfully praised her dark marked Aerodactyl, whom was clawing at the floor, eager for her next opponent.
Lance then sent out his own Aerodactyl.
"I didn't expect an Aerodactyl!" Nanka exclaimed in shock as Lance's ashen bodied Aerodactyl lunged for Nanka's Aerodactyl.
The two prehistoric Pokémon took to the skies, biting and slamming at one another with ancient savagery.
"Don't let Supersonic stop you!" Lance yelled out to his airborne Pokémon, the Aerodactyl trying his hardest to shield his pointed ears from the confusing sound waves. "Fire a Hyper Beam!"
Lance's Aerodactyl fought through his present dizziness in order to unleash a massive blast of energy straight at Amber, whom thanks to a swift plummet, narrowly avoided the attack. The avoided Hyper Beam collided with the reinforced walls of the room, but they cracked from such force, large chunks of rock descending as Amber flew up to face her now exhausted opponent.
"Great work, Amber! Now, whilst his Aerodactyl can't move, let's try and finish him off with a Sky Attack!" Nanka shouted out, with Amber beginning to glow fiercely.
Surrounded by energy similar to a Hyper Beam, but shaped in the form of a large bird, Amber screeched as she suddenly sped up and rammed into the stunned Aerodactyl. Lance cursed under his breath as his Aerodactyl crashed down to the floor.
"So you have even bested my Aerodactyl…" Lance said with a snicker as he returned his Pokémon, withdrawing an Ultra Ball at the same time with a growing grin, "but can you take on the mightiest of all, the lord of dragons! Cower before… Dragonite!"
Out from his Ultra Ball emerged a large bipedal dragon, who spread out his wide green wings and emitted a loud roar. His orange scaled tail slapped down on the floor, cracking the hard navy blue surface, as the Pokémon pounded on his tough-skinned belly with eagerness.
"Awww, he's adorable." Nanka cooed at seeing the goofy and plump Pokémon before her.
"A-Adorable?" Lance stuttered out in shock. "This is my all-powerful and merciless dragon here! He's not adorable; he's mighty, mysterious, magnificent!"
"Dragooo!" The Dragonite squeaked out, his antenna's bobbing up and down as his fat pink tongue poked out of his wide smiley mouth.
"So cuuute!" Nanka gushed over the cute, clumsy, cuddly dragon before her.
"Grrr, show her how not adorable you are, Dragonite! Thunder, now!" A blushing Lance commanded, his Dragonite immediately dancing up a large thunder cloud and summoning a massive lightning bolt that hammered Amber into the floor.
Nanka and Jolt were flung off their feet from the sheer force of the Thunder's impact, causing them to tumble along the blue room. Dazed, they slowly clambered to their feet, ears ringing and their vision obscured by electrically produced smoke.
Despite all this, they were quick to notice the crater that had formed, a well charred and unconscious Amber lying within it.
"Amber! Nooo!" Nanka cried out as she rushed to her down Pokémon.
"Pik, pi, Pikachu, chuuu!" Jolt urged Amber to rise up, lifting one of her green wings, only for it to drop down as the firmly fainted Aerodactyl was unable to budge.
"Now you've born witness to my Dragonite's awe-inspiring strength!" Lance declared as Nanka returned Amber, slowly made her way back to the other side of the arena and immediately chose Ferry to be her next Pokémon for the match. "Dragonite, do away with that Larpas in one blow with your Hyper Beam!"
"Niiittteee!" The Dragonite drawled out, his joyful expression turning as stern as the various statues, proceeding to fire a radiant Hyper Beam out from his mouth.
"Counter with an Ice Beam, Ferry!" Nanka declared without a moment's hesitation, her Lapras responding in turn just as swiftly.
Thanks to Ferry's surprising agility at heeding the attack command, his dazzling Ice Beam clashed mid-way through the room with the glowing orange Hyper Beam that had been heading towards them. Flecks of raw power and clear ice sprinkled from the colliding beams, frosty particles reflecting the intense glows and bathing the room in an array of lights.
"Piiikaaa…" Jolt gasped in awe at the epic beam struggle taking place.
"La, la, laaaarrr!" Ferry sung, intensifying his chilling Ice Beam.
Lance and his Dragonite opened their eyes wide in surprise as cold winds blew in their direction, the Dragonite finding his dwindling Hyper Beam slowly being pushed back. Dragonite held his ground, keeping his energy blast firing from his mouth, even as it simmered down to but a trickle and the Ice Beam finally struck him. It was with a frustrated expression, pained coughs coming from the hoarse throat Dragonite, that he was enveloped in ice.
With a consistent stare from his sharp tawny eyes, Lance had watched the beam battle between Ferry and his Dragonite with excitement, dread and shock. The bitter blow of defeat struck him as his Dragonite froze over, alongside a sense of amazement at how the innocent looking girl and her clownish Lapras before him had managed to overpower and best his mightiest dragon.
"This is like losing to Anemone all over again." Lance sighed as his Dragonite was frozen over. "I hate to admit it, but this is it."
Lance returned his defeated Dragonite as Nanka leapt over to Ferry, hugging her shelled water type tightly.
Lance approached Nanka, the winning trainer presently trapped underneath Ferry, whom had fallen over when trying to hug Nanka back with his large flippers.
"Two years ago, the champion left unofficially…" Lance begun to say, briefly frowning at saying 'champion', "…an whilst an Elite Four member cannot bestow upon themselves the title of champion, provided there is no champion within power at the time, we do have the authority to bestow the title onto a trainer who has successfully defeated all of us. Nanka… you are now the Kanto Champion!"
Nanka had only just finished crawling out from underneath her Lapras when she heard Lance's statement, looking to the Elite Four member in shock, then turning to look at Jolt with a growing smile.
"Did you hear that Jolt? We're-"
"Kachu! Kaaachuuu!" Jolt cheered, sprinting over and leaping into Nanka's arms, hugging her with pure joy.
Nanka, Jolt and Ferry all cheered together, hopping about on the spot and throwing their arms, paws and fins in the air in celebration.
"Is what I would have said two days ago." Lance added, deflating the joyous mood quickly.
"P-pardon?" Nanka mumbled, frozen in place as Jolt slipped down out of her arms.
"Two days ago, for the first time in almost two years, a trainer managed to defeat the Elite Four." Lance explained as he dramatically flung his arm, causing his cape to flutter. "As such, we presently have a Kanto Champion! It's hard to believe that we have been beaten again in such a short time, but despite how you have overcome our trials, to become champion you must now defeat our newest champion!"
Nanka sighed, disappointed, but also smiling. Jolt's grin meanwhile never left his face; feelings of joy replaced with feelings of anticipation; sparks buzzing from his cheeks as he prepared for another exciting battle.
"This is it, Jolt." Nanka said to her starter, her voice coming out quieter than she had expected, a shiver of nervousness lowering her volume.
Compared to the winding corridors leading to Lance's room, the trip to the Champion's room was a short and simple one; a well-crafted and sturdy hallway of a plain nature. Stepping through the humble doors where the greatest Pokémon trainer of Kanto was supposed to await new challengers, the duo passed by two large stone statues and onto oak flooring. Blue ceiling lights came on one-by-one, revealing the humble white painted battle arena in the centre.
Nanka gulped down her nervousness and alongside her ever consistent companion, locked eyes with the Kanto champion.
"Hey, Nanka! It's about time you got here." A smirking G-Man said atop a stone throne at the end of the room.
"Oh, hello G-Man." Nanka greeted her friend naturally. "Wait, G-Man!?"
"P-Pikkkkaaa!" Jolt exclaimed with surprise as well, starting to scour the room for where the champion might be.
"I was looking forward to seeing you, Nanka." G-Man said, standing up on the throne with a broad grin. "For I, Great-Man, have become the Kanto Pokémon champion!"
"The 'G' stands for great!?" Nanka shouted out in disbelief. "I always thought it would have something like Gary or-wait! Champion!?"
"Yeeeaaahhh!" G-Man shouted as he leapt off the throne, arms up in triumph. "After catching all those Pokémon for Gramps' stupid Pokédex, I looked through and studied all the data to know the perfect team and moves."
Nanka bit her lip at the mention of the professor, having since learnt more on the strained relationship between her friend and his grandfather, "Ummm, about that, G-"
"Of course, I just went with my favourites in the end! They are the best after all, regardless of what any Pokédex thing has to say." G-Man carried on gloating.
"Thanks to them, I am now the most powerful Pokémon trainer in the world!" G-Man boasted, throwing his head back and roaring with laughter.
"Pika! Kachu, pi, pikachuuuu!" Jolt snapped, stepping forward as he pointed back towards Nanka.
"I haven't forgotten fuzzy rodent." G-Man replied with a gleam in his eye as he looked to Nanka. "To truly prove it to Gram-the world, that I'm the best there ever was, I need to defeat my rival. I just need to defeat you, Nanka!"
Nanka had lots she wanted to say; about their friendship and their rivalry, the professor, dreams, battling, adventures, and all they had been through… instead she simply said, "Sorry, G-Man…"
G-Man raised a brown brow at this, as Nanka continued to say, "You've achieved your dream… and I'm super happy for you! But… for Jolt's dreams though, for all my companions who have helped me journey and have helped me here… we will defeat you!"
G-Man's face lit up with excitement as he replied, "That's more like it! Go! Sandslash!"
With a strong toss of his Pokéball, G-Man's brown quilled Pokémon emerged onto the battle arena. The Sandslash put his claws together and bowed before Nanka and Jolt, proceeding them to assume a firm-footed battle stance.
"Then I'll start with Amber!" Nanka declared with an excited shout, throwing her Pokéball up into the air and sending out her roaring Aerodactyl.
"Now that's one cool Pokémon I certainly don't have in my dex." G-Man remarked as Amber landed on her side of the battle arena, the Aerodactyl staring down at the honourable Sandslash with a drooling hunger for battle. "But it's still going to lose to my Sandslash here!"
"Sandslash!" G-Man shouted out in alarm as Amber's sharp fangs flinched his ground type warrior. "She's fast, but don't let that catch you off guard. Fight back with Fury Swipes!"
"Sa!" G-Man's Sandslash nodded in agreement as he struck back at the still chomping Aerodactyl with a barrage of claw swipes.
The raining blows forced Amber back, freeing Sandslash, but also giving Amber breathing room to charge up her Sky Attack. G-Man's Sandslash stepped forth for a follow-up attack, but Amber managed to take flight in time, charging the bird-shaped aura as she flew back down to strike Sandslash.
"Curse you; you winged fossil head!" G-Man snapped as he returned his Sky Attack felled Sandslash. "Flying and rock typing; what are the chances anyone would have a Pokémon like that."
Nanka didn't quite hear G-Man's later grumbling, but she did giggle and comment, "Your Sandslash is a good fighter, but not as good as Amber here."
Amber dismissed G-Man's cursing and roared triumphantly, clawing through the oak floorboards and preparing herself for her next opponent.
"Well then, how about I show you…" G-Man began to say as he sent out a yellow Pokémon wielding two spoons, "…the miracle that made me the champ!"
"Your Kadabra evolved!" Nanka gasped at the sight of the majestic moustachioed Pokémon. "They evolve by trading, right? Who did you trade back-and-forth with?"
"No one!" G-Man boasted proudly, hands on his hips, which his recently evolved psychic type imitated. "He did the impossible and evolved mid-match. That sure surprised Lance; his Dragonite went down after that. Now show them the power of miracles, Alakazam!"
"Al." Alakazam nodded as he thrusted out his arm and then with his other hand pointed to the spoon held within it… then he bent said spoon. "Zam!"
Nanka fell over backwards and Amber started to stumble; both suddenly suffering sickliness from vertigo.
"Kachu!?" Jolt yelped out in alarm, helping his groggy trainer to sit up.
"Hey! D-don't you go looking at my Alakazam's Kinesis as well!" G-Man shouted out with a worried frown. "H-how's my rival supposed to fight me if you can't even stand?"
Nanka didn't respond from her seated position, busy trying to stabilise her vision, to get back to focusing on the battle at hand. As disoriented as she was, she still was able to notice when her Amber was blasted by a powerful blast of Psychic.
"A-Amber!" Nanka called out, struggling to stand back up with the aid of Jolt. "Try using Fly! Fly out of the way."
Amber clumsily soared high up, narrowly avoiding Alakazam's spoon-flung Psybeam, the multi-coloured psychic attack carrying on and drilling a small hole in the wall just to the left of Nanka.
Alakazam looked up to the descending Aerodactyl, keenly studying the Pokémon's flight pattern and hopping aside to avoid the attack. If Amber had been flying straight and true, she'd have missed, but her vertigo-induced clumsy flight veered her off-course and into striking Alakazam at the very spot he had jumped away to.
The Fly's shaky and heavy impact, knocking Alakazam hard against the floor, also caused Nanka to fall back down again.
"Y-yaaayyy, Amber!" Nanka cheered, wincing a little from her second fall on her behind. "I'm guessing you don't want a break."
"Aerrrooo!" Amber growled with nod, her legs shaky, but pearly grin stable.
"Grrr, he was my trump card too." G-Man grumbled as he sent out his next Pokémon. "Girls, you've got a lot of work to do!"
"Guuu." The large tree with three hard heads cooed, only to then scowl at the very sight of the beautifully dressed Nanka. "Eeeggg!"
"Eeeep!" Nanka flinched as the Exeggcutor glared at her with animosity, going off the assumption that she had prettied herself up to steal G-Man away, with Jolt quickly steeping in front of Nanka and glaring back at the Exeggcutor. "C-congratulations on evolving… Exeggcutor."
"Sorry girls, save your anger for later." G-Man declared, immediately grabbing his grass types attention and affection. "We've a match to get on with so go ahead and Leech Seed that Aerodactyl."
Amber lunged out at the Exeggcutor to stop them with a Bite, but under the continuing effects of Kinesis, missed. The Exeggcutor had no difficulty landing her Leech Seed on Amber though, the seed planting firmly on Amber's rocky body and sprouting thin gentle roots. Seeded, Amber started to be sapped of her energy, and as she was busy trying to remove the seed, was promptly fainted by Exeggcutor's strong Stomp.
"Oh no, Amber!" Nanka called out, once again managing to get back to her feet. "I'm sorry, Amber! You started our championship match off super-well!"
"See that! Even against a flying type, my girls will triumph!" G-Man bragged with a roar of laughter, his Exeggcutor blushing with delight at the compliments.
Nanka returned Amber, then retrieved out another Pokéball, whispering to it, "Razor… it's finally your time to shine. Do it, Razor!"
With a gentle toss and encouraging cheers from Nanka and Jolt, Razor emerged out of her Pokéball for her first fight in the Pokémon league, firing it up!
G-Man frowned at the familiar match-up, "Her again!? Girls, Leech-"
"Razor, you should use Fire Spin!" Nanka swiftly declared, Razor proceeding to shoot out a small fireball at the floor.
The fireball proceeded to travel towards Exeggutor, leaving a thin trail of flames behind it, encircling the Exeggutor and rising up into a wall of flames. The fire closed in around the panicking Exeggutor, whose attempts to escape were the futile, the fire ring wrapping around the coconut Pokémon until she fainted.
"Pika! Pika! Piiiikachuuu!" Jolt cheered alongside Nanka as Razor begun to well up with happiness over her second defeat of G-Man's Exeggutor.
"Don't celebrate too soon, my Cloyster and I will be coming up with just the plan to ensure our victory." G-Man said with utter confidence as he sent out his bivalve Pokémon. "But first… we should put out the fire on the floor; these wooden floorboards were a stupid idea."
"Oh, right, that's a good idea." Nanka replied, ushering Razor back over to her so she wouldn't be caught up in Cloyster's fire fighting.
"That would've been a lot quick if we had a water move aside from Clamp, but…" G-Man muttered to his Cloyster, before they turned their full attention to Nanka and her Charizard, "…now we're ready. Let's begin my sure-to-win battle!"
"Sorry, G-Man, but Razor is sure to win this match-up." Nanka shouted out with uncharacteristic bravado. "Show him your new move Razor! Submission that Cloyster!"
Razor flapped with powerful wings, launching herself at the large clammed opponent and grabbing hold of the Cloyster. She quickly took Cloyster up into the air, only to then immediately head back to the floor to dive-bomb Cloyster hard… to little affect.
"Well sorry, Nanka. It's true that fighting type attacks are super effective against ice types like my Cloyster here…" G-Man explained with a smirk as his Cloyster sprang up and Clamped onto Razor, "…but she's got far too much defence for that to matter. My clever Cloyster could tank Bruno's Machamp; then she can tank your Charizard!"
"Chaaarrr!" Razor cried out in fear as she was hit by Clamp, then in pain as she was shot point-blank by an Ice-Beam. "Zaaarrr!"
"Razor!" Nanka cried out as her ice-covered Charizard fell down; fainted.
"Pii, pika!" Jolt spoke up, pointing to himself as Nanka returned the defeated Razor.
Nanka shook her head, kneeling down to her Pikachu and whispering in his ear, "I'll need you to take on G-Man's Jolteon, so please wait until then."
Jolt didn't hesitate to nod in agreement, as much as he disliked waiting, turning to watch the battle as Nanka sent out Ferry and said, "If physical moves don't work, then Ferry here will use his super special moves and Hydro Pump your Cloyster into fainting!"
"Heh, as if that would do anything." G-Man replied as his Cloyster closed up her shell for added defence. "She's a water type as well, so just try your best shot!"
"W-what on…" G-Man stuttered out he stared down at his waterlogged Cloyster. "How did Hydro Pump…?"
"That was fantastic, Ferry!" Nanka applauded her Lapras, keeping a safe distance just in case Ferry fell atop her again.
G-Man bent down to his Cloyster, inspecting his fainted Pokémon and noticing a sizeable crack on her violet shell, 'That Submission must have… drat!'
G-Man returned his Cloyster silently, proceeding to then send out his elegant Ninetails against the jolly Lapras, whom was clapping like a Seel.
'Should we try and hit Ninetails with Hydro Pump straight away or…' Nanka begun to ponder as Ferry prepared to make his move. "Ferry, let's begin with a Confuse-"
"Ninetails, Fire Spin!" G-Man shouted out quickly, his Ninetails springing immediately into action.
As with when Razor used the very save move, Ninetails shot a small fireball that struck the floor, said fireball then swiftly creating a ring of flames to surround the opponent; Ferry in this case.
"G-Maaannn! Quit it with all the Fire Spins!" Nanka yelled out in frustration as Ninetails continued to make golden-tinted rings of fire around Ferry, each spluttering of flames whittling down her Lapras's health.
"What!? Can't take the heat!" G-Man yelled back to her sweating opponent with a grin; himself unfazed by hotter temperatures. "It's comeback time!"
As yet another Fire Spin shot forth, Ferry intercepted the approaching fire ball with a small shot of water, extinguishing it before it even had the chance to touch the now charred floor. Before the surprised Ninetails had a chance to react, Ferry followed up by emitting a Confuse Ray as originally intended for this battle.
Confused, G-Man's Ninetails accidentally swallowed the Fire Spin she had been preparing, causing her to cough and splutter. This gave Ferry the opening he needed, patting out the remaining embers circling him and shooting out a Hydro Pump at his fire foe.
"Nooo! Ninetails!" G-Man yelled out as his golden coated fox washed up at his feet. "It's… it's okay, Ninetails. Jolteon will win this for us."
Unbeknownst to G-Man, as he comforted his fainted Pokémon, Nanka was still dealing with the aftermath of battling his Ninetails. It turns out that a few stray embers had shot out from the numerous Fire Spins, setting the rim of Nanka's lovely new dress on fire; Jolt and Ferry currently trying to pat the flames out.
"F-finally…" Nanka said with a sigh of relief, casting a mournful look to the thankfully only slight singe to the skirt of her dress. "Thank you, Jolt, Ferry; now let's go continue our match!"
Nanka turned her attention to the battle arena, her Lapras now facing off against an unwaveringly confident G-Man and his poised-to-strike Jolteon. Ferry waggled his head from side-to-side, eyes focused on his spiky furred opponent, who remained still and staring.
"Ferry, Body"-Before Nanka could finish her sentence, G-Man's Jolteon had swiftly zapped Ferry with a Thunder Wave.
"L-laaa!" Ferry cried, having been struck before he could react to Jolteon's agile action.
"Jolteon; let the Thunder roar!" G-Man shouted out, arms spread wide as his Jolteon summoned two massive storm clouds, dual lightning bolts raining down upon Ferry.
Paralysed Ferry didn't stand a chance.
"Pikachu!" Jolt yelled out his battle cry as he leapt over the returning Ferry and stared straight into Jolteon's jet-black eyes, both eager for yet another rematch.
"Man, how many times have we done this?" G-Man asked with a sweet smile, his grey eyes tinted with the glow of nostalgia. "This time though… Jolteon and I will win!"
"Jolteon!" Jolteon roared as he fired off a hailstorm of Pin Missiles.
Nanka and Jolt smiled back, determination brimming in their faces, "Jolt… dodge each and every one of them! You and I can do this!"
Large jumps, slight turns of the head, planned movements, instinctive evasions; Jolt navigated the through Pin Missile attack and Body Slammed into Jolteon. The two electric types sparked, shocking back at one another as they barged back and forth.
Jolt would Body Slam Jolteon towards the wall, only for Jolteon to kick off the wall and retaliate with Pin-Missiles, several hitting.
"Chhh!" Jolt swore under his breath, grunting as he removed several hairy pins from his tail, all the while keeping an intense focus on his opponent. "Pikaaa! Pikachu."
"Jooo…" G-Man's Jolteon growled back, panting heavily from the numerous body blows he had received and agile collisions he had with his Pikachu opponent. "Ton, ton, Jolteon."
Despite their blazing eyed stares, sunny smiles emerged on their faces, reflected also on their trainers and the atmosphere. The pressure was on, a championship on the line in this breakneck fight… but it was fun. It was a battle for the ages and a relaxed competition between friends at the same time.
"Jolteon! I know we can win! We're the best after all!" G-Man shouted out, his Jolteon in turn responding with a light-speed Quick Attack into Jolt.
Jolt staggered back, his vision faint from the critical hit he had received.
"Jolt! We can win! After all we've done together… I know we can!" Nanka shouted out, Jolt responding by gritting his teeth and ramming into Jolteon with a Body Slam.
The final Body Slam.
"Noooo! No!" G-Man cried out as his Jolteon slowly but surely fell to the floor. "That can't be! Jolteon!"
As G-Man rushed over to his fainted Pokémon, Nanka and Jolt stood frozen to the spot, breathless. It took a while for them to catch said breaths, for the momentous event to dawn upon them and for their championship victory to truly sink in.
"J-Jolt…?" Nanka murmured as she looked towards Jolt.
"K-Kachu…?" Jolt squeaked as he looked up to Nanka.
"We won, Jolt! We're champions! Champions!" Nanka cried out in joy as she lifted her starter off the floor, hugging him as she jumped up and down with glee.
"Pika, pi, Kachu! Pika, piiii!" Jolt cheered in unison, rubbing his tingling cheek against Nanka's, completely unabashed.
"After all that work!" A sudden lament interrupted the winning duo's jubilations. "My… our reign… is over already?"
"It's not fair!" G-Man wailed with anger, frustration and sadness as he cradled his defeated and equally saddened Jolteon. "We… we did our best a-and I… we never made any mistakes! Yet…"
Nanka and Jolt looked on with discomfort and uncertainty as G-Man weakly punched the floor, holding back sobs. His Jolteon leaned up and gently nuzzled his chin, eyes clenched tight as he too held back tears of regret.
"G-Man, I…" Nanka began to approach, unsure what to say.
G-Man sobs stopped, his shoulders stiffening. With a deep breath, as if he was swallowing down all his negative emotions, G-Man raised his head.
"I don't like to admit it…" G-Man said with red and puffy eyes, forcing a grin on his face, "…but congratulations! You're the Pokémon League Champion."
Nanka smiled gently, "It's… it's okay to be sad, G-Man."
Nanka knelt down to her childhood friend, who was still forcing his tears back, "This… this was your dream after all. I'm sorry it didn't last long."
Jolt waltzed over to Jolteon, still within G-Man's arms, and held out his fist, "Pika."
"Don't… don't apologise…" G-Man stuttered out as Jolteon softly tapped his nose against Jolt's fist, "…my reign is over because we… lost. We lost… that's all."
There was a brief silence between them, though it was a comforting one, as sad emotions started to trickle away. The two friends sat down with one another, their trusted companions' right beside them, smiling appreciatively to one another. With sadness and frustration eroded, all that was left was the excitement of the battle they just had and the sheer delight experienced from being around one another. It was a blissful mood, the type you longed to last forever.
"Nanka!" A familiar voice called out, the two trainers and their Pokémon looking behind them to see a grinning Professor Oak rushing in, onto the charred oak floor of the champion's room.
"Nanka, dear, I knew you'd win!" Professor Oak said with a broad smile as he threw his arm over Nanka's shoulder. "Congratulations! You've grown so much-"
"Um, Professor-"
"I always knew you'd be something special-"
"E-excuse me, Professor-"
"Ever since you left with your Pikachu-"
"Professor!" Nanka shouted, grabbing the Professor's attention as she stood up and pointed over to slowly rising G-Man.
"Hi, Gramps..." G-Man greeted without a hint of his usual pride or confidence, too ashamed to even look Oak in the eye.
"G-Man..." The Professor said as he strode over to his downcast Grandson, equally solemn faced.
Nanka smiled at the two relatives, feeling allayed, 'I'm sure the Professor will know just what to say to cheer G-Man up.'
"I'm disappointed." Oak said stone-faced.
Nanka's smile dropped. 'That... wasn't what I was expecting.'
"Gramps, I-"
"You lost." The Professor sighed. "I expected as much. Unlike Nanka here, you don't treat your Pokémon with trust and love."
Nanka raised a brow at that statement, memories rushing to her. Memories of battles with G-Man, every time he'd brag about his Pokémon, every time he'd excuse their losses as bad luck, every time he cared and reassured his Pokémon. The way he and his Pokémon always left their battles with an uplifted spririt, an optimistic joy in their heart, that she could feel emanate so strongly from them. Nanka… felt her brow furrow.
"The lab is filled with Pokémon you've caught and never raised." The Professor continued to berate G-Man. "It's why you'll never become a champ-"
"Shut up, Professor!"
Oak and G-Man turned in shock towards a fuming Nanka, her eyes burning ferociously.
"Don't you dare..." Nanka growled, her volume rising. "...say that G-Man doesn't love his Pokémon! I've seen him care for them! He loves them!"
"N-Nanka, dear... what-"
"He's caught so many Pokémon 'cause you told him too!" Nanka snapped, stomping towards the alarmed Professor. "He did it because he wanted your attention, for you to praise and talk about him like you do me!"
Nanka stepped back, calming down only slightly as she took a breath, "His Pokémon, his team; he always boasts them, always cares for them... and they adore him!"
"The way he treats his Pokémon, lifting their spirits and making them feel unstoppable..." Nanka said as she turned to her best friend with the brightest of smiles, "...is the most wonderful thing about, G-Man."
Silence permeated the room. Oak was stunned silent; G-Man was looking away with a trembling smile, whilst Nanka had become embarrassed at the rudeness of her honest outburst and quietened down.
"P-Pika..." Jolt broke the silence, pointing to the doors leading to the Hall of Fame.
To say that Nanka's Kanto Champion awarding was awkward would be an understatement. Professor Oak, as a former Champion, had requested the honour of registering Nanka and her team to the Hall of Fame.
After that little rant of Nanka's… this was done mostly in sullenness.
In fact, Nanka didn't speak at all until her Pokémon begun appearing as giant holograms around the futuristic Champion's room, gasping.
Nanka was a curious girl from Pallet Town who'd always dreamed of travelling. Since setting off from home she'd done so many things; her peaceful life in a quaint part of Kanto had become filled with grand experiences, each one a treasured memory.
She'd fought criminal gangs, been a dress-up doll, made friends with child trainers, met hiding champions, found mysteries and witnessed Legendaries.
All Jolt had wanted to do was fight tough opponents. He knew he'd have to travel for it, but no idea where to go.
He thought his dreams were over when he was handed over to a worrywart girl with no fighting desire. To his surprise they ended up travelling the whole of Kanto, having numerous battles but also peaceful picnics and spotting spectacular sights.
One Trainer allowed him to do all that.
Amber held her head high with pride, grinning broadly as her hologram displayed her tough skin, powerful wings and menacing claws with satisfying accuracy. Venom likewise chose to stand there and admire her own hologram, pushing aside the thought of a nap for just a while to appreciate her glowing mark amongst the hall of fame.
Razor bawled merrily at the sight of her own hologram; the Charizard as overemotional as ever. Chu-Chu meanwhile, was transfixed in awe, gazing at the sheer magnificence… of his Princess Nanka and Captain Jolt's holograms; he didn't even notice his own.
Ferry did though, as he humorously posed alongside each of the holograms, including his own.
"You happy you're a Hall of Famer, Jolt?" Nanka asked with a smile, glancing over to her Pikachu as her other travelling companions sung and laughed with merriment. "Is Hall of Famer even a proper term? Hmmm, you get what I mean though."
"Piiiikaaaaa!" Jolt immediately cheered, punching upwards as he spun around towards Nanka. "Ka Pi, Kachu, Pikachu?"
"Yeah, I'm happy I got to travel with you all the way here!" Nanka replied, soon laughing joyously alongside her starter as their long and exciting Kanto journey came to a close.
A/N: So with Elite Four and Champion defeated, not only does Nanka and Jolt's Kanto adventure end, but so too does this story... of course anyone whose played Pokémon Yellow knows I'm lying. There is more to this tale yet to tell...
Before then though, let's talk about this chapter a little. So we start things off with Lance, a character whom I made fun to write about by purely taking the mickey out of him. He's a cool character, a serious guy whose whole design screams cool, which is why it is so humorous to break down that cool perception. I present Lance here is as a proud man aware of his cool image; a guy surprisingly quick to anger when someone breaks that cool perception, like the uninterested Nanka in the story. There is plenty more elements to his character that I've considered and even hinted at in this chapter, but whether I will explore this... well I would have to cover the story of an entirely different game for that. In any case, I hope enjoyed me mocking Lance and his lack of dragons.
Then we get to the highlight of the chapter; the Championship battle between Nanka and G-Man. In game, this posed a decent enough of a challenge, although I did have Amber use Bite over Fly a few times to help draw it out a bit. I remember having to rapidly type out the story of the battle on the old site due to so many commentators taking up post space (it was an awkward system to be uploading a story onto). There were some plans for a bit of drama in the midst of the battle and I was hoping for the Ferry vs Cloyster match to last longer (Ferry got a critical hit) but I think it turned out pretty awesome. When I originally made Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure, I didn't plan to have so much emphasis on the story, so it's rather nice to see how introduced elements of Nanka, G-Man and Oak all tied together in the end. Act 2 was truly the seed for the 'Nanka arguing with Oak' scene, as it was the Nugget Bridge battle which showed me that the rival character in Red/Blue/Yellow is actually a decent guy. He shows concern for his Pokémon, so I found it strange knowing that Oak would late cite a lack of love for being the reason the rival loses. From there I started building up towards it, emphasising how much G-Man cares for his Pokémon and how much Nanka loves seeing that, along with how G-Man catches way more Pokémon despite only using eight of them, and more.
As mentioned at the start, this chapter was late due to me tweaking a few end scene moments. I included a few more details and a whole extra scene, though I'm unsure if I've made the kind-of conclusion here as good as I could. I feel like there needed to a moment between Nanka and G-Man after the outburst against Oak, whilst Oak's silence for the remainder of the ending doesn't lead to much closure towards either character. Ultimately, I only find myself okay with the somewhat abrupt ending scene to this chapter because I have another chapter to follow... along with future plans for NPMA. In any case, I thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Please do come back... sometime in December (hopefully on the 15th), for one last chapter of Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure!