DISCLAIMER:- I do not own Pokemon or any of their characters portrayed herein. I only own characters that have not been seen either in games or in the anime.

MESSAGE TO READERS:- Not much to say this time really, so grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy!!

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 8: FLURRY OF EMOTION! A MYTHICAL RESCUE!

With a yawn that would make a Snorlax proud, I sat upright in my bed. It took me a moment to figure out where I was. I could see my clothes draped over the back of a chair and a discarded towel had been thrown on the floor. I was back in my dormitory. I turned to my left, where there was a spare bed which was empty. Expecting to see someone else there, my mind suddenly played feedback to me of last night's events. I scowled to myself, as I stretch my arms out to the side of me, letting out another tired yawn. It seemed strange how all of this had happened to come around. Images began flashing in my head once again, all of which involved Casey and Misty. The fishing rod, the restaurant, the lake, the swarms of Combee and Beedrill, the Leaf Storm. And then finally a brutally vivid thought of the gashes and injuries that had been inflicted on Casey, followed by myself storming away from Misty. A flood of negative emotions unexpectedly consumed me all at once. I fell backwards into the bed once again, but for what was a couple of seconds seemed like an eternity. That's how I felt. I let out another long and tired sigh, staring up at the blank ceiling. After a couple of moments' thought, I rolled limply onto my side, dropping my feet down to the ground after kicking the covers off of me. I sat still for a moment, contemplating another yawn. But I held it back in the end. After reaching for my clothes, which had now been cleaned, I headed for the bathroom area. Picking up a cheap toothbrush, I squeezed a small layer of toothpaste onto the brush before scrubbing fairly liberally at my teeth. I stared at myself in the mirror. Somehow, my hair had managed to maintain its usual shape throughout the night. Upon looking at myself further, I began to wonder what I had done to deserve this fate that was unfolding in front of me. But I released myself from these thoughts by discontinuing locking eyes with my reflection. I completed brushing my teeth and spat out the fusion of saliva and toothpaste that had formed in my mouth. Quite literally, I threw my shirt over my head and slid my arms into the sleeves. Already I had put on my trousers. It was now just a case of clapping the mud off the soles of my boots. With a creak, I opened the door and went to clap the two boots against each other. But I stopped quickly as a figure had his knuckles raised to knock on the door.

"What is it, Brock?" I asked not sounded very interested in what he had to say.

"I want to clear the air," he began sternly. "Firstly, I don't take kindly to people who use my friends for their own selfish needs."

"What are you talking about," I huffed in a nonchalant manner.

"You know full well what I am talking about," he continued with a strict tone. "You've been sucking information out of Misty about Casey ever since you found out they were friends. And you're leading her the wrong way."

"Wrong way?" I sneered. "How am I leading her the wrong way? I have been trying to look after her ever since she lost to Paul. And last night…well… I guess you've heard."

"Darn right I heard," he snapped. "There's a lot of things that you still need to learn. Not just in Pokemon, but in life as well." I looked at him with a puzzled look, before rubbing my boots together in order to scratch off some of the mud. "Do you not see the connection between you two?" he took a step closer, as if to drive the question in.

"Connection?" I pretended to ponder. I knew exactly what he meant, but the whole situation needed a lot more planning time than what Brock appeared to be giving me.

"For goodness sake, man!" Brock lost his patience. "She likes you! She likes you a lot! And she has been talking to me nearly all through the night. Telling me about how you've been there for her and how you've defended her when confronted by the likes of Paul and Harley." I lowered my head slightly. "But then she said that you kept on asking about Casey. She knew something was up. And as much as it pained her to tell you which Pokemon she had, she also didn't want to hurt you either."

"Wow…" I muttered. "I didn't think she'd like me back."

"It's been tearing her apart," Brock continued. "But so long as you know, that is the main thing. Now, there's something else I need to tell you."

"What is it?" I enquired.

"My Croagunk did not attack Casey. I was heading back from Viridian City when I heard about it and my Croagunk was with me then. Although, we did see something big flying around the area. At first I thought it was a Pidgeotto or maybe even a Fearow, but it was a lot larger than I would expect them to grow."

"I didn't mean to accuse you or your Croagunk," I bowed apologetically. "It was the heat of the moment. Casey was badly hurt and I'd never seen damage done to human flesh like that. And after seeing your Croagunk use it's Poison Jab on you like that made a lot of people wonder…"

"He has always done that," Brock chuckled. "Misty used to beat me over the head whenever I started flirting with girls around her."

"That's kinda funny," I laughed as well. "Yeah… well, where is Misty right now?" Brock's head suddenly lowered gloomily.

"She went off looking for Casey," he replied gruffly.

"What!?" I exclaimed. "What happened to Casey now?"

"She ended up staying in the Pokemon Center. In the end, Nurse Joy's Chansey and Blissey were able to heal most of the smaller wounds. The longer ones will take a lot longer though."

"So then, what happened?"

"She just got up and left," Brock sighed. "Apparently, she was mumbling something about the forest to herself."

"The forest?" I repeated, trying to think. "Why would she want to go to the forest?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Brock answered. "But Misty is there right now looking for her. I know that she said that she was taking her Pokemon with her to defend her from any Bug Type Pokemon, particularly the Beedrill."

"I've got to go and find them!" I shouted, surprising even myself at the volume of my own voice. I raced to put my still muddy boots on my feet. "Are you coming to?" I asked, tying my laces into a knot.

"Too right," Brock nodded. "Croagunk's Anticipation ability should help us detect any threat to us before it comes too close." He grabbed a hold of a Poke Ball. "Come on out, Croagunk!" he shouted, throwing his Poke Ball onto the path. From it, the bipedal frog appeared. "We're going to help Misty and Casey and we need you to help us!" Brock asked kindly to his Pokemon, with a look in his eye that suggested fear. Possibly that his Croagunk might take the idea the wrong way and give him another one of those Poison Jabs to his gut.

"Croa-----, Croa-----," it croaked, inflating it's cheek sacks with each word. It then turn to face the direction of the forest. He knew exactly what was happening.

"How does it know that they're in the forest just from that?" I questioned, admiring the small yet potent Pokemon.

"Anticipation," Brock grinned. "It is a special ability that allows a Pokemon to detect a looming threat as it approaches. This particular Croagunk's Anticipation is incredibly acute."

"That's cool," I gawped, still in awe at the ability and skills which this Pokemon possessed. I thought to myself that a Croagunk with that kind of ability would be perfect on my team, but I quickly reverted back to the matter at hand. Finding Misty and Casey was my prime concern. "I know who else can help," I added. "Let's go, Pelipper!" I called, mimicking Brock in throwing its Poke Ball into the pathway. Pelipper burst of it. "Pelipper," it cawed, spreading its wings. Croagunk slid its eyes in the direction of Pelipper. It began to shudder a little bit. "Err… what's happening to your Croagunk?" I enquired. "Is it cold or something?"

"No, no," Brock smiled. "Anticipation. Again, it detects a looming threat. Pelipper is a Flying type, so they do severe damage to Fighting types. Croagunk doesn't know that Pelipper is an ally."

"Hmph," I huffed, but in an approving manner. "You certainly know your stuff when it comes to Pokemon."

"As one of the world's best Pokemon Breeders, I should do," he smiled once more. I hummed, again in interest.

"Okay, Pelipper," I called to my pelican Pokemon. "Brock, Croagunk and I need you to search for Misty from the air. Can you do that for us?"

"Per, Per, Pelipper," it nodded, flapping its wings briskly and taking to the skies.

"You ready, Brock?" I nudged him slightly. He replied with a simple nod. I let out a grin. "You ready, Croagunk?" I looked down at the awe-inspiring Pokemon.

"Croa-----gunk," it replied. With that, we raced off towards the forest. Many trainers looked at us as we passed by. Croagunk was surprisingly fast, able to keep the pace with myself and Brock. Pelipper flew much faster in the air than we could run though. It began to circle in the air if it noticed that we were too far behind. Brock and I did not say a word whilst running. I could tell he was thinking the same as me. We just wanted to find Misty and Casey and make sure they were safe. Soon enough, the forest was in view. With every stride that Brock and I took, we could see the trees were getting larger and larger, nearer and nearer. I noticed a small group of Rattata scurry off the footpath as we approached, as a Sentret scouted our every move from the side of a nearby hill. A small flock of Spearow seemed wary of our presence, but the size difference between them and my Pelipper seemed to put them off a little. As we approached the ring of trees that surrounded the main forest, I could see a small group of Diglett popping in and out of the ground, along with a couple of Slakoth lazing in the morning sun. We slowed our sprint to a fast walk, before stopping at the first set of trees. Pelipper flew directly over the top of the forest and flew back by my side within minutes.

"See anything, Pelipper?" I petted it on the head as it walked up closer to me. It sadly shook its head, feeling a little bit upset that it wasn't able to provide much help. "Don't worry. You can't see through the trees, huh?" Again, it replied with a shake of its head. Its bill knocked against my leg softly. "That's alright. Thank you anyway, Pelipper. Take a rest," I withdrew my Pokemon back into it's Poke Ball. "So what now?" I sighed in desperation.

"Sense anything, Croagunk?" Brock knelt down next to his 'trusted' ally. Croagunk crouched for a moment, deflating and inflating its sacks whilst delivering its usual croak. I could see Croagunk's eyes moving back and forth, before finally he turned his head in the direction of a small opening in the trees that was just visible partway down the woodland corridor. It set off at a steady pace. We followed it into the woods, which once again were darkened by the lack of sunlight passing through the thick trees. However, as we came to the opening, the light returned and we arrived in front of a flowing stream.

"Hold on," I muttered. "I recognise this place. This is where I found Misty after her match with Paul. I know where to go! Follow me!" I suddenly bounded along the river bank, following the route that Misty and I had taken to get to the serene lake where we were sat not too long ago. I was running a lot faster now, Brock had trouble keeping up. Yet Croagunk seemed to be keeping up me without any problem. As we approached the area that would lead us to the lake, I suddenly notice something rise up from behind the trees. A giant, blue serpentine creature, firing an incredibly large beam of orange energy at an unknown target let out a huge roar that shook the forest floor. "That's a Gyarados!" I yelled. "It looks like that it is in the lake that Misty and I found yesterday."

"But why is it using Hyper Beam?" Brock called as he tried to keep up with me. We approached the small belt of trees that guarded the entrance to the lake. We suddenly stopped, not getting any closer to the heat of the battle. All I could see was the Gyarados trying to land an attack on something flying around its head. The unknown flying creature launched a powerful orb of energy at the serpent, knocking it sidewards. Gyarados then ducked beneath the surface of the water. I looked up at the flying Pokemon and was stunned when I saw it.

"It's that Vespiquen again!" I snarled, not taking my eyes off the freakishly large bee. "The one that attacked all those Beedrill yesterday."

"It looks incredibly strong," Brock proclaimed. "We'd better keep our wits about us." He ducked as a small swarm of Combee grubs emerged from Vespiquen's honeycomb-like tail and began buzzing around it in a pattern. A move I recognised as Defend Order. The Gyarados burst upward from beneath the water, attempting to perhaps Tackle the aerial Vespiquen. But it dodged, sending the Gyarados crashing into the trees just in front of us. We scurried away to avoid, but without even noticing we both ended up in the open lakefront. The Vespiquen and her grubs did not seem to notice us. Instead, it focused its attention on the Gyarados, which was now lifting itself off the ground. Brock and I dashed to find some form of shelter, when I suddenly spotted someone stood on the near side of the lake. It was Misty! I was stunned to see her back out here, before remembering that she owned a Gyarados. Although when I last saw it, it was considerably more docile. She was ordering Gyarados to launch another Hyper Beam, which it fired rapidly. But yet again, the speed of the Vespiquen was vital as it swiftly dived downwards towards the ground, dodging the attack once again. Brock and I ran over to Misty, who glanced at us briefly before turning back to her battle. Croagunk seemed to stare at Vespiquen, tracking its every move. "There's no good you trying to battle that thing," Brock hummed, looking down at the frog Pokemon. "That thing is so fast your physical attacks wouldn't be able to land on it."

"Croa-----," it croaked once again, expressionlessly. It paced towards the battlefield nonetheless, seemingly ready to try and join in the battle. It began firing some small, poisonous needles from its mouth at the Vespiquen. They struck the lower back of the creature as it fired another ball of energy at Gyarados. As Gyarados collapsed, Vespiquen seemed to have difficulty staying in the air after the super effective, yet somewhat weak attack connected.

"That Croagunk is something else," I remarked with my mouth wide open. Misty smiled, now seeing that the chance was there to take down the giant bee.

"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump to knock it in the water," Misty called with the loudest voice as she could so that her Gyarados, towering several stories above her could hear the instruction. "Vespiquen will be helpless if it falls into the water," she grinned at me as the dragon raised itself even further into the air. It launched a powerful torrent of water directly at the Vespiquen. I could see the water then disperse in various directions. It must have hit dead on. But upon closer inspection, I saw that the Combee grubs were taking the attack, as the Vespiquen darted along the side of the Hydro Pump attack, before it launched another powerful ball of orange and yellow energy at Gyarados' head, connecting with perfect accuracy. Gyarados roared in agony, falling to the ground with an almighty thud.

"That was Vespiquen's Power Gem," Brock gasped in disbelief. "I can't believe how strong that thing is! It even used Defend Order to stop the Hydro Pump hitting it!" Misty re-called Gyarados into it's Poke Ball. She apologised to it as Brock ordered Croagunk to go on the attack. "Alright, hit it with Poison Sting," Brock called. With a spring of it's strong legs, Croagunk propelled itself towards the giant bee and from its mouth spat out more toxic needles. Vespiquen dodged the majority of them, but Croagunk was able to follow its movements. The final few barbs landed, as Vespiquen attempted to regain its composure. "Now follow up with Poison Jab," Brock ordered. I watched anxiously as Croagunk's whole fingers began to glow as they filled with poison. The attack hit with brutal force, much more aggressively than I had seen it use on Brock himself. Vespiquen was now having trouble to stay in the air, as it called for it's Combee artillery to surround it. Within seconds, the small honeycomb-like bees began to rise into the air, along with Vespiquen. It somehow looked even stronger than it had done before. Its eye glowed an evil shade of red. "Oh no!" Brock shuddered. "Vespiquen is using Heal Order!" I could not believe the strength of this Pokemon. Then something inside me clicked.

"I'm going to catch that thing!" I snarled with a grin. "Let's go, Houndoom!" I bellowed, tossing the Poke Ball that I had grasped in my hand forwards. Houndoom popped out and growled upon seeing Vespiquen.

"Hound. Houndoom, doom," it barked as it stared at Vespiquen. For just a moment, the giant bee showed an expression of 'Intimidation' but it soon regained its composure and glared at Houndoom, who had now taken a position next to Croagunk.

"We've got to stop that thing," Misty cried. "That was the Pokemon that attacked Casey yesterday!" I suddenly stopped, as did Brock. The whole battle came to a standstill. "Casey came back here to confront it. I guess to get revenge on it for hurting her. I followed her here and she was being attacked again by it. Gyarados took her to a cave on the other side of the lake. My other Pokemon are looking after her over there," she pointed briefly to a small cave on what appeared to be a small island.

"That's the thing that mutilated her?" I gasped. "Of course! It all makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Brock scratched his head.

"The slash marks across her chest, they must have come from Vespiquen's sharp claws. The bruises on her legs must have come from either the Combee swarm or even one of its other attacks." I smiled as I became aware of the what had actually happened. "Even the wax in her head. They probably came from them too!"

"You're right!" Misty smiled. "That means that Croagunk has been proven innocent! Jonathyn, you're amazing!"

"What?" I turned around, making sure that I wasn't hearing things.

"Err, I said that's amazing… how you figured that out," Misty blushed a little like she had done many times before.

"Watch out!" Brock suddenly yelled, as Vespiquen fired another Power Gem attack. But this was not aimed at the Pokemon, it was heading for us. Misty froze, like a Buneary caught in headlights. She let out a petrified squeal for mercy. I feared the worse. I have no idea what came over me, but my legs pushed me off the ground uncontrollably. I felt the full force of the attack impact my left side. It was the most horrid pain I had felt for a long time. It was as if my bones had all snapped at the same time. I fell to the ground, thumping my head against the embankment. I could only hear Misty letting out another shriek of despair. I could see the blurry image of my beloved Houndoom running up to me. I then felt Houndoom's wet snout pressing against my cheek, as if trying to nudge me back to life. I raised my head weakly, but my neck seemed as though it was severing from my spine. Absolute agony, right the way down the left side of my body.

"Jon! Jonathyn!" I could hear Brock and Misty shout at me, attempting to revive me from this half-deceased position that I was in. Misty had lifted the back of my head off the ground in the same way I had done for her when that Leaf Storm struck her. I grinned and got back up to my feet, unaware of the pain I was in. My shoulder was dislocated and bleeding badly. I had cuts on my forehead and my clothes had been ripped and torn where the Power Gem attack had struck. But for some reason, all of these feelings seemed to just disappear. I let out a grin and paced past my Houndoom and Brock's Croagunk. I walked up to where the Vespiquen was hovering.

"Get down here," I pointed just in front of me. Slowly, the Vespiquen lowered from the air and landed just in front of me. We were almost the same height, perhaps the Vespiquen was just a little bit taller than me. I stared into its eyes, which had a look of hatred for everything. The crimson glow that they projected gave me this feeling that this particular Vespiquen had some sort of vendetta against all humans. This confrontation could well be foolish, I felt neither this nor brave. I believed that I had to do this. If I could make this Pokemon look at humans the way that the likes of my Houndoom does and Brock's Croagunk does, then perhaps I would be doing the world a favour. "Listen to me," I panted with difficulty to breathe, the wind still knocked out of me from the Power Gem, "there is something that I want you to tell me." The Vespiquen did not look amused in the slightest, but for some reason refrained from attacking me to listen. "For what purpose do you attack all that you see? First you attacked the Beedrill in the forest, then Casey… then you attacked Gyarados. And worst of all, you went to attack Misty. And you are brazen with it! Do you feel no compassion? No remorse for your actions?" The Vespiquen sustained the stare that it had been holding at me. Its impassive expression left little to suggestion. "Tell me!" I demanded. With that, it took one of its arms backwards and poised itself to slash me with its sharp claws. I simply stood still, leaving myself open and prone to its imminent assault. I could hear Misty and Brock yelling at me to get out of the way, but all of a sudden, a blast of flame shot past me and an overwhelming speed. I fell sideways, but managed to avoid landing on my dislocated shoulder. I looked up to see my Houndoom was using its fiery breath to burn Vespiquen in the same way that the trainer I saw yesterday had her Magmar do. Vespiquen flew skywards, as Houndoom turned back to my aid. "Doom, Houndoom?" I appeared to ask me. Obviously it was concerned, so I gave it my best answer. "I'm fine," I replied. "But don't attack that thing just yet. I think I can solve this problem."

"Jonathyn!" Misty screamed at me. "Get back over here, you're going to get hurt!"

"I've got it under control," I called back, not turning to look for fear of what her emotions might be showing on her face.

"Can't you see that it isn't going to listen to you?" she cried. "I beg you to stop this madness." But I refused. I stepped forward again, not scared to see what the Vespiquen could throw at me next. Houndoom walked beside me, but I tickled it behind it's ear and lowered my hand, motioning for it to remain where it was whilst I carried on walking closer and closer to it.

"You do not have to strong to prove you are dominant," I smiled. "You can be strong at one thing, but one way or another. There is always going to be someone who is better than you." The giant bee then began to say something, but I could not hear it. All I could see was its two large mandibles twitching back and forth. "You don't scare me, Vespiquen," I smiled slyly. "You can hurt me all you want. You know full well that I cannot fight back without my Pokemon. Do you not believe me?" It looked past my shoulder, which I was still clutching due to the agony it was producing. "Alright, I understand," I grinned, turning back to Houndoom. "I'm sorry about this, Houndoom. But you're going to have to sit this one out for me." My Houndoom looked a little shocked by the decision, but accepted it as it awaited me to return it to its Poke Ball. I withdrew it with my good arm, leaving my other to hang momentarily, before clutching once Houndoom was in the confines of its Poke Ball. "Brock," I called once again without looking, "Put Croagunk back in it's Poke Ball," I instructed.

"But Jonathyn…" he began.

"Do it!" I snapped. "Don't argue, please. Just do it!" Brock muttered something to Misty, before hearing Croagunk's croaking vanish. It peered slightly, but I could not see it. Only Brock holding out it's Poke Ball and a small, red light. It had been called back. "Now then," I turned back to the Vespiquen. "I am defenceless. Do what you want." Upon inspection, I could tell that the Vespiquen was hesitant. It did not know what to do. It's remorseless nature seemed to be in question. "You see? You can't. You know it is wrong." I was in for a shock, as the Vespiquen suddenly tackled me with a strong amount of force, but nowhere near as strong as the attacks I had seen it use before. I winced as my shoulder snapped backwards, but I realised that coincidentally, it had inadvertently popped my formerly dislocated shoulder back into its socket. I rolled it a little. It still hurt, but at least now I had some movement in it. I twitched my fingers, before looking back up at the Vespiquen with a grin. "Is that the best you can do?" I smiled at it, but not mockingly. "You know what the right thing is to do, don't you?" I smiled. But the giant bee began to scowl. Turning it's head away, it began to form another Power Gem attack… I was in alarmed to see that despite all that I had said, it made no difference. "Very well," I sighed, accepting that I had failed. "Do your worst." I spread my arms out, wincing once again as pain shot down my left arm from the previous attack. But I could tell that Vespiquen did not want to attack…

"Stop, Vespiquen!" I heard someone shout from afar. I looked over briefly, where on the island Casey had awoken. She was surrounded by Misty's Water Pokemon, as well as her Meganium. "Please, stop it!" she begged once again. Vespiquen seemed to be in some distress. But still, it formed the Power Gem larger and larger. "Don't do it!" she screamed.

"Jonathyn, NO!" Misty's voice suddenly rung out through my ears. The whole forest seemed to echo with Misty's plea. I looked back at her. She was literally in tears. I looked over at Casey. She was also crying. In fact, even Brock had a small teardrop running down the side of his cheek. I sniffed a little, but accepted my fate. All of a sudden, I felt a strange presence. Something had appeared from the cave. A small, blue creature darted through the air and flew up directly into the sunlight. I was blinded by looking up at it, but I looked back to see that Vespiquen was looking up to the sky. Not at the mysterious creature in the air, but at empty sky. It leaned backwards and fired the Power Gem into the air, but not at any target. It had deflected its own attack. The small blue Pokemon came into view and floated right in between me and Vespiquen. It stared at me and playfully smiled. It then began to loop-the-loop around me and Vespiquen. The giant bee seemed to have become a lot more gentle and relaxed than before…

"Zel----f," it squeaked happily. As soon as it had done, a bright light blinded me as well as everyone around. Even the Pokemon tried to shield their eyes from the intense brightness. The white light engulfed the whole lake area. I tried to see what was going on, but had to squint once again due to the intensity of the luminosity. The next time I looked up, the Vespiquen had vanished into thin air, but the small blue pixie-like Pokemon still danced around me in the air.

"What… is going on?" I stammered, looking on in wonderment at the majestic creature. It floated down from the air, spiralling like a feather. It smoothly stopped right in front of my face. "Who are you?" I asked with a soft voice.

"Zel-Zelf," it happily giggled, as another blinding light appeared from nowhere. I could not see a thing, but I could feel all the pain that I had felt before just disperse from my body… What was happening…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: What has happened to Jonathyn when the light finally fades? What has happened to the Vespiquen? And whatever happened to the Pokemon that helped our heroes? Perhaps some of the answers will be revealed in the next chapter, as Jonathyn and Casey finally begin their Second Round Match!