DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon...blah blah blah...

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 9: MUTUAL RESPECT! COMMENCE BATTLE WITH CASEY!

Once the light had faded, I found myself in a room filled with fellow trainers. Some were packing up some items that they had brought with them, whilst others were preparing themselves for what lies ahead of them. Pokemon of various shapes, sizes, types and genders were flexing and psyching themselves up. I was sat down on a bench, with a locker just behind me with "Jonathyn Christian – KAN-259" engraved on a small plaque-like sign. I was holding four Poke Balls in my hands, each of which contained the Pokemon that I currently had in my possession. I suddenly realised what was happening. My second round match… it was moments away before it began. I was shocked to see the time. It was almost quarter to three. Only another fifteen minutes until it began. But to be truthful, I felt far from prepared. I could have two more Pokemon that I could use in this battle. I was fortunate though that unlike previous Pokemon League competitions I had entered, I did not have to register which Pokemon I was going to be using in battle. A blessing considering the events of the last couple of days, which had well and truly taken up all the free time that I had. I then clicked on to something… how on earth did I get here? The last thing I remembered was seeing that small, blue Pokemon… the blinding light. Then that memory reminded me of the punishment I received from that giant Vespiquen. I took a look down my left side, where it had hit me the first time. My clothes seemed to be freshly cleaned. I rolled my shoulder to check whether there were any repercussions from that incident, but there was no pain at all. It was as though everything that happened was undone. What had happened? My head began to hurt as I pondered the thought, but I soon snapped out of this trance-like state and resumed thinking about the matter in hand. I looked up at the clock. I now only had ten minutes to fully prepare myself for the battle. I glanced down at the four Poke Balls I was holding. One contained my oldest comrade, Houndoom. The second held my sturdy Lairon. In the third Poke Ball, my powerful Gabite that I had caught in Sinnoh. And finally, my flying Pokemon of the sea, Pelipper. I could still withdraw two more Pokemon from the PC that was back in the lobby, but time was short. I thought about the Pokemon that I knew Casey may use. Houndoom would be a must in this battle. Gabite could also come in useful, but I felt reluctant about using Pelipper, particular on the Rock Field. Houndoom would be somewhat of a trump card. Yet Lairon, despite its advantage of being in the perfect environment would be suspect to many type disadvantages. I needed to withdraw another Pokemon and I knew exactly which one I was going to use. I jumped up out of my seat and ran down the corridor back into the lobby, only to see several queues in front of the PCs that one could use to access their Pokemon that they had in storage. I joined the back of the shortest queue on the other side of the lobby. The person in front of me was just finishing. I was taken aback to see that it was Casey. She smiled politely at me.

"Ummm, hello Casey," I greeted with a little uncertainty. I was as surprised as I was before upon seeing that all of her wounds had too healed rapidly. She looked as though she was at full strength. She held three Poke Balls in her hands. Obviously the ones that she was about to battle me with.

"Hi Jonathyn," she replied respectfully. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm grand," I nodded, wiping my forehead as a small drop of sweat appeared. "Do you have any idea what happened to us?" Casey paused for a moment.

"I remember Vespiquen attacking everything," she began. "Then it was about to attack you, but the Azelf came and rescued us all."

"Azelf?" I asked, having never heard of such a Pokemon before. "What kind of Pokemon is that?"

"It's a Pokemon that most people believe to be a myth," Casey grinned. "It's legendary. They say that Azelf have the ability to control willpower and are born with incredible telekinetic powers."

"A Legendary Psychic Type?" I wondered to myself. "That could explain how we winded up back here so suddenly.

"Could be," Casey shrugged. There was then an awkward silence between the two of us. She tried her best not to look at me, but she could not seem to help it. I reached around the back of my neck and itched it in somewhat ineptness. Finally, I decided to break the silence.

"Listen," I grovelled with a sad tone. "I just wanted to say to you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for treating you so deplorably over the last couple of days."

"Oh, forget it," she smiled. "We both knew from the start that we are opponents. And being close friends with Misty has only brought our rivalry closer. There's no room in the Pokemon League for wimps. And from what I've seen from you, you are far from that." I cracked a large grin, pleased with what Casey was saying.

"It's not Misty's fault," I sighed. "But I'll tell you what, Casey. You're right about one thing. There's no place for wimps here. So I say we go out there and have the best battle we can."

"It's a promise!" she exclaimed, grasping my hand and shaking it competitively. "I'd best let you get on," she grinned. "We've got about five minutes before we're scheduled to start."

"Thanks Casey," I smiled, quickly spinning round and typing my details into the PC, but just as I had begun the loading sequence, I called back. "Hey, Casey…" she also stopped and turned to face me.

"Yeah?" she asked. I paused for a moment for some dramatic effect.

"Good luck to you," I grinned slyly. "You're going to need it." Casey simply smirked back. She could tell that I was having a quick joke with her, but I certainly meant it. She walked off down the corridor calmly, as I finally opened my first 'Box' on the PC. Immediately, I saw the first two Pokemon on the list. I grinned almost uncontrollably. "How could I forget about you guys," I laughed. "You could help me out big time in this next match!" I tapped on some more buttons and soon enough, in a small machine just to the right of the screen, two Poke Balls materialised before my very eyes. They widened as the machine whirred to a halt. I opened the glass chamber and withdrew the two spheres from the machine. I logged off as fast as I could, hoping that I still had time to make some final preparations. I bolted it down the corridor, trying not to bump in several other trainers who had been walking in various directions. I made it back to the waiting room, when I saw that a sealed envelope was sticking out of the door crease of my locker. I pulled it out. It was indeed addressed to me. Looking at the time on the wall, I had just seconds to spare as I tore it open. I pulled out a small letter.

"Jonathyn,

We might all be friends, but I feel closest to you. Sorry for yelling at you last night. I hope you can forgive me. I'll be rooting for you. After your match, I need to talk to you. So hurry up and win. Don't keep me waiting.

Love Misty."

I smiled and sighed at the same time. I held my head up high.

"Don't worry, Misty. I won't keep you waiting," I walked confidently and calmly down the tunnel, where I could hear the fans shouting. An official was waiting for me at the end. I held up my competitor's card, which contained my identification number and details.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls," a voice echoed throughout the arena. "This is a Second Round Pokemon Battle right here on the Rock Field. Let's not waste anymore time and get on with the show. Introducing first, from Azalea Town in Johto, the man who defeated Carl Webb's rather unorthodox Rhyhorn in the first round with great style. Please welcome Jonathyn Christian!" The crowd erupted as the official motioned for me to take my position on the battlefield. I did not play to the crowd, but simply smiled in awe at the amount of people. Everyone looked so compact, shoulder to shoulder and barely enough room to stand. I took my position on a red platform, which rose up into the air the same height as Misty and Paul had been in their second round brawl. I stared over the battlefield. The Rock Field was where Harley had also battled just a couple of days ago. On this very podium, in fact.

"I hope they cleaned this," I muttered to myself, shuddering as the thought of Harley popped back into my mind. I refused to let my mind wander any longer and stared at the field once more. Many large boulders and standing rock formations made this a perfect place to use all sorts of different strategies. I had mine all planned out, but what kind of plan did Casey have? I had some idea, but I knew there was going to be something that would completely tear my strategy apart.

"And secondly, from the mighty city of Goldenrod also in the Johto region. She impressively defeated her last rival with great determination. Put your hands together for Casey!" The crowd cheered once again, as I saw Casey walk out from a tunnel on the other side of the battlefield. I wondered to myself how she managed to get there so fast, but quickly shook the thought away as Casey waved to the crowd. Her podium, painted a green colour began to rise as well. We were now on the same level, staring a hole through each other intensely, yet with high levels of respect. An official holding a red flag and a green flag stepped forward.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon Battle. Trainers can switch their Pokemon at any time and re-use them until they have fainted. There will be no time limit for this battle. Are you both ready?" Casey nodded, as did I with a smirk. "In that case, let the battle begin!" he called, raising both flags.

"OK, Rapidash! I choose you!" Casey called, as a stallion with a mane and tail of burning hot flame appeared on the Rock Field. I knew Misty had told me that she had a fire Pokemon, but I didn't expect a Rapidash to appear. I already had my first Pokemon in hand, ready to battle.

"I select Houndoom!" I shouted, releasing my dark underworld canine onto the battlefield. It barked its name as it usually does.

"And both trainers have chosen Fire Types to start off this first battle. The Dark Houndoom against the mighty fast Rapidash. Who will make their first move?" a commentator provided his feedback to the crowd.

"Rapidash, start things off with your Double Kick," Casey shouted, over exaggeratingly. The unicorn of flame neighed in response, before rearing up on its hind legs and lashed its front hooves at Houndoom. They connected to Houndoom's side, sending it backwards. Houndoom looked shaken by the strong attack, but managed to stay on its feet.

"Man, that thing has a strong Double Kick," I called over to Casey.

"Thanks," she called back. "I've been raising this Pokemon for a while and I taught it a whole bunch of cool moves."

"Well, Houndoom and I have a few tricks too," I grinned. "Let's go for a Faint Attack." Immediately, Houndoom began to run at Casey's Rapidash before fading into the air. Rapidash looked around in confusion, before Houndoom collided with it's hind quarters. Rapidash stumbled, but did not fall down. Casey frowned as the attack hit. "Faint Attack again," I shouted knowing that every time Faint Attack would be a direct hit. Once again, Houndoom disappeared and struck the rear side of Rapidash. This time it fell down, but quickly got back up to its feet.

"Rapidash, use Agility and then Double Kick," Casey ordered. The horse neighed once again and with an incredible burst of speed raced towards Houndoom, this time the Double Kick landed extra hard! The Agility not only raised Rapidash's speed drastically, it also seemed to boost the power of the Double Kick. Houndoom yelped in pain, before crashing into one of the rock formations. A cloud of dust and chunks of rock scattered through the air. "How do you like that?" she punched the air in delight. My eyes widened at her tactics. But I soon smirked, knowing how to turn this into my advantage.

"Use Faint Attack in the dust cloud," I continued grinning with content. Rapidash seemed a little agitated as Houndoom faded into the dust cloud, before colliding head on with Rapidash. "Follow up with Crunch!" I shouted again. Using its sharp fangs, it clamped down on the top of the fire-horse's neck. It neighed in pain and the sharp teeth sunk in deep. After thrashing for a moment, it managed to shake Houndoom off of it. It shook the pain away, before scraping its hoof along the floor, ready to attack in retaliation.

"This is turning out to be a very back and forth match!" the commentator excitedly spoke over the announcement system. "Both Rapidash and Houndoom are knocking each other blow for blow, yet both Pokemon seem to be equally matched."

"Not for long," Casey chuckled. "Use Sunny Day, Rapidash!" she called. With that, Rapidash's tail began to glow a bright yellow colour, before launching a beam of perpetual light towards the sun. The sun in turn began to radiate stunningly brightly. I covered my eyes slightly, but then realised Casey's mistake.

"So, you think that boosting your Fire Type moves will stop Houndoom?" I laughed boastfully. "Think again. Sunny Day boosts ALL fire type moves, not just your own. Fire Blast, Houndoom!" I began to smile uncontrollably as Houndoom roared upon spitting a large star-shaped flame directly towards Rapidash.

"Stay still, Rapidash. Don't move," Casey ordered, smirking herself. I suddenly changed my smile into a frown.

"What are you up to, Casey?" I wondered out loud.

"You'll see," she carried on smiling. The Fire Blast approached Rapidash with overwhelming power, but rather than causing damage, it seemed to somehow merge with the flames that formed its mane and tail. The flames expanded, burning at a much higher height. I was in awe at this sight. Casey's Rapidash appeared to be burning alive, but it did not even seem to phase it. It let out a loud neigh, rearing up on its hind legs, seemingly proud of the new power radiating from it. "You'll regret that little mistake," Casey laughed, pleased that her tactic had succeeded. "Rapidash's Flash Fire ability negates all fire type attacks and heightens the power of it's own fire attacks. And with additional power boost it gains from Sunny Day, its attacks are nearly unstoppable. So go, Rapidash! Use Flare Blitz now!" I could not believe this was happening! The Rapidash suddenly galloped at tremendous speed towards Houndoom. So fast in fact that at full speed, its whole body was covered by the massive flames that Houndoom's Fire Blast had caused. It slammed into Houndoom with deadly force. It crashed into another pile of rocks. How much more punishment could Houndoom take? I looked on, praying that Houndoom was still alright. As the cloud of dust settled once again, I could see Houndoom struggling to stay upright.

"Houndoom can't keep this up," I sighed to myself. "Return, Houndoom," I called my Pokemon back into its Poke Ball to take a well earned rest. The mistake I had made had cost me dearly. I began to think of possible ways to put Casey on the back foot. Lairon would not last a second against the sheer power that the Rapidash's fire type attacks were currently producing. I was juggling the idea of using either Pelipper or Gabite, since they could both withstand Rapidash's attacks, while also scoring some type advantages. Yet that Sunny Day would weaken Pelipper's water attacks. Within seconds, I made a snap decision. "Gabite, you're up!" I shouted, throwing my Dragon Pokemon onto the battlefield. It stood right in front of a large rock formation.

"Gaba, Gabite!" it growled, staring at the magnificent Rapidash. Casey frowned a little.

"I would return you, Rapidash," I could lip read what she was muttering to herself. "But the power boost you have is too great right now." She grinned. "Use Flare Blitz on Gabite," she shouted. Once again, it charged at full pelt, burning with the colours of yellow and orange. The flames almost turned into stripes of the colours as it ran. I seemed mesmerized by this…

Yellow Stripes…

I quickly snapped out of my trance.

"Dig quickly!" I shouted at Gabite. In an instant, Gabite vanished under the ground. Rapidash did not seem to notice this and slammed head first into the boulder that was just behind where Gabite was stood. Casey gasped, as Rapidash seemed to have taken a lot of recoil damage from that attempted Flare Blitz. Now was the perfect time to attack back. "Come up, Gabite!" I shouted down at the ground, hoping that it could hear me. The ground cracked a little, as Gabite surged out of the ground, knocking Rapidash off its feet and onto its side. Casey gasped.

"Rapidash, no!" she cried out, as her Rapidash twitched on the ground. "Get up, Rapidash, please!" she begged. The horse struggled, but amazingly got back up to its feet. I could not believe that Gabite's Dig did not defeat it, especially with the amount of harm that Houndoom had inflicted on it. The crowd was in uproar.

"Unbelievable!" the commentator shrieked in exhilaration. "Casey has raised a mighty fine Rapidash here. It's taking some punishment now, but can it withstand any more attacks from Gabite?" I tried to think of the next best form of attack, now that Rapidash was stunned. "Use Sandstorm!" I gave the instruction with a gleam in my eye. With an impressive swing of its tail, a stream of sand was whipped up into the air. Rapidash squinted and tried to turn away from the sandstorm, but that left it completely prone to attack. "Dig, one more time!" I ordered. Gabite quickly made a hole in the ground and surged towards Rapidash, leaving a crack in the ground as it moved.

"Double Kick as soon as it comes out of the ground," Casey yelled, her voice being muffled by the sandstorm. I could see Gabite pop out of the ground, but no sooner than it did Rapidash lifted its hind legs and brutally kicked Gabite right in the face. The crowd winced as the attack landed. Gabite skidded across the ground at the force of the attack. I was completely astounded that Rapidash was still standing, let alone being able to come back with such a strong and effective counter. "We're not going down without a fight, Jonathyn!" Casey called over to me. I nodded. This was possibly the most difficult battle I had ever fought. And this was only her first Pokemon. I knew I had to end this quickly… I thought back to my first round battle, when I used Gabite to defeat Carl Webb's Rhyhorn…

"Dig!" I yelled, just as the next Ice Beam raced towards Gabite. A cloud of icy steam and smoke filled the battle field as the attack landed. I waited in anticipation just to see how my strategy had fared. And sure enough, as soon as the smoke cleared, I could see a large hole in the grassy field. Gabite had escaped underground. Rhyhorn and it's trainer both looked bewildered. "Now it's time to wrap this up… Gabite, use Earthquake and then come on up!" With that, the ground began to move. Rhyhorn wobbled as the earth beneath him rocked. It lost it's balance and toppled onto it's side. Gabite could sense this and with a burst of energy it shot up from beneath the surface, sending the Rhyhorn hurtling into the air. It crashed to the earth with a mighty thud. A cloud of dust blew into the air and as it dispersed, the Rhyhorn had a dazed look in it's eyes. It had been defeated…

"That's it!" I snapped my fingers. "Dig one more time, then use Earthquake underground!" Gabite seemed to smile as it remembered the tactic. It quickly escaped, with the sandstorm still impairing Rapidash's vision. Then the entire field began to tremor violently. Rapidash lost its footing in the same way as that Rhyhorn had done. Laying prone to an attack on its side, Gabite once again burst out from the ground, this time landing the attack on Rapidash's underbelly. The sunlight seemed to fade, along with the sandstorm as Rapidash lay on the ground, barely moving. It's eyes told the tale.

"Rapidash is no longer able to battle," the official shouted, raising one of his flags in his usual fashion. "Gabite is the winner!" The crowd cheered for Gabite, also applauding the valiant effort that Casey and her Rapidash had put into the match. Casey called back Rapidash, thanking it for its hard work. She reached for her second Poke Ball.

"Good recovery considering that first mistake you made. But you'll definitely have trouble with this Pokemon," she smiled. "Meganium, let's go!" With that, she tossed Meganium's Poke Ball onto the battlefield. With a flash of red light, the Grass-Type sauropod appeared right in front of Gabite. I grinned to myself.

"Gabite, you've done fantastically well. Take a quick break," I returned Gabite into it's Poke Ball, before reaching for the third Pokemon that I was going to use in this battle. It would also be the last different Pokemon I could use too. "It's time for your Meganium to meet the relatives, Casey." I smirked. "Go Bayleef!" As I launched my Poke Ball forward, I could tell that my choice of Pokemon had taken the wind out of Casey's sails a little. The pre-evolution of Meganium appeared before it. "Bay, Bay," it called happily.

"Cute," Casey laughed, half-heartedly. "But Meganium is a lot stronger than your Bayleef. So let's start things off with a Vine Whip," Meganium suddenly sprouted two long vines from behind the flower on its neck and hurled them forward at my Bayleef. I smiled at this, knowing how to put Meganium away quickly.

"Dodge that Vine Whip, then use Toxic!" I shouted. Instantly, Bayleef swayed to one side to dodge the Vine Whip attack, before the scythe like leaf that grew from its forehead began to glow a dark purple, similar to the way that Brock's Croagunk's fingers does when it delivers a Poison Jab. Bayleef thundered forward toward its evolved cousin, before slashing it with the poisonous leaf. Meganium began to look ill, as the poison started to flow through its body. "It's only a matter of time now, Bayleef!" I called, knowing that the poison would soon wear Meganium right down.

"I don't think so," Casey wagged her finger at me, in a similar way that Harley would, mockingly and cockily. "Aromatherapy will heal you, Meganium. Do it." With that, the petals protruding from Meganium's neck began to glow and emits a soothing pulse of natural energy. Soon, the cut from which the poison had entered healed up. The poison effect had worn off. I was dumbstruck that Casey was able to counter my strategy yet another time. "I knew that someone would try a Poison Attack at some point on my Meganium, so how could I not have it learn a move that heals it from all status problems?" Casey called her tactics over to me. I simply shook a fist in frustration. "Now then, where were we? Oh yeah, let's try out a Sweet Scent." Casey's Meganium smiled, as the pulses of aromatic energy changed its direction, as well as turning a lighter shade of pink. The smell seemed to catch Bayleef by surprise, as it began to sniff around in wonder. It liked the smell. "Vine Whip!" Casey called. Bayleef was still trying to figure out where the smell was coming from and did not even see the vines coming. They whipped Bayleef across the face several times. Bayleef began to scowl, as if it were cursing itself for falling for such an attack.

"Don't worry, Bayleef," I encouragingly called over to it. "Let's use Magical Leaf." Bayleef grinned, as it began throwing a barrage of multi-coloured leaves into the air. They all scattered in different directions, but ultimately sliced at Meganium, even though it had seemingly tried to dodge. "Do it again!" I called, knowing that Magical Leaf would never miss its target. Once again the leaves flew through the air and connected with Meganium.

"Is that your best policy?" Casey taunted. "Just Magical Leaf all the time? I'll soon change that. Sunny Day, Meganium!" In the same way her Rapidash had, Meganium unleashed the attack skyward. The sun became much brighter.

"For the second time in this battle, Casey is having her Pokemon use Sunny Day," the announcer called out, rather enthusiastically in an identical manner as he had done the rest of the match.

"Sunny Day again?" I laughed. "What good is that?"

"Solarbeam, now!" Casey ignored my comments. Meganium stared towards the sun. It's petals turned a pale white, glowing with energy. As soon as it opened its mouth, a beam of solar energy rocketed forward, sending Bayleef hurtling back once again. Although it was shaken from the attack, it still maintained its vertical base.

"Bayleef, take a rest," I called back my Pokemon for the third time in total. Casey frowned. She seemed to know what was coming. "Houndoom, I need you!" I summoned my Fire Type Pokemon onto the field. Houndoom seemed to relish the strong sunlight. "Use Flamethrower on Meganium!" I shouted. A fiery ball of flame swirled around Houndoom's mouth, before unleashing the attack straight at Meganium. The Sunny Day made the attack much stronger, and Meganium seemed to be severely weakened by the blaze. Casey looked on in distress. There was nothing she could do this time.

"Solarbeam again, Meganium!" she called out frantically, knowing now that her Meganium would not be able to withstand too much of this kind of punishment. Once again, the sauropod-like Pokemon shot it's Solarbeam directly at Houndoom. The speed of which it fired the attack was astonishing. I did not even have time to order my Houndoom to dodge it. But even though the attack connected, Houndoom still stood tall. "This can't be happening!" Casey shriek in vain.

"Let's finish this one with Fire Blast!" I shouted, knowing that the victory was creeping ever closer. A star of burning flames erupted from Houndoom's mouth and connected with Meganium head on. It went whizzing past some rocks, before finally crashing just below Casey's podium. Meganium lay nearly motionless on the floor, but it picked up its head with the last of its energy. And even though it made a valiant attempt to get back up, it dropped back down in exhaustion. I punched the air with delight.

"Meganium can no longer continue! Houndoom wins this round." The official confirmed the outcome. I was happy knowing that I had whittled Casey's Pokemon down from three to one. I grinned in anticipation, wonder which Pokemon Casey would use next."

"This is an incredible match up!" the commentator boomed. "Jonathyn has switched all of his Pokemon at good times. He still has all three of his Pokemon fighting fit, whereas Casey is now down to her last. What will she choose to battle back?"

"You know what, Casey?" I called over to her. "You've raised your Pokemon very well and you've taught them some good moves. I was a little worried when you used Aromatherapy to heal the Toxic attack…"

"Thanks," she bowed. "But this isn't over yet." She then glared at me with the most serious look any trainer had given me since my arrival here at the Pokemon League. She then let out a smirk that was almost as sly as my own. "You know how I lost one of my Pokemon after I was attacked?"

"Huh?" I stuttered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with this," Casey chuckled. "I got it back earlier… and I suppose now would be a good time to introduce you to my newest comrade." I suddenly gasped, as she launched her Poke Ball skywards. From it emerged her ominous Pokemon. Were my eyes deceiving me? They couldn't have been. Just a few feet away from Houndoom, the Pokemon's eyes began to glow the same shade of crimson that they had done the last time I saw them. It hovered as it usually does, just a couple of inches from the ground. It loomed over Houndoom, ready to strike. Casey then began laughing to herself, as I remained completely flabbergasted.

"No way!" I gawped to myself in disbelief… "That…Vespiquen… belongs to Casey!?"

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT TIME: Casey and her newly acquired Vespiquen battle back against Jonathyn's team. Will Casey pull off a huge win? Or can Jonathyn somehow figure out a way to defeat this monstrous Pokemon?