Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Pokemon. Although I do own Pokemon Pearl... been playing it for hours... lame joke aside, let's continue.
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 11: LOVE INTERRUPTED! GO THROUGH AZELF'S LABYRINTH!
There was nothing that anyone could say that would snap me out of this mood that I was in. I could taste the ecstasy of victory across my lips and pumping wildly through my veins. It was almost as though I could not believe what I had accomplished. Particularly in defeating Casey's seemingly unstoppable Vespiquen. It was by no means easy, but I had done it. I was also glad that there were no hard feelings between myself and Casey after everything that had happened in the last couple of days or so. Now, I was slowly walking down the entrance tunnel in the opposite direction to when I entered the battlefield. Several trainers congratulated me as I walked past them. Obviously, they had watched the battle as it happened. I bowed my head to thank them. As I got back to my locker, I started to sort my belongings. I checked my backpack to ensure that nothing had been removed without my knowledge. The letter that Misty had sent me was still semi-stuck out of the locker. It reminded me that I had to see her at some point. A large plasma screen displaying the names of the advancing trainers of the second round was hanging at an angle from the ceiling. Several other trainers were also glancing at this screen. My name had just flashed onto the screen, added to the bottom of the list. There were still several more battles to be completed in this round, but I was more interested in seeing who had won previous battles. I immediately saw the emotionless face of Paul near the top of the board. I had already seen him defeat Misty in an earlier contest, much to my displeasure. My eyes then locked on another picture… this was a female with long, flowing blond hair. She had a couple of black bobs tied into them that did not look dissimilar to a Lucario's features. Part of her face was opaqued by the length of her hair.
"Where have I seen that face before?" I scratched my head in an attempt to remember. But my thoughts came back blank. "Oh well," I shrugged, not really caring. "I'm sure I'll find out somehow." The screen then flashed again, changing over to a battlefield that was covered in ice. A battle had just finished. I watched in interest to see the occurrences of the battle. I could see that one Pokemon had passed out, covered in small shards of icy snow from the field. I could tell from the feather sticking out of the dark Pokemon's weasel like head that it was a Sneasel. The camera panned over to show the Pokemon that had defeated it… a Wigglytuff. But it was like no other Wigglytuff I had ever seen. The look in its eyes was satanic and filled with darkness. It sent a small shiver down my spine as it glared at the camera. "I wouldn't like to face that thing," I murmered quietly. The camera then panned over to the Wigglytuff's trainer. My jaw dropped. I squinted my eyes as I turned away slightly. It was Harley. That flamboyant fool who had taunted me almost as many times as Paul had done since I had arrived at the Indigo Plateau. Although as annoying and disturbing as he was, he did not get under my skin as much as Paul did. Harley descended the podium as his Wigglytuff bounced over to his side was walked alongside him. Harley was blowing kisses out to the crowd, celebrating his victory. "I can't stand that guy," I sighed, turning back round to continue arranging my backpack. I noticed Nurse Joy walk into the room. She suddenly pipped up upon recognising me, walking up to my side.
"Hello Jonathyn," she greeted. "I know you've just had a gruelling battle, but we need to arrange your third round fixture." I quickly closed up my rucksack, before slinging it over my shoulder and standing vertically in front of Nurse Joy.
"Sure thing," I smiled, ready to find out who I was facing.
"Now, you realise that the rules have changed slightly for this Pokemon League?" she reminded me. I nodded, but not really aware of all the changes. "As part of regulations, all third and fourth round battles are different. Your opponent has already won their battle and has been drawn to face you. And since they have picked an opponent, it is now down to you to select a match type."
"How do I do that?" I asked, a little bit confused as to why they had suddenly changed the rules.
"I'll show you," Nurse Joy smiled, holding a Poke Ball in her hand. She held it out in front of her and from it popped out a small, yet cheerful Pokemon. It was a strange looking creature. It had a worm-like neck that was poking out from a shell of some description. There were several round holes in this shell, from four of them legs were protruding.
"Shuck," the Shuckle squeaked happily.
"Shuckle," Nurse Joy got down onto one knee to talk to it. "We need you to help this trainer select a match type!"
"Shuckle!" it cheered, seemingly delighted that it was able to help out. With that, Nurse Joy pulled out some pieces of card with different match types on them. She showed them to me, before folding them up and placing them inside Shuckle's shell. There were four different match types in total. The Shuckle withdrew its legs back into its shell, I assumed to mix the selections randomly. I kept on watching, waiting for something to happen.
"Well?" Nurse Joy pouted. "Are you going to pick one?" A sweatdrop appeared on my head.
"Uhhh… how?" I replied, feeling a little bit dumb.
"Just reach into the top of Shuckle's shell and pick one out," she giggled at my stupidity. I frowned slightly, but then couldn't help but let out a small laugh myself. I fumbled around, trying to find one of the pieces of card. Eventually, I placed my fingers around one of the cards and pulled it out of the shell. Shuckle then withdrew its legs, which were holding the other three cards. "Let's see what you've selected," Nurse Joy smiled, taking the card from my hand and unfolding it. She showed me the battle type. "A Double Battle," she confirmed to me. "Two Pokemon Each, the first to knock out both opponents wins."
"Fine by me," I smirked, as Nurse Joy withdrew her Shuckle from sight back into its Poke Ball. "So what now? Do I get any more details on the match?"
"Oh, yes," she was reminded. "Your opponent goes by the name of Darkhan." I began to snicker to myself.
"His name is Darken!?" I sniffed, trying not to burst out laughing.
"No, Dar-khan!" Nurse Joy corrected me. "As in Kangas-KHAN. Darkhan, you see?"
"I do now," I chuckled once again, still in complete disbelief that someone would actually call themselves such a ridiculous name.
"Now hold on," Nurse Joy sighed at my immaturity. "I want you to know that your battle will be on the Ice Field," she told me. I regained my composure and nodded, wiping a small tear from my eye.
"Sure thing," I snickered once again. "When will it be?"
"Midday, the day after tomorrow. So you now have time to choose which Pokemon you would like to use and train with them if you wish. Until then, the best of luck to you," Nurse Joy filled me with confidence as she walked out of the Trainer's Lounge. No sooner than she had left, Misty burst into the room out of breath.
"Whoa, steady there," I backed up, a little stunned by Misty's sudden entrance. "What's the hurry?"
"I'm sorry," Misty wheezed, almost completely out of breath. "I just wanted to catch you," she paused to catch a gulp of air, "before you went off."
"Where would I go?" I smiled. "I got your note, by the way. What's up?"
"Well, perhaps we ought to go somewhere a little bit quieter," Misty suggested. I seemed a little nervous. This was the first time that Misty and I had properly spoken since we had the argument about who attacked Casey, which turned out to be her Vespiquen even though I seemed to blame Brock's Croagunk. Even though Brock himself had told me about Misty's feelings for me, I had no idea what she was going to say to me. For all I knew, she could say to me that we had no future together. What was I thinking? I didn't know. These emotions… is it love? We carried on walking out of the Indigo Stadium and headed for the Trainer Village. I noticed that several trainers had packed their bags and left, since they had been eliminated from the tournament. We stopped just outside the cabin in which I was currently staying. "Mind if we go in?" Misty asked. I shook my head slightly, reaching for the key in my pocket. I pulled it out, a keychain with a miniature Poke Ball displayed my trainer number. With a click, the lock opened and we were soon inside the cabin. I quickly walked over to the window at the head of my bed. Misty sat near the foot of it. I could hear her patting the mattress as a signal for me to sit down. With a little bit of a dry throat, I did so. She hung her head for a second, before looking up at me and smiling.
"So…" I began bluntly. "What is it?"
"Well, I've been doing a bit of thinking," Misty began. "The first time I met you was back at the Cerulean Gym. You battled me for the Cascade Badge and you defeated me with your Chikorita. And even then, we became good friends…"
"Yeah," I stuttered. "So what?"
"Before then, I had been travelling with Brock and a boy from Pallet Town. His name was Ash…"
"Ash?" I asked with a slightly worried voice. I had heard her talking to Brock about Ash before, but I had never met him face to face. "I've heard you talking about him briefly before. From what I've heard, he seems like a decent guy."
"He really is," Misty nodded with a loving tone in her voice. "I travelled with him throughout all of Kanto and Johto. I also went to see him briefly in Hoenn, but he's never around. I really liked him, but things have just sort of fizzled out between us," she sighed with a sad voice. She then looked up at me. "But you are so similar to him. Your battle style, your sense of pride… it's all the same. And the thoughts of him just keep on flooding back."
"What are you getting at here, Misty?" I tried to make her get the point across. "I want to know how you feel."
"How I feel?" Misty said, raising her head and staring deeply into my eyes. "I feel confused," she answered. "I don't know what it is about you, Jonathyn. But there is a part of me that never wants to leave your side. When we had that argument last night, it was as though you took a piece of my heart with you. It was so upsetting. I spent the rest of the night talking to Brock. And it was all about you. Not Ash, but you!" I paused for a second. I did not quite know what to make of this. I hadn't heard a girl explain her feelings for me this way before in my life. I wasn't entirely sure on what to expect. "Jonathyn…" Misty whispered, still gazing at me. "I don't know the best way of putting this into words, but I'll try…" I began to shake all over, as if I knew exactly what she was going to say. My mind raced, trying to think of the right answers. Did I truly feel the same… "Jonathyn," she whispered my name softly once again. "I… I think I'm fall-"
"HELLO!?" a voice banged on the front door. Misty and I both bolted forward, surprised by the sudden interruption. Misty and I both sighed, but still looked at each other. Out of the blue, she leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips. I did not pull back, nor did I seem to return the kiss. My face overflowed with a deep crimson red. Misty did the same. She looked somewhat embarrassed, but I simply smiled at her. I stood up to answer the door. "ANYONE IN THERE?" I could hear Casey yelling at the top of her voice. With a small huff, I opened the door. Casey beamed at me, looking rather excited. "Hi Jonathyn," Casey said, rubbing her hands together uncontrollably. Brock was also stood next to her.
"Hello Casey," I sighed slightly. "How are you doing, Brock?" I acknowledged his presence.
"Not so bad," Brock returned a polite grin.
"We were going to head back to that lake and see if we could find the Azelf again!" Casey flapped excitedly. "You wanna come with us?"
"Uhh… let me see," I pondered the thought. I really wished that Misty and I could be left alone for just a little longer. But before I could come up with an answer, Misty walked up beside me, the blushing colour still apparent on her face. However, Casey was far too excited to notice and Brock seemed to be checking out some of the female trainers that walked past. Misty looked at me and nodded. I faced Casey once more. "Sure," I replied, although uncertainly. Casey bounced up and down in excitement.
"GREAT!" she squealed with glee in a high pitched voice. "We don't want to capture it, but we thought that if we could just see it again to make sure we weren't actually dreaming…"
"I get the picture," I interrupted. "What are we waiting for, then?" I quickly grabbed my backpack, which I had flung by the door. Misty followed me out of the door, before I snapped my fingers in sudden annoyance. "Damn," I scowled to myself. "I didn't get a chance to heal Gabite, Houndoom and Bayleef."
"Don't worry," Casey smiled. "Brock gave me some Full Restores, so if you want to we can heal them now for you."
"That's very good of you," I bowed thankfully. "You mind if we do it now?"
"Go right ahead," Casey nodded, as Brock passed her a Full Restore, then passed one on to me. I dropped the three Poke Balls to the ground. Houndoom welcomingly barked as it appear. Gabite let out a tired yawn and Bayleef stomped around, pleased to see everyone. "I'll heal your Bayleef," Casey approached it with one of the medicines. "I know where Bayleef like to be healed, since Meganium evolved from one." I smiled, as Bayleef nuzzled the side of her face despite the fact she had been a foe just moments ago.
"If you could heal Gabite for me, Brock," I asked. "I'll sort Houndoom out."
"No problem," Brock smiled. Gabite seemed a little taken aback when the spray first hit its skin. But it soon relaxed and seemed to enjoy the treatment it was getting from the Pokemon Breeder. Bayleef was literally loving the attention that Casey was giving it, as she stroked it under the leaf on its head. Houndoom was also rather affectionate towards me as I applied the treatment. Misty watched on, seemingly delighted by the reaction that my Pokemon were giving. Moments later, the Pokemon were refreshed and restored. They cried out happily as their wounds were healed. I called for them to return, before thanking Brock and Casey for their assistance.
"Shall we set off?" Casey pointed towards the forest not far from the Trainer Village. We all nodded, as we quickly headed towards the forest. For some reason, Misty seemed to distance herself slightly from me whilst Casey and Brock were around, yet as soon as they were a little ahead, she'd cling on to my arm and hold my hand. She was possibly concerned that Casey might say something about the matter. I did not mind though. I was already thinking about my next battle… a Double Battle against the man known as Dar-KHAN. I had no idea what to expect from him, since I had never even heard of him before. But what I did know was that we would battle on the Ice Field, so I needed to try and find a way to utilise my surroundings. Something which Gabite managed to do almost perfectly in my last match, but this next match might be different. The ice on the battlefield could severely affect Gabite's performance due to its intolerance for the extreme cold. On the other hand, Gabite has pulled out the stops for me in the last two rounds, so perhaps it will be more useful than one would think. But what about its partner? Possibly Houndoom, since Fire Types are a perfect match for ice types. I considered my options. There was also my Lairon, which I had not used in an official battle as of yet, but it did cause some major damage to Harley's Pokemon when we confronted him a couple of days ago. But there was that rivalry. Gabite and Lairon simply cannot co-exist with each other. I do not really understand why. I tried to think back to the day when I first realised that there was tension between the two… but before I had the chance, I felt my whole body feel a sudden sensation.
SPLAT!
My foot had slipped down a muddy embankment. My face fell flat into the thick mud. Casey and Brock turned see what had happened. Misty was almost in tears, laughing at my misfortune. I chuckled as well, as I picked myself up. After wiping chunks of mud off my face and my coat, I threw a Poke Ball into the air. Pelipper appeared in front of everyone. It only took one look at me, before it felt about laughing as well. Mind you, Pelipper has always enjoyed the fun side of life…
"This is going to sound very strange, Pelipper," I began, still shaking some mud from my person. "But could you use Water Gun on me, just slightly…" Pelipper cocked its head to one side, still holding back the laughter. "Come on," I sighed, chortling at myself a little more. "I'm covered in mud, can't you see? So please, use your Water Gun to rinse me off." Pelipper appeared to shrug its wings before firing a torrent of water at me. The water hit me so hard, it sent me flying backwards into a tree. I felt my back crack as it hit. I tried to order Pelipper to stop, but it could not hear me. The water was gurgling around my mouth. I waved my hands for Pelipper to stop. Eventually, the stream of water ceased. Pelipper could not help but caw in hilarity. I was literally soaked. That was certainly no regular Water Gun… "Ugh…" I groaned as I peeled myself from the tree trunk, shaking some water out of my hair. "Looks like you learned how to use Hydro Pump, then…"
"Pelipper Pel-Pelipper!" it called to me.
"That's rather handy," I laughed. "Thank you for that. Pelipper return!" I called, as Pelipper grinned obligingly. I noticed that Casey, Brock and Misty were all in stitches with regarding to what had happened. I could not help but hysterically smile as well. We continued walking, as I continued to wring my clothes to get rid of the excess water. We soon arrived at the clearing that we had been at before. The lake area was completely serene. Various wild Pokemon had congregated around and in the lake. Magikarp were leaping high out of the water, before flopping back down with a splash. Schools of Goldeen and Seaking were swimming elegantly around the lake. A Corphish was scuttling across the lakeside bank, chasing a frightened Krabby. I noticed a couple of Yanma hovering just above the lakes surface, trying to get a quick drink before flittering off in another direction. We looked around and could indeed see that the cave in which Casey was recovering beforehand was still visible. But something was stood in the entrance way. A bipedal figure, walking upright like a human. I glared as it entered the cave.
"Wonder what that is?" Brock exclaimed quietly. "We need to get over there somehow."
"Well I know how I'm getting over there," Casey smiled. "Let's go, Relicanth!" Casey called, as an old-looking fish appeared in the water. It let out a long yawn that even made me drowsy.
"When did you get a Relicanth?" Misty asked, observing the half-Water, half-Rock Pokemon with intent.
"I went on a scuba diving trip while I was dating Georgio," Casey turned to Misty. "You remember him, right?"
"Yeah, I remember," Misty blushed a little. She turned away as if to hide it from me. I peered over, but she just sweetly smiled at me. I had no idea who Georgio was or how Misty knew of him, nor did I really care.
"Relicanth is great," Casey smiled. "Nice scales, strong swimmer and has a great defence! But let's get to the matter at hand. Relicanth, could you Surf me over to that cave for me?"
"Re--licanth," it yawned wearily, but nodded as Casey carefully manoeuvred onto its back.
"How are you three going across?" Casey asked.
"Easy!" Misty replied, as her Gyarados appeared right beside the Relicanth. Misty and Brock climbed on board, but I remained on the shore for a moment. "It's okay, Jonathyn," Misty comforted me.
"It's not that," I differed. "It's just that I don't want to cause your Gyarados any grief. The serpent faced me and shook its head as if to say I was talking nonsense. Misty gave me the same look. "Fine," I sighed. "If that's alright with you, Gyarados." It let out an intimidating roar, which made the hairs on my neck stand on end. Misty giggled.
"Gyarados says it isn't a problem," she grinned. "Over we go, then." Gyarados and Relicanth began swimming forwards, towards the cave. The figure had now walked right inside the mouth of it, fading from our view. I was incredibly surprised to see that the seemingly old and weary Relicanth was keeping up with the gigantic Gyarados. It took us a few minutes to reach the other side of the lake and onto the island on which the cave was situated. We departed the backs of the respective Pokemon, who were then returned into their Poke Balls. Casey brushed off some water droplets from her bare legs, as we approached the mouth of the cave.
"So who wants to go in first?" Casey shuddered. "It's a bit dark in there…"
"I'll go," I boldly proclaimed, stepping forward. Misty quickly ran up to my side and clung on to my arm like an Octillery's tentacle. "I guess you don't like the dark?" I whispered in a caring, yet somewhat mocking tone. Misty whimpered as she bobbed her head. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," I smiled. Casey and Brock followed behind Misty and I as we walked down a long passageway. We were passing under a colony of Zubat, whose ear-piercing screeches echoed throughout the cave. We began to run, covering our ears due to the excessive noise. We did not realise how far we had run, until we arrived at a large opening. The sound of Zubat had faded at long last. The cave seemed to come to a stop. A long line of circular boulders cut off what looked like another passageway.
"We'll never be able to climb over those boulders," Misty whispered.
"SSH!" Brock begged up to be silent, pointing to the end of the line of rocks. I turned to look at where he was pointing and froze, intimidated by what I saw. It was an Onix. It's rock body had completely blocked the passageway, and it had its eyes closed. Although its heavy breathing produced a warm, yet moist wind that blew throughout the cavern. "Whatever you do, don't wake it up," Brock whispered, waving his hand to tell us to follow him. We snuck past it, tip toeing past its tail. There was a gap just small enough for us to squeeze through. Brock ushered Casey to go through first, then he followed.
"Go on," I urged firmly, but no louder than a whisper as not to disturb the sleeping giant. Misty held my hand as she slid past the Onix as the other two had done, but then she stopped dead. I wondered why. "What are you stopping for?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to give her a small push to encourage her.
"L-Look there," she stuttered as she pointed with a shaky finger. I seemed none the wiser until I looked back behind us. An Electrode had rolled up to where we were sneaking through. It had a mischievous expression on its face. Now, I'm not the biggest expert on Pokemon, but I know enough to know that Electrodes are notorious for self-destructing for no reason at all. From what I gathered, this one had every intention to do so and it would hold no regret, even if it caused us serious harm. We needed to get through this gap before the Electrode detonated, otherwise there is a good chance that the shocked Onix will crush us like bugs between its massive rock body and the cave wall.
"Electrode! Electrode!" the spherical Pokemon menacingly laughed, as it stared right at me.
"Don't do it, Electrode," I whispered, hoping that my pleas would somehow get through to the Electric Pokemon. It smirked at me, before tapping itself against the tail of the Onix. I could hear it yawn as its enormous rock head raised up, before lowering back down and falling asleep once again. The Electrode seemed to knock it harder and harder with each go. Misty had quite literally frozen with fear. I tried to get her to move, but she wasn't complying. The danger is now at its highest. "Come on, Misty," I tried to nudge her along yet again, as Brock and Casey reached for her free hand. I quickly looked at the Electrode. No sooner than I did, it began to glow a pale white.
"Hurry, Misty!" I begged, knowing that we could be seconds away from certain death. Brock and Casey, along with myself finally managed to get Misty through the gap between the next passageway and the Onix. I did not hesitate as I quickly followed.
"Trode! Electrode!" I could hear the Ball Pokemon yell as it's energy became too great for it to contain. The entire cave shook as the Electrode self-destructed, the explosion causing the Onix to awaken in a blind rage. From the roof of the cave, a series of large rocks began to rain down. "Run for it!" I yelled in a panic, as we ran for our lives as far away down the passageway as possible. But we stopped as another cave-in blocked our route. Mercifully, the rubble that had fallen from the passageway behind us had stopped just metres from the blockade in front of us.
"That was a close one!" Casey panted, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"Too right," Misty also caught her breath back. "But what do we do now?" she huffed as she noticed that we had nowhere to go. I was also too busy surveying the situation to comment. I knew that we were in more trouble than was apparent. Who knows how thick the cave walls are… I didn't want to cause another cave-in. That would almost certainly seal our fate.
"We're trapped like Rattatas," I sighed, as I pounded my fist against the cave floor…
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: Can our heroes escape from their cavernous prison before it's too late? And what other challenges must they face as they continue to search for the illusive Azelf?