Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon nor the characters portrayed in this story with the exception of Jonathyn and other trainers not seen in the games nor the anime.

MESSAGE TO READERS: Well, I've cut off a little from the main Pokemon League for a couple of chapters. But never fear, there is still plenty of storyline left as well as many more battles to fight in. The "Azelf" mini-arc will go on for a couple more chapters, before leading up to something else. If anyone can guess how this story will end out, I'll give you a cookie... heh heh. So other than that, go grab a lemonade, kick back and enjoy!

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 12: SETTING DIFFERENCES ASIDE! GABITE AND LAIRON'S TRUCE

The time was drifting past as slow as could be. I could tell that none of my friends knew how to rectify this situation and neither did I. How on earth we were still alive I did not know. The amount of air that the four of us had left to breathe was running thin. I had begun to inhale a lot more heavily than before. Even though time was running out, none of us had any idea of how we could get out of this. Casey had suggested earlier that we could use our Pokemon to clear a route, but there was still the chance of causing another cave in. And of course we had tried moving the rubble aside ourselves, but the sheer bulk of the debris was too much for even our combined efforts. I was genuinely frightened. So much in fact that I was beginning to lose hope. Misty had slumped against one of the rocks that impeded our path. Brock had also sat down, but up against the side of the cavern. Casey had curled up in the corner and had gone to sleep, still breathing as deeply as the rest of us. I was pacing back and forth, shuddering due to the cold. I did not want to sit down. The cave floor was dank and looked horrible to sit on. Brock had begun reading a manual of some sort. I glanced over his shoulder to read what it was. It was all to do with Pokemon habitats. Particularly, I noticed his finger scrolling down a paragraph describing caves. Obviously, he was reading to see what kind of threats we may face. He looked up at me, shaking his head in dismay.

"This isn't good," Brock weakly sighed. "Cave dwelling Pokemon don't like being disturbed by humans and often react aggressively to anyone who should come across them." He lowered his head to read the words of his book once more. "Explains why that Electrode blew itself up," he muttered in addition.

"Does it say of what kind of Pokemon live in caves?" I asked.

"Mainly Rock and Ground type Pokemon," Brock explained. "Although some Poison and Grass Pokemon can survive here too, not to mention certain Fighting Types."

"I've just had an idea," I exclaimed suddenly. "My Gabite is part Ground Type and Lairon is part Rock Type. They have the best chance of getting us all out of here alive."

"But Jonathyn, they can't stand each other!" Misty moaned. "Their arguing alone could cause another cave in."

"Don't be silly," I retorted. "What other choice do we have? We don't have the strength that the Pokemon have. And besides, they will be fine." I placed my right hand on the Poke Balls containing my two desires Pokemon. With a little reluctance, I summoned them. Casey shot upright as my Lairon suddenly appeared in front of her, scaring her. She was about to scream, but managed to hold it back, barely. Lairon huffed and turned to face my Gabite, who had formed a couple of feet away. Immediately upon noticing one another, they snarled viciously at each other. I quickly stepped in to intervene in their feud. "Stop it, you two," I ordered. "This isn't the time to fight. We need your help and we need you to work together. As a team. Can you do that for us?" I looked at Gabite, who was angrily scowling at his rival. I then turned to Lairon, who had the same expression on his face. Swallowing their pride, they both nodded at me, albeit whilst still staring at each other intensely. "Thank you," I half-heartedly smiled. "Now, if you could carefully bore through the rubble then we can get out of here. But we haven't got long. I'll try and help as well," I approached the rubble which had cut off our pathway, with my Lairon and Gabite at either side. "Let's do it," I began to grab as many of the smaller boulders and rocks as I could, disposing of them behind us. Brock had haled Casey back up to her feet, as Misty also watched on. It was delicate, yet hard work. We tried to be as careful as possible in order not to cause another collapse.

"Can we help at all?" Casey asked, stretching her arms to the side.

"I know who might be able to help you out a little," Brock smiled, throwing a Poke Ball to the ground. From it emerged his Sudowoodo, which smiled and gave an odd salute to its trainer. "Sudowoodo, could you help out Jonathyn and his Pokemon?" The strange, tree-shaped Pokemon once again obeyed after saluting Brock. It came to our side and began digging through the rock as well. Gabite was using its elbow-fins to drag large rocks away. I found myself more useful moving the other boulders back, whilst Lairon seemed to break every boulder it came across into tiny pieces either by headbutting them or slashing them with Metal Claw. The Sudowoodo appeared to using a weak version of Brick Break, which was making the work a lot lighter. I beckoned for Lairon to be a little less vigorous with its moves. It apologetically continued by using a weaker Metal Claw.

"You're doing great, Gabite & Lairon," I encouraged. "You too, Sudowoodo." All three Pokemon smiled at me in their own ways.

"We're definitely making progress," Brock smiled. "I think we're almost there."

"I hope so," Misty shuddered. "It's freezing in here."

"You said it," Casey nodded in agreement. "But if we can find that Azelf, it will definitely be worth it."

"That's true," Misty concurred. I walked past Misty again, piling another series of small boulders in the area that we had just been. I turned around, but Lairon had vanished.

"Uhh… Lairon?" I asked, confused as to where my Pokemon had gone. I then noticed that a small light was shining through a gap in one of the rocks. "Gabite, get rid of those last few rocks." It obliged with great haste. Along with a mighty Brick Break from Sudowoodo, Gabite used a Dragon Claw to get rid of the rocks that had caused us so much trouble. Lairon had somehow burrowed through into the next chamber. A gleaming white light blinded all of us. I tried to see what it was that was causing the Flash, but it was impossible. The light soon faded and the cave was in complete darkness, with the exception of a strange aura surrounding two objects floating in mid-air. One of them was circular, like a vertical disc with several spiky formations protruding from it. The second was a crescent shape, almost like half a moon. The two Pokemon continued to hover rather ominously a few feet from us.

"Wh-what are those things!?" Casey shrieked, almost certainly frightened.

"Lunatone and Solrock," Brock replied, amazed at the sight of these two cosmic Pokemon. "They're both Psychic & Rock Type Pokemon. Extremely rare in the wild. This cave is the perfect home for them."

"Psychic Rocks, huh?" I smirked. "That's pretty cool." I took a step forward, but was immediately thrown back into the pile of boulders that we had just cleared. Lairon and Gabite were also affected by the unusual force. The auras of the Solrock and Lunatone had now expanded, shining all the colours of the rainbow. "Psychic…" I muttered, shaking the cobwebs from that attack.

"Jonathyn, are you OK?" Misty called to me.

"I've never been better," I sarcastically replied, getting back up to my feet. "What do you two say we teach those two a lesson?" I grinned at my Pokemon. Lairon and Gabite both looked at each other and turned away. "Oh, come on!" I staggered in disbelief. "You both worked together really hard to get us out of that cave in earlier and you still can't get along now?" It was as if my words were falling on totally deaf ears. Both my Pokemon just could not stop staring each other down. I was fortunate enough that a fight had never broken out in these confrontations. They like to express their power by strength contests. I noticed even when we were digging through the rubble, they could not stop staring at each other. That might be why Lairon was using such force when trying to break through the rubble. But who knows? Before I was able to contemplate any longer, I felt another surge of supernatural energy pound me into the boulders. Misty shrieked a little bit as my back cracked on impact. Slowly, I pulled myself up. Both Gabite and Lairon ran up to me, concerned for my well being.

"Stop it!" Casey shouted at the two cosmic Pokemon. They showed emotionless expressions on their rock faces. They seemed to turn to face Casey, who reached for a Poke Ball. "Vespiquen, let's get them!" she called, as the giant Queen Bee Pokemon appeared. It's eyes began to glow as it witnessed its two opponents. However, the two Psychic types did not show any sign of intimidation or fear as the abnormally large Vespiquen buzzed upward toward the ceiling of the cave. "I'll fend them off for as long as I can," Casey said to me. "You get Misty and Brock onto the other side of the chamber. I can handle this."

"But it's two on one and Vespiquen is really weak against Rock Type attacks." Brock worriedly called.

"I've got it covered!" Casey huffed. "Attack Order!" Just in the same way that it had done in our match and before then many a time, Vespiquen summoned its six Combee grubs from the honeycomb in its abdomen. All six began launching their attacks on the Lunatone and Solrock with perfect accuracy.

"I'm right beside you," I grinned, pulling myself up from the rocks that I had landed on. "Lairon, use Iron Head. Gabite, use Crunch!" Both my Pokemon nodded and charged forward. Lairon lowered its head as it charged at the two Cosmic Pokemon, as Gabite also ran forward, its fangs at the ready. They pushed themselves off the ground at the same time. But what I hadn't realised up until this point was that both of them were going for the Lunatone, which had levitated to the top of the chamber. Lairon slammed into Gabite, its steel skull smashing against the dragon. Gabite fell down to the ground, but was not defeated. It got back up to its feet and roared at Lairon. In turn, the Steel Pokemon retaliated with a long and loud bellowing growl as well. Both of them glared at each other, not aware that the Solrock and Lunatone had now focused their attention primarily on the vulnerable Vespiquen. "That's enough!" I called to them both. "Lairon, use Iron Head." It looked at me, before gaining a small gleam in its eye. It began charging, positioning itself for the Iron Head attack, but slammed itself yet again into Gabite! Gabite was sent flying backwards, smashing into the cave wall with such force that more rocks began to fall from the ceiling, although nowhere near as bad as when the Electrode exploded before. All four of us were in shock. Brock more so than anyone.

"I've…never seen two Pokemon who share so much hatred for one another," Brock uttered with disbelief. To be fair to him, I thought pretty much the same thing! I felt a little bit embarrassed by the whole scenario and I knew that I would have to take some form of action in order to sort this out. I watched in almost in horror as Gabite retaliated against its ally with a Dragon Claw, sending Lairon to the ground. I then looked up at Casey's Vespiquen, who was still holding its own. But already it was looking tired, as the Solrock and Lunatone double teamed it with a Double Psychic attack. Vespiquen began to use Heal Order to restore it, when all of a sudden the Lunatone began to glow a pale shade of green, before launching the energy at Vespiquen. It continued to use Heal Order, but yet it did not seem to be doing anything.

"What's wrong, Vespiquen?" Casey called to her newest comrade. "Why can't you heal yourself?"

"That Lunatone just used Heal Block!" Brock explained yet again, his Pokemon knowledge stunning me. "It's a move that prevents a Pokemon from using techniques that restore health. Moves like Heal Order will not work."

"Oh no!" Casey cried. "Vespiquen, return!" she called her Giant Bee Pokemon back into its Poke Ball. "You were incredible. Take a good rest," she smiled, before turning back to the Solrock and Lunatone. "So what do we do now?"

"I'll deal with this," I replied walking straight past Gabite and Lairon, who stopped their argument for a moment to see what I was about to do. I chuckled to myself as I stopped just a few yards away from the Solrock and Lunatone. "Listen to me," I sneered with a tone similar to when I confronted Casey's Vespiquen before the Azelf had appeared before. "We mean no harm. All we want is to thank Azelf for helping us earlier on. Please let us pass." The Lunatone gave a strange look toward the Solrock, before lowering itself down right in front of my face. I stared at it without fear, as it seemed to nod at the Solrock. I then came over a little faint. I staggered back, my head started to ache, pulsing heavily. I clutched my head, almost wanting to scream due to the agony.

"What are you doing to him?" Misty cried out once again, running over to where I had now stumbled due to the pain. As soon as she grabbed my arm, the pain went away. The Solrock floated down to the same level as the Lunatone.

"Lu--na," the Lunatone hummed as it waved in the direction of my Gabite and Lairon, who looked deeply concerned for me yet staying a small distance away.

"So--l Ro--ck!" it's companion added, also making gestures toward my Lairon and Gabite.

"What happened?" Misty shuddered, looking at me with grave concern.

"I don't quite know," I replied, still a little bit dazed from my short ordeal. "I could hear voices. They were saying "Fight." I guess from the way that they are acting, they want to battle Gabite and Lairon."

"Gab, Gabite!" the shark-like Dragon snarled, staring at the two galactic Pokemon before twisting its neck to glance at Lairon.

"Lair--," it grumbled, looking back up at the floating Solrock and Lunatone.

"You two need to put your differences aside," I smiled kindly as Misty helped me back up to my feet. "If we can defeat Lunatone and Solrock, we might have a chance of seeing Azelf again. Think you two can handle this?" They both looked at each other, still looking rather frustrated with one another. "If not, I can always have Bayleef, Pelipper or Houndoom battle them?" They suddenly shook their heads, as if begging me not to switch them. They turned and faced their opponents.

"How did you do that?" Misty raised an eyebrow at me.

"I know how much these two love to battle, even if they do have a rivalry," I answered with a grin. "But this won't be an easy battle. Both Solrock and Lunatone have levitating abilities. So Gabite's Ground attacks are not going to work out so well this time. And Lairon isn't exactly the most aerial Pokemon you've ever seen. But I know how to take them down," I grinned. "The honour is yours, Solrock and Lunatone. Make the first move." They both nodded and began to launch some form of psychic attack. Gabite and Lairon were both flung backwards towards the cave wall, but both of them dug their claws into the ground, skidding to a halt. The one thing that I love about battling wild Pokemon is that the opponents act on impulse, not on direction. There was no trainer to order them what to do, so they could use whatever attacks suited them. Whether or not this was an advantage to wild Pokemon I'm not sure, as the trainer would have a second mind and could devise other forms of attack that perhaps they would never have thought of on their own. "If I take one of them down early, the other won't stand a chance with two on one. "Gabite, Crunch on Solrock!" I instructed. Gabite quickly jumped up at the Solrock, using its fangs to cruelly crunch down on it. It appeared to take a heavy amount of damage from the Dark attack. "Lairon, follow up with Iron Head on Solrock!" I figured that two super effective moves would be more than enough to make these two think twice about facing us. Lairon did indeed begin charging at Solrock, but I did not notice the Lunatone had appeared directly behind the Solrock as it fired what looked like an Ice Beam directly towards Gabite! "Get away, Gabite," I gasped, as the beam of sheer coldness approached closer. It released its grip on the Solrock and dropped to the ground. The Ice Beam missed by just inches, instead creating an icy structure on the cave wall as it landed. In the meantime, Lairon smashed into the Solrock with brutal force, sending it upward into the cave ceiling. All of us cowered a little, expecting another cave in, but nothing happened this time. Lairon dropped back down also, landing next to Gabite.

"It's difficult to decide what sort of strategy to use in Double Battles like this," I heard Brock say to Casey.

"So what strategy is Jonathyn using?" Casey asked, still watching as the Solrock lowered itself back down from the ceiling.

"He's focusing on one opponent, which is good for taking out one opponent quickly. But on the other hand, where they are attacking just one opponent, the second could surprise it with attacks of its own." Brock explained more facts. "But to be honest, Solrock and Lunatone have already taken damage from your Vespiquen. I don't think this will take very long," he smiled. Misty had also stepped back next to Brock and Casey, leaving me to deal with the two barricading Pokemon. As the Solrock descended, it fired a Flamethrower attack from the air heading straight for my Lairon. It managed to engulf it in flames. I was a little stunned that Lairon managed to withstand the heat, although I then remembered that due its it's Rock Type qualities it was able to endure it even though it was partly Steel Type as well. Lairon shook off the flames, but was then struck again by another Ice Beam from the Lunatone. But it even withstood that attack. I was rather impressed by this.

"You alright, Lairon?" I called to it. It grinned in acknowledgement. "Good. Then use Metal Burst on Solrock. Gabite, hold off Lunatone with a Crunch!" Both Pokemon sprang into action, as Lunatone darted towards Lairon to prevent it from landing the attack. However, Gabite intercepted it, clamping its jaws around Lunatone just as it had done with Solrock. Metal Burst hit its mark, knocking Solrock to the ground. It had a dazed look in its eyes, defeated by the powerful attack.

"That's one down and one to go!" Misty squealed happily, as Solrock weakly retreated to the side of the chamber. Now it was just Lunatone against both Gabite and Lairon… until…

"Enough," a voice came from the depths of the cave. A female figure walked into the chamber. I recognised her from somewhere, but I had no idea as to where. The girl was rather tall, possibly in her early twenties. She wore a long, black jacket and had long, blond hair that curled out to the side in spikes. Although the rest of her hair was perfectly straight. Her hair was so long in fact that it covered half of her face. She came into full view, as the Lunatone stared at her. It seemed to bow, before retreating with the Solrock further into the cave. She did not take her eyes off them until they had disappeared from sight. She then flicked her hair out of her face and smiled at us. "Those two Pokemon…" she chuckled. "They pester me every time I come here."

"Wait, you've been here before?" I asked. "Who are you?"

"I should be asking that to you," the mysterious woman replied. "And what is your business here? This cave is sacred to the legends of Sinnoh."

"Legends of Sinnoh?" I scratched my head with a puzzled look. "But this is Kanto."

"So?" she sarcastically responded. "It is still a part of the world in which we live. As is Sinnoh. Where we are divided by the regions, we are united by this world."

"You talk strange," I clasped my hands behind the back of my head, as Gabite and Lairon walked up to my side. "Thank you for your hard work, you two," I complimented my Pokemon. Both of which growled in an appreciative manner. "So, what is with this Legend of Sinnoh?" I turned back to the girl, who had now walked right up to me.

"The Pokemon that you seek is Azelf, one of the offspring of the creators of the world," the woman spoke with a vague voice.

"You mean Dialga and Palkia," Brock suddenly blurted out, staring at her with hearts in his eyes.

"Why, yes," the woman replied, a little surprised. "Haven't I met you somewhere before?" she asked.

"That's right, my darling!" Brock ran up, clasping her hands romantically. "Back in Amity Square, where you captured my heart. And now, we will be able to be together in harmony. Without interruption…" Brock's Croagunk suddenly appeared from nowhere and delivered a trademark Poison Jab to its trainer, before dragging him out of the way once again.

"I wouldn't even have gone that far," Misty muttered to herself, before looking back at the other female trainer once again. "So why are you here?" she asked.

"To see what sort of Pokemon come here," the woman replied. "I know for a fact that Azelf comes here. Some also say that Groudon, the Pokemon believed to have formed the land slumbers in a chamber deep beneath the surface of the earth. This cave is believed to be the only way of getting to Groudon's Chamber.

"Wow," I exclaimed. "Groudon and Azelf both here. I wonder whether or not there are any other rare or legendary Pokemon that come here."

"The very first time I came here, I captured such a creature," she replied, grabbing a Poke Ball. She threw it forward and from it emerged an incredibly strange Pokemon. A large rock had appeared on the floor, but seeping from cracks in it came a swirling purple vortex. It began to laugh, maniacally. "No-one has ever seen a wild one of these outside of Sinnoh," the girl smiled. "But this Spiritomb was right in this cave. I was only young when I first came here, but since then Spiritomb has become one of my most trusted partners." She smiled, as she withdrew her Pokemon, which was just as well. It had begun to creep me out more than most other things would.

"What I don't get is how come that Solrock and Lunatone just randomly attacked us," I sighed. "We weren't doing any harm."

"They were probably protective Azelf," the woman replied. "Azelf is sacred. It can't be allowed to face anything that might harm it. The same goes for Groudon."

"Then how come you're able to walk through the cave as you please?" Casey retorted. The woman shook her head, almost impatiently.

"I've been coming here for years," she answered in a serious tone. "The Pokemon around here know that I mean no harm."

"Just who are you, anyway?" I suddenly asked out of the blue once again. "I know I've seen you before, but I can't remember where…"

"I've entered the Pokemon League at the Indigo Plateau," she replied. "It will be the first time I have challenged the Kanto Pokemon League. I've already achieved greatness in Sinnoh, Hoenn and Johto and defeated the Elite Four several times..."

"You mean you're…" I gasped, stunned by what she was saying.

"The Pokemon League Champion," she smiled with a crafty look. "My name is Cynthia…"

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Cynthia joins Jonathyn, Misty, Brock and Casey as they search for Azelf. However, they soon find that they are not the only ones exploring this cave. Who will they meet? Is it a friend, or a foe?