Disclaimer: Like the previous chapters and every chapter to follow this one as well, I do not own Pokemon...
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 19: AGGRON'S NEWFOUND STRENGTH! LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS!
Just a few moments ago, it seemed as though it had hit rock bottom. Negatively doubting its own abilities and threatening our victorious goal. However, in a blinding rage of emotions, ranging from sadness, jealousy and desire it achieved something truly remarkable. No longer did it feel miniscule compared to his peers. He had evolved into an Aggron and not a moment too soon. But the reasons for his evolution seemed to lie a little bit deeper than a simple rivalry with an equally strong ally. It had put itself in the line of danger and acted on impulse to keep us out of harms way. Perhaps it was an act of respect for both me and, possibly in a more secretive manner, Gabite. It had been able to withstand a powerful explosion caused by Weezing's suicidal Selfdestruct move and not to mention take some punishment from the Espeon's Psychic attacks to boot. Of course, it was not only Aggron who was putting in a valiant effort, Gabite was also proving itself as a fighter. However, Lairon's evolution into it's final form seemed to overshadow all of Gabite's efforts in this match thus far. Perhaps that is what Aggron wanted. But as I said to him when he was still a Lairon, I do not like a Pokemon more than another. They are all equal favourites. And every Pokemon is stronger than another in at least one aspect, no matter what type you are, which region you come from or how far up the evolutionary line you are. I continued to stare out onto the Ice Field. Now, only my opponent's Espeon remained. It seemed to be quite relaxed, relishing the sunlight that was beaming down on the field. I still could not quite understand how the Ice had not yet begun to melt. It was now time finish this battle off. All we had to do was pick off that Espeon. The one thing that it seemed to surpass both my Pokemon at was its speed. It could launch an attack almost in the blink of an eye. I would have to make good use of my two-to-one advantage, although Gabite seemed to be on the brink of exhaustion. Aggron however seemed to have gained a second wind since evolving. The one thing that continued to distract me a little was the Absol that had not moved since joining Darkhan's side. It was almost as though it was fixated on the battle. I had little time to worry about this. I had to get this over with and fast.
"One remaining," Darkhan smirked, even though he had already ordered his Weezing to use a suicidal move. "Two next." I assumed that his limited vocabulary was implying that he had a plan to beat me. I huffed a small chuckle, unimpressed at his comment.
"I highly doubt that," I replied coldly. "Let's go for a Shock Wave, Aggron. Gabite, use Dragon Rush!" Aggron stretched a little before firing a much larger bolt of electricity than it had done as a Lairon at Espeon. The attack hit with one hundred per cent accuracy, not to mention with a lot more power. Espeon seemed almost stunned by the attack, but was flung back into some icy wreckage as Gabite connected its menacing Dragon Rush move to its face.
"Morning Sun!" Darkhan smiled, as Espeon relished the gleaming sunshine. Once again, it's purple fur glistened, the scrapes caused by the two attacks fading into nothing. I chuckled at this.
"You know, you can't keep using Morning Sun for the rest of the…"
"Shadow Ball! Iron Tail!" Darkhan shouted. Espeon bounded forward, firing a large ball of dark purple energy from its mouth at Gabite, smashing it with surprise in the face. In the same movement, it leapt into the air and somersaulted forward. It's forked tail filled with silver before throwing its tail down towards Aggron.
"Protect!" I shouted. Aggron raised its arm to block the attack, but there was no armoury of light protecting it like it had done before. The attack landed with quite some force, although Aggron didn't seem to take that much damage. "Huh? Why didn't Protect work?"
"Repetition," Darkhan shook his head in an almost mocking manner. I then remembered that Protect is liable to fail when used repeatedly in succession. Either that, or Aggron had not quite got used to it's new, bulkier body. "Psychic!" Darkhan ordered once again. Espeon's eyes began to glow. Gabite began to rise from the ground, as did Aggron.
"Shock Wave!" I shouted. Aggron quickly launched another high voltage charge at Espeon, knocking it to the ground. Gabite and Aggron both dropped, but landed on their feet. Gabite seemed to be having a lot of trouble keeping itself upright on the ice. I knew that it was not fond of the cold, but I didn't realise that it was actually causing it this much grief up until now. Aggron, once again was coping a lot better. I had to think of a way to get Gabite off the ice.
"Aggron, let Gabite stand on your shoulders," I suggested, coming up with a rather cunning plan. Aggron looked over to Gabite and for some reason obliged without so much as a snarl. Although it did let out an almost humoured growl. Gabite managed to get atop of his shoulders and seemed to feel relieved not to have the cold on his feet anymore. "Aggron, use Iron Head and Gabite use Crunch!" Aggron began to charge forward, with Gabite bearing its fangs ready to strike. They approached closer, when suddenly…
"Shadow Ball Ice!" boomed Darkhan with a sinister grin. Espeon jumped into the air once again and launched another Shadow Ball at Aggron and Gabite. The attack did not hit them, rather the ice on which they were standing. It cracked the ice all across the arena, before a large portion gave way right where Gabite and Aggron were placed. Both Pokemon fell into the icy water that lay beneath the thick ice on which they were battling. I gasped with disbelief as both Gabite and Aggron had now vanished underwater. "End!" Darkhan smirked contently. The official leaned forward with his flag at the ready. He began to raise it, when suddenly an explosion happened right around Espeon's feet. It too had fallen into the cold water. Eventually, Gabite burst up onto a floating piece of icy flotsam and jetsam. It dragged Aggron up with it, before dropping down onto the platform, its body no longer able to keep going.
"Gabite can no longer battle! This battle is now between Aggron and Espeon!" the official raised his flag in my direction. I was dumbstruck. How on earth did Gabite manage to haul Aggron out of the water with what little strength it had left. Aggron managed to get back onto its feet, before looking at the exhausted Gabite. He was fully aware that Gabite had saved him from either fainting or worst still, drowning. He grabbed Gabite by its dorsal fin and pulled it back up to its feet. It held Gabite forward, as if to tell me to return it to it's Poke Ball straight away. I nodded to it as if we understood each other. Gabite disappeared back into its Poke Ball as a beam of red light. Aggron turned back to the water, where there was still no sign of the Espeon. Perhaps it had fainted underwater… I didn't want that to happen really for fear of it's own safety. Suddenly, I noticed that some of the icy debris was beginning to rise up from the water and began to hurtle straight for Aggron.
"Protect!" I shouted, hoping that this time it would work. Aggron raised it's arms in front of its face, before its skin began to fill with a multicoloured barrier. The ice simply bounced off from his body. I could see the Espeon had risen out of the water using its own Psychic attack, before healing itself again with Morning Sun. I frowned. This was getting a little bit to repetitive for my liking. I wondered where the original explosion had come from… I thought the it must have been Gabite's Dragon Rush, which could be how it managed to lift Aggron out of the water as well. I then had an idea as to how I could finally end this. All I had to do was get Espeon back in the water…
"Aggron, use Shock Wave!" I shouted. Aggron sent another large bolt of electricity towards Espeon. It struck it by the feet, knocking it off balance but not off the icy platform that it had landed on. "Again!" I ordered as he fired another bolt at the Espeon. This time it managed to crack the platform that it was on and it dropped helplessly into the water. "Now we gotcha! Shock Wave on the water, maximum power!" Aggron began to charge possibly the most intense Shock Wave it had ever delivered. But all of a sudden, a blast of energy surged through the arena. It headed right for Aggron, slamming into it with brutal force. "What the hell!?" I exclaimed in shock. "Where did that come from?"
"Future Sight," Darkhan replied, still stroking the back of his Absol's head.
"But when did that Espeon use Future Sight?" I questioned. "I never even heard you order it to use such a move…" Darkhan simply smirked, his Absol still wasn't moving. "Unless… that Absol…" I gasped loudly.
"Negative!" Darkhan suddenly bellowed angrily. "Not Cheat!" he snarled angrily. His Absol nodded in agreement. And for some reason I believed him.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I replied. It wasn't as though it was difficult to come to this deduction. I mean the guy is dressed entirely in black, carries a sword and has one of the most bizaare personalities I had seen since meeting Harley. But nonetheless, I took his word for it and focused once again on the battle. Espeon was now clinging onto an icy platform. Now I knew how to finish this battle. "Metal Burst!" I shouted as Aggron shook of the effects of the delayed Future Sight attack. It roared aggressively before releasing its power against the Espeon, striking it hard. The Espeon squealed in pain before hurling towards the water.
"Stop," Darkhan called. At first I thought he was addressing me. That was until I noticed that Espeon had somehow landed on top of the water. An aura of purple energy had formed a ball around it and kept it from falling into the water, simply hovering a couple of inches from the surface. The power that this Espeon was exerting was absolutely immense. I could hardly believe that even after all the punishment it had taken, it was still able to hold itself in the air with its psychic strength. "Psychic!" Darkhan ordered again. Espeon landed on an icy formation that had yet to be surrounded by water, before sending the purple aura around Aggron, lifting it upward once again.
"Shock Wave!" I shouted, using the same tactic as I had done previously. Aggron quickly sent yet another bolt of electricity at Espeon before it could lift it too far from the ground. It struck the Psychic Pokemon in the chest, knocking it down and loosening Psychic's grip. Aggron landed heavily forming another crack in the ice on which it was standing. The ice had melted significantly now. Only a few strong icebergs and some floating icy debris remained amongst the bitterly cold water…
Bitterly cold water…
…That gave me an idea…
"Morning Sun!" Darkhan ordered once again. The Espeon quickly looked to the sky, it's velvety fur beginning to shimmer once again.
"Not this time! Aggron, Water Pulse on the water!" I shouted, desperate that this idea would work. Aggron lowered its head down toward the melted ice. A blue orb began to grow and expand in front of it's face before thrashing his head downward. The orb of water formed with that in the icy pool creating a large tidal wave heading right for the Espeon, which was still attempting to heal itself with Morning Sun. The wave ominously approached my opponent. I clenched my fist, anticipating for the attack to strike.
"Dodge!" Darkhan shouted with the opposite desperation as I had. Espeon seemed to look around, but there was nowhere for it to run. The giant wave swept Espeon from where it was stood and back into the icy water below. Darkhan's face finally began to display signs of concern. I punched the air, wanting to finish the match this instant.
"One more Shock Wave, the biggest one you've got in you!" I ordered. My Aggron once again let out a roar, before firing the powerful bolt of electricity into the water. A bright yellow light filled the icy pool. A sight which was awe inspiring to myself as well as Darkhan, not to mention the crowd too. A few moments later, the light faded and a defeated Espeon floated up to the surface. My grin grew even wider as the official raised the flag to end the match at long last.
"Espeon cannot continue this battle. The victory goes to Aggron and his trainer, Jonathyn Christian from Azalea Town!"
The crowd erupted into cheered as I dived down onto the icy platform on which Aggron was roaring in celebration, I jumped up and swung my arms around his neck, hugging him with congratulatory gratitude.
"Aggron, thank you!" I almost squeaked with delight.
"Aggro—n!" It happily growled back victoriously. Everyone in the entire arena seemed be applauding for me, with the exception of Darkhan, who had called lifted his Espeon out of the cold water and cradled it caringly in his arms. He seemed to glare at me vengefully, but soon smiled and nodded his head almost respectfully. I could hear him say something over the uproar of the crowd.
"Disaster," he muttered, stroking his Absol on the head once again. I raised an eyebrow at this as he turned his back and walked back towards the tunnel that he had entered from. I did not quite know what to make of this, but shrugged as Aggron and I made our way off of what was left of the Ice Field. We both waved to the crowd as we made our exit. As soon as we were out of sight of the crowd, I turned to Aggron, holding its Poke Ball in my hand.
"You take a good rest, Aggron," I smiled. It seemed to smile at me with its reptilian mouth, as it disappeared in a red beam of light back into the sphere.
"That was quite a battle," a female voice said to me. I turned around to greet it warmly.
"Thanks," I replied. I looked at the girl. I did not recognise her, though. She had long, wavy light-brown hair that shined in the same sort of way that Darkhan's Espeon's fur had done. She was dressed entirely in pink, including a little pink cowboy-like hat. She seemed to blush at me as I looked at her. She had a sweet face, even though it had turned a bright shade of red. "Uhh… you okay?" I asked as she giggled playfully.
"Sorry," she squeaked. "It's just that you're the one who beat my cousin in the first round."
"What? You mean Carl whats-his-name?" I shrugged. "The guy with the Rhyhorn?"
"Yeah, that's right!" the girl smiled. "He was bragging about how he was going to win the whole thing. At least you brought him back into reality a little bit. Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Mimi. I come from Saffron City."
"Nice to meet you," I bowed politely. "I'm Jonathyn Chri…"
"I know who you are, silly," she giggled. "They just announced your name to thousands of people. Jonathyn Christian, born in Azalea Town."
"You're well informed," I sarcastically chuckled. "So, what brings you to the end of the tunnel?"
"I'm battling next!" Mimi jumped up and down immaturely. "I've got my trusty Pokemon raring to go! I can't wait!"
"Well good luck to you," I smiled, a little vainly. "I've got to get my Gabite and Aggron to the Pokemon Centre."
"Take care," she squeaked again, trying to hide her embarrassment. I made light of it and carried on walking down the corridor towards the Trainer Lounge. I sat down at the locker which had my name and identification number above it. Although I had no real business there, I took a seat and sighed a little, weary from battle.
"You did well out there, Jonathyn. I'm impressed," came another female voice. This one I recognised.
"Thanks, Cynthia," I politely replied once again. "So are you battling on this field too?"
"That's right," Cynthia nodded. "I've got my third round battle next just like you have done and my opponent looks quite tough. By the way, I saw how your Lairon evolved into an Aggron. Congratulations, although I do question its motivation."
"Huh… what do you mean by that?" I asked, trying not to sound argumentative.
"Well, I know how your Gabite and Lairon were rivals. And since they battled side by side, I just wonder whether Lairon evolved due to the fact that it wanted to help you win, whether it was the right time or simply to demean Gabite. I mean for Gabite to see Lairon evolve into an Aggron and then do that much damage is hardly something that would make you happy when the rivalry is as intense as theirs."
"I see your point, Cynthia," I began. "But Gabite dragged Aggron out of the icy water just before it fainted. I don't think it would have done that if it was jealous."
"Don't you think that Gabite did that as a gesture to say that it wasn't going to be intimidated by Aggron's new power?" Cynthia replied back. "Gabite took the fall for Aggron, but then again it may have done that simply as it knew it did not have much strength left to continue. The whole thing seems a little out of the ordinary… but it's not my place to predict the feelings of your Pokemon. After all, you are the one closest to them, right?"
"Yeah…" I mumbled a reply, deep in thought about what Cynthia had just said. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound so abrupt."
"No problem," Cynthia smiled. "They're not selecting the Round 4 opponents until later, so what are you going to do until then?"
"If you're battling, I might sit and watch your match," I replied. "Can I be honest with you about something?"
"Sure," Cynthia smiled. "What is it?"
"Out of all the trainers that I have met so far, you are the only one that I am intimidated by."
"Wh-What?" Cynthia seemed to laugh a little a this, but I kept a serious expression held on my face.
"You heard," I replied coldly. "I saw what your Garchomp did to Darkhan's Crobat and Weezing. And sure, I know Paul is strong as well, but you are the current Sinnoh Champion and have been champion of Hoenn and Johto as well. Not that I don't want us to meet in battle, but I am going to train a lot harder now that I know how serious my competition is." Cynthia fell silent for a moment.
"You should train to become as strong as you can be," Cynthia replied. "Do not let fear and intimidation get the better of your skills. I feel no need to fear my opponents. I feel the need to respect them as trainers. Whether I win or I lose, as long as I have done my best for my Pokemon, that is all that matters to me."
"Cynthia…" I stopped as she looked at me. "… nothing… I'll see you later," I quickly grabbed hold of my bag which had slipped off my shoulder. I did not look back at Cynthia, I just kept walking, trying to get some negative thoughts out of my mind. I head for the desk of the Pokemon Centre area in the lobby, before wondering what to do next with myself. No sooner than I had given in my Pokemon's Poke Balls to the Nurse Joy on duty when I felt a pair of lips peck my cheek softly. I quickly turned, almost in fright. I was relieved to see Misty, who was now by herself. "What are you doing here?"
"What? Can't I come and see my boyfriend after he's won such a great battle?" Misty giggled.
"Uhh… yeah, but… what about Ash?" I asked.
"What about him?" Misty tilted her head at me.
"You know… yesterday, you and him were together and…"
"Jonathyn, let's talk about this outside," Misty suggested to me. I looked back at the Nurse Joy, who quickly bobbed her head acknowledging that I was leaving my Pokemon behind for now. We walked out of the busy lobby and directly left, where there were some picnic benches vacant in a small patch of grass closed off by a picket fence. There was no-one but a couple of youngsters playing with a young Pichu and their parents not too far from them. Idealistically, we sat at the furthest table away from them on opposite sides so we could face one another. Misty gestured for me to sit down. I did so, clasping my hands together with my elbows resting on the wooden surface. Misty looked at me and held my hand comfortingly. "Look, there is something that I need to say to you… the way that you seem to perceive this is that I am only going out with you because you reminded me of Ash. Where that may be the case to some extent, I don't see how you can think that just because he's suddenly come back means that I'm going to turn my back on you. I told you how I felt about you, Jonathyn. And you should trust me with this…"
"What do you mean trust you?" I asked with a puzzled look. "I do trust you. I just thought that he is the guy that you really wanted to be with."
"If I really wanted to be with him, I wouldn't be going out with you now would I?" she blinked at me sweetly. I smiled a little. "Besides," she turned a little glum. "I found out he's got a girlfriend."
"He has?" I grinned with total delight, before quickly lowering my expression before Misty noticed. "Do you know her?"
"No, I've never met her," she replied. "But she's called Anabel, by all accounts…"
"Well at least he is happy," I sighed before looking at Misty's almost disappointed face. "But then again, I'm happy to be with you." Misty looked up at me and smiled before leaning over the table and kissing me on the lips softly. The kiss went on for what seemed like a long time, but it was in reality only a few seconds. "So, what do you want to do now?" I asked as we pulled away from each other momentarily.
"I don't know," Misty blankly replied. "Brock and Ash have gone back to their hotel for the day now. I think Ash wanted to change a couple of Pokemon of his, so I guess it is just you and me."
"I was thinking about going to watch Cynthia's battle… you fancy that?" I suggested to her, looking at the large amount of people piling into the building once again.
"Sounds good to me," Misty smiled, kissing me again on the lips. "Don't you have to pick an opponent first?"
"Not this time," I shook my head. "They're doing the draws after everyone has finished battling."
"Fair enough," she smiled, standing up and walking back past the youngsters, who had now frozen solid. Their Drifloon was covered in a sticky white silk, struggling to free itself. Misty's face turned white as an Ariados lowered itself into view, not far from her face. She let out a petrified scream, before cowering behind me. A lot of people had turned around to see what all the commotion was about.
"Ariados, what have I told you about running off like that?" a familiar voice tutted disapprovingly. "You're going to end up hurting yourself…" the man suddenly stopped in front of us and began to crease up a little upon noticing that Misty and I were holding hands. "So… the lovely young couple out for a midday stroll, huh?"
"For your information, Harley," I began with a mocking sneer, "We do happen to be dating now…"
"My my," Harley sarcastically gasped. "What a whirlwind relationship that's bound to be. I'd hate to see your kids."
"You WHAT!?" Misty roared with rage. I held her back as she tried to swing for him.
"Misty, don't rise to the bait," I sighed to her. "It's not worth it."
"Not worth it?" Harley frowned. "Well excuse me, but didn't I beat your little Lairon and Gabite the last time we met?"
"You can hardly call that a win," I frowned back. "And besides, Lairon evolved just now. Didn't you see?"
"Unfortunately not. I have better things to do when I'm not battling than making out with trash like that."
"WHAT YOU SAY!?" Misty roared once again.
"Take that back about her, Harley," I snarled. "You'll regret it if you don't. And besides, I don't see YOU with a girlfriend."
"Please, girls are so icky!" he cringed. "My passion is Pokemon, I have no need for a relationship."
"Whatever you say, Ginger Beer," I muttered contemptuously.
"What did you just call me?" Harley suddenly scowled.
"Ginger Beer…" I replied. "You're a Ginger Beer with purple hair dressed up as a Cacturne. You're not exactly the straightest line on the track…" Harley simply glared at me, calling back his Ariados before walking off in a huff.
"You nasty little stink!" Harley blowed a raspberry at me. "I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget once of these days…" I thought about giving him the finger in return, but there were children present so I decided against it. Harley walked back into the Indigo Plateau, my eyes not losing sight of the annoying fool until he had entered the building.
"What a jerk," Misty growled. "But still at least he's gone now. Shall we go on in?"
"Sure thing," I nodded, still holding her hand. We followed in Harley's footsteps, walking towards the entrance of the building. Hopefully we would not bump into him again too soon…
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: Cynthia battles an unusual opponent, as Jonathyn and Misty end up sitting in front of one of their most recent rivals. But just who is Cynthia truly battling?