Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon... when are you people going to realise that!?
MESSAGE TO READERS: Another quick update here, since I'm doing a lot of work on the next chapter. It's proving quite difficult to maintain such a standard that some of you claim that I am making. Many thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far and to all that are reading with interest. Also on a side not, there's a little private joke somewhere in this chapter. If you find it, give yourself a cookie. So, without further delay... go grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy!
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 20: DECEPTION ON THE BATTLE FIELD! THE COLLECTOR'S ALLIANCE!
I was marvelled by the fact that Aggron and Gabite, along with my other four Pokemon had been fully healed in such a short space of time. I gratefully received them back from the ever pleasant Nurse Joy. I could hear cheers coming from the Ice Field, the closest battlefield to us. The Indigo Plateau used to have only five arenas, now it had six. I suppose that due to the overwhelming number of trainers advancing through to the preliminaries, the Pokemon League directors must have decided to add an extra round. I knew of the four "natural fields", which were Grass, Water, Ice and Rock. Apparently there was a fifth elemental battle area, but I had no idea what sort it could be. Then of course, there was the traditional battling grid found in the last arena, which was not used until the last sixteen participants had advanced. It would be on that battlefield that a champion would be crowned. I liked the idea of lifting the Pokemon League Trophy, but I knew of the rivals that were also trying to claim that coveted prize. Some had already fallen, such as Misty. I had almost forgotten how Paul managed to defeat her in the Water Stadium, but the thought of that arrogant brat made me shudder a little. Misty seemed to drag me up the steps into the stadium, where it was packed to the rafters with people. Misty looked around and managed to point out two vacant seats near the front. We made a small dash to them, claiming them easily. I looked out at the battlefield and was amazed that it had been reconstructed so quickly and professionally. The Pokemon League Tournament took a heck of a lot of organising and it seems as though the officials have thought of everything. A battle was currently going ahead, although not the battle I had come to see. It was between two female trainers. One of them I recognised from earlier, having bumped into her in the corridor directly after my match. Mimi, I seemed to recall was her name. Her opponent was a girl that I did not recognise at all. I looked up at the screen displaying the battle statistics. It seemed to be a 3 on 3 battle and both trainers only had one Pokemon remaining.
"Who's that Pokemon?" I asked Misty in a goofy voice, pointing down to the small Pokemon in front of Mimi. It looked like a dog to some extend, yet it stood on its hind legs and seemed to have a constant hold of its tail. It's head seemed to resemble a beret of some sort, almost like a painter's cap.
"That's a Smeargle," Misty answered. "It's capable of learning any known move, so it's a very valuable Pokemon."
"Wow… a Pokemon that can learn any move?" I gasped in awe. "That'd be awesome." I looked down at the beagle-like Pokemon, who had yet to attack since I had noticed it. I looked over to see what Pokemon it was facing, which happened to be a tall, blue bird like creature with a bill similar to one of Misty's Pokemon. "That Golduck looks pretty strong too," I added. Finally something began to happen. The Golduck had been ordered to attack. It's head began to glow purple as it charged toward the Smeargle. It smashed into it at incredible speed. "Wow… Zen Headbutt!" I smiled, recognising the move. Misty simply tutted at me as if I was a child, before laughing a little. The Smeargle had got back up to its feet. "I wonder what moves it already knows?" I wondered aloud. The Smeargle's tail began to glow, before turning completely black and firing a pulse of dark energy straight at the Duck Pokemon.
"Dark Pulse causes a lot of damage to a Psychic type like Golduck," Misty informed me, although I already knew this. The Golduck did not yet fall in defeat as it got back up to its feet and held its claw-like hands up to its head, seemingly focusing on the crimson gem on its forehead. It then launched a massive beam of energy at the Smeargle. Mimi sent a rapid direction to it. It's tail began to glow once again, firing a Hyper Beam of its own at the Golduck's. Both attacks collided and exploded on impact. The crowd began to confer, wondering which Pokemon would still be standing once the cloud of smoke had dispersed. It took a while, but both Pokemon were still on their feet, breathing heavily. I had heard that Hyper Beam was a move that drained a lot of energy from the user, so I tried to refrain from using it in battle unless things were desperate. The Golduck sent another attack forward towards Mimi's Smeargle, this time a Water Pulse. After another instruction from its trainer, the Smeargle raised its fingers and began to wave them back and forth. A move I recognised instantly. "Metronome!?" I was taken aback by this tactic. "This is a bit of a gamble so late on in the battle."
"That's definitely true," Misty replied. "I wonder if she can pull it off?" Her question was answered quickly as the Smeargle began to run forward, covering itself in a blur of electric yellow as it ran. It slammed into the Golduck with ferocious force.
"Volt Tackle! Perfect!" I whooped, happy that Mimi's gamble had succeeded. The Golduck was down and out. The Smeargle, although down to one knee was victorious. I could see the official raise his flag in Mimi's direction.
"And what a turn around! After losing her first two Pokemon straight away, Mimi's Smeargle defeated Katie's Walrein, Scizor and Golduck in a stunning comeback! Make some noise for this round's winner, Mimi from Saffron City and her Smeargle!" The crowd cheered and applauded her efforts as she happily waved to her fans. She let out a loving wink to a nearby cameraman, who seemed to blush a little at this gesture. Mimi disappeared down the tunnel that I had left from about twenty minutes or half an hour earlier. "We will be hosting the next battle in just a few moments from now, so don't go anywhere!" the announcer called out. Some people had left their seats already, whether or not they were going to return for the match I wasn't sure. I turned to face Misty, who was watching the defeated trainer leave the arena before turning to face me.
"So, what are you going to do when this is all over?" Misty asked me. I replied bluntly with a shrug. "I wanted to go to Johto again and compete in the Whirl Cup."
"What's the Whirl Cup?" I asked with a confused look.
"Have you ever been to the Whirl Islands?" Misty asked me. I shook my head without saying a word once again. "There are these four islands near Cianwood City surrounded by giant whirlpools. On one of the islands, they hold a tournament for trainers that only allow Water Type Pokemon to battle. I entered once before, but failed to get beyond the semi-finals."
"I'm not sure that I'd have enough Water Type Pokemon," I chuckled. "I mean, I've got Pelipper, although I don't use it for battle as much as the likes of Houndoom, Gabite or Lairon… sorry…Aggron." Misty laughed at the fact that I still called Aggron by it's pre-evolutionary name. "I can't help it, I'm so used to calling it Lairon," I explained.
"It's okay," Misty snickered once again. "So is Pelipper your only Water Type or do you have others?"
"Well, I do have a Quagsire that I caught when I was travelling through my homeland. And like most people from Azalea Town, I have a Slowpoke although my Slowpoke mainly wanders around the house and sleeps on a day to day basis."
"You ought to come with me," Misty smiled.
"What? Why?" I stammered.
"Because you're my boyfriend," Misty replied. "And I want to spend time with you beyond this tournament. When this is over, we could end up taking different paths and I don't want that to happen."
"I guess I never really thought about what I would do afterwards. But that sounds like a good idea. I can visit my family again as well…"
"Then it's settled," Misty smiled. "We'll head to the Whirl Islands together."
"Sure," I smiled. Misty kissed me on the lips softly, as if thanking me for joining her.
"Oh, stop it. You're going to make me heave," came a voice from behind us. We both turned to see that Harley had filled a formerly vacant seat. I showed a face of grimace.
"What do you want, Ginger?" I mocked.
"Don't get shirty with me, hun," Harley snickered. "I simply want to watch my darling Cynthia electrify this crowd."
"Darling Cynthia?" I laughed. "I thought you said you had no time for girls."
"Don't be silly, silly," he chuckled. "Cynthia and I go back a long way. I met her in my hometown of Slateport City in Hoenn. We have been in touch ever since."
"Well good for you," Misty scowled sarcastically.
"No need to have a hissy-fit, missy," Harley once again let out a small chuckle.
"Could you just leave us alone for a while?" she asked sternly.
"Now, now," Harley wagged his finger, femininely swinging one leg over his other to get more comfortable. "No need to worry. I'm here to watch a battle and that's what I intend to do."
"Good," Misty huffed, turning her attention away from Harley and back to the arena, where an official had now stepped forward to the edge of the battlefield.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your patience. We are now ready to begin the next battle!" the announcer delightfully informed. "This battle is sure to produce a lot of surprises, so stay alert. You won't want to miss a single second of the action. So what are we waiting for? It is my pleasure to introduce to you the two combatants in this battle. First, the red trainer. A real gentlemen of a trainer, who battles for more than just a victory. He battles to keep his pride and his dignity, but we have yet to see him falter so far. Please welcome, from Celadon City here in Kanto, Jamison!" I saw a man walk out through the furthest tunnel to the left. He was of average height, wearing a brown hat that matched his suit. He had a thick, black moustache that looked a little bit strange. His hair was quite gray, although I could see some small blue blotches dotted around the place. He politely waved to the crowd as he walked forward towards his podium, using a walking stick as he progressed. "And now his opponent, the green trainer. She is regarded as the most powerful trainer in Sinnoh and had also been the champion on at least one occasion in the regions of Hoenn and Johto. Now, she has come to Kanto to try her skills. And to be honest, things are looking up for this young girl's future. Please make your voices heard for Cynthia of Celestic Town!" Cynthia then appeared from the opposite corner, not looking at the crowd. She simply had a confident smile etched on her face. She stepped onto her podium, which raised up at the same time as the red one. The official stepped forward.
"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with no time limit. Trainers can switch their Pokemon at any time. Are you both ready?" Cynthia nodded, as did the gentlemen named Jamison. "Begin the match!" the official shouted, raising the flags in his hands. Both Cynthia and Jamison threw their Poke Balls forward. From Jamison's appeared an orange winged lizard that I had seen recently. Not the same one of course, but one of it's species. From Cynthia's Poke Ball emerged a Pokemon that looked like a dog that had the ability to walk on its hind legs. It was blue and black in colour, with a yellow chest with a tiny spike-like feature sticking out from it. I had never seen a real Lucario before, but this one seemed to emanate a lot of power. Then again, the Charizard was hardly weak-looking.
"Charizard has a huge advantage over Lucario," Misty whispered to me. She was so quiet that I barely heard what she said. "Charizard is a Flying Fire type, whereas Lucario is a Fighting Steel Type. It's got two weaknesses for it to exploit." Despite this though, I noticed that Cynthia had ordered her Lucario to attack. It formed a ball of silvery blue energy in its hands and then blasted it forward towards the dragon-like Charizard. The attack missed by inches, as the Charizard sent a wide burst of small flames that shot rapidly towards the Lucario. Some missed, melting some of the ice. However, the ones that did hit Lucario seemed to scorch its skin. It still stood strong, firing another Aura Sphere into the Overheat attack towards the Charizard. This time, the attack connected. The dragon stumbled back, but got back up to its feet and flew up into the air. It performed some aerial acrobatics, before the Aerial Ace hit its mark. Lucario toppled over, but did not give up.
"Looks like they're evenly matched early on," I muttered to Misty.
"Go Cynthia! Show that silly old man who's boss!" Harley cheered, shouting almost right down my ear hole. I turned to him and gave him a bit of a stern look, although he only sneered back at me. I returned my attention back to the match, staring on with great interest. The Charizard had dodged another Aura Sphere, before firing a stream of flame, this time in the form of a Flamethrower attack straight at Lucario. However this time, Lucario evaded the attack by performing a backwards flip. I was incredibly impressed at the way that the Lucario managed to do this without slipping on the icy surface of the battlefield. Cynthia then ordered her Lucario to use a move which looked a little familiar. It looked almost identical to Dark Pulse, yet the energy used was more a dark green and purple colour.
"What move is that?" I asked Misty, amazed as the attack landed on the Charizard, doing significant damage.
"I think it's called Dragon Pulse," she replied unsurely.
"It looks pretty cool!" I wowed at the move. "I wonder if I could teach it to Gabite or something…"
"Drinks… get your drinks here!" I heard a female voice call out. I raised my hand, turning to the woman. She had long, purplish hair that I recognised from somewhere, but I wasn't entirely sure where from. "Oh…" she gasped, before regaining her composure. "What can I get for you? Soda Pop? Cherrim Coke?"
"Uhh… can I get a Lemonade?" I asked, still trying to figure out where I recognised this woman from.
"Certainly," she smiled a bit weirdly, quickly passing me a can of lemonade. "Kick back and enjoy!" she grinned, quickly moving onto her next customer.
"Hang on. Don't I need to pay for this?" I looked at the woman with an odd look. She laughed a little bit hysterically.
"How silly of me! That'll be a dollar…" I passed her the note. She quickly nabbed it out of my hand before bolting it up the steps and back into the lobby area.
"Weird…" I mumbled to myself. All of a sudden, the crowd let out a huge gasp. I quickly jerked my head back towards where the action was happening and noticed that the Charizard was now laying in a pile of icy rubble. I did not know what had happened, but I wondered whether or not the Dragon Pulse had something to do with it.
"That Lucario's Psychic is more powerful than you would expect! And using it to follow up its Dragon Pulse is a combination that any Pokemon Co-Ordinator would be drooling over!" the announcer roared.
"Oh… so that's what happened," I chuckled. The attack had not knocked the Fire Pokemon out, but the Gentleman had still ordered the Pokemon to return to its Poke Ball. For his second Pokemon, a blue blob-like Pokemon appeared. Cynthia's eyes seemed to widen at the sight of this Pokemon. I recognised it as a Wobbuffet. Some members of the crowd winced at the sight of it.
"This could be Jamison's trump card," the announcer predicted. "Wobbuffet can counter almost any attack with twice the power." I looked on, as Cynthia had ordered her Pokemon to attack with another Dragon Pulse. No sooner than attack hit Wobbuffet that it bounced back, striking Lucario in the chest knocking it down. Even though Dragon Type moves don't do much to a Steel Type like Lucario, it still seemed to have the wind knocked out of it by the impact of its own move. The Lucario sent forth another attack, this time a Psychic Attack. But just like before, the attack was sent right back to the user. It had been surrounded by its own Psychic power. Lucario fell backward, defeated.
"Lucario is unable to battle. This round goes to Wobbuffet!" the official raised a flag in Cynthia's direction. I was a little bit stunned at the fact that Cynthia, who I had considered near unbeatable, had lost a Pokemon so early on in the match. This gentleman Jamison really seemed to know what he was doing. Cynthia sent out here second Pokemon, which I recognised immediately… her formidable Garchomp. It seemed to dislike the cold on its feet in the same way that my Gabite had done, although it did not display its discomfort as obviously. The Garchomp suddenly burst forward as blue streaks of energy surrounded its body. The Wobbuffet seemed to flinch just as the Dragon Rush connected, causing major damage. The Wobbuffet did not stand a chance as Garchomp managed to maintain the momentum of its attack, heading for a second connection. Wobbuffet seemed to send a purple shadow of some sort in front of Garchomp. The attack connected, but the impact seemed to be far less forceful than it had been before. The Wobbuffet was knocked down once again, but its trainer seemed a little frustrated that it had got up.
"What's that all about?" I muttered.
"Are you blind as well as dumb?" Harley tooted in a silly voice. "The Gentleman there had his Wobbuffet use Destiny Bond. If it had fainted from that last attack, then Cynthia's cute Garchomp would have gone down with it! Perish the thought!"
"So Cynthia had her Garchomp hit it lighter to stop it from fainting, rendering Destiny Bond worthless."
"But if Wobbuffet uses Destiny Bond now, it could take out Garchomp straight away," Misty for some reason seemed to show some concern. "It looks as though it could fall down in a breeze."
"I guess she'll just have to wait for the perfect opportunity," I suggested. Looking back at the battle commencing, Garchomp suddenly surged forward with one of its fin-like forearms, which had filled with a white glow. The Wobbuffet covered itself with another barrier as Garchomp's Brick Break hit its mark. Wobbuffet was trying to counter the attack, but it looked as though it wasn't working. Finally, Garchomp broke through its defence and its attack fully connected. The Wobbuffet flew backwards, skidding along the ice before crashing at the base of the podium defeated.
"Wobbuffet can no longer continue," the official decreed, "this round goes to Cynthia's Garchomp."
"Nice comeback," I smiled. "This is more of the Cynthia that I know."
"Now they're down to two Pokemon each!" Misty murmered to me.
"Stating the obvious there, hun," Harley laughed mockingly. Misty simply scowled again. Back on the battlefield, Jamison had recalled his Charizard into battle. It was flying above the arena. Jamison ordered it to attack. It sent a fiery stream of flames towards Garchomp, but it dodged easily. The flames caused some more ice to melt in the same way that its Overheat had done when it battled Lucario. The Garchomp seemed a little concerned by this, but not concerned enough to stop it from evading a multicoloured blast from the Charizard's mouth.
"That Dragonbreath would have been super effective if it had hit. Cynthia had better be careful," Misty warned. Garchomp had since retaliated by propelling itself skyward with an orange stream of energy crossing over its body. The Giga Impact attack stuck the Charizard square across the face. It's neck snapped backwards. Misty buried her head into my shoulder, wincing at the sight. Despite the massive damage that the dragon of fire had taken from that move, it still struck back with a Dragonbreath, knocking Garchomp back down to the ice below. Despite the super effective attack, I noticed Garchomp had formed a barrier of some sort with the blades on its forearms. It wasn't actually taking much damage at all. The Charizard let out a frustrated roar, as it spat another Overheat attack towards Garchomp. Garchomp dodged with little difficulty, but the attack continues to pour from the Charizard's mouth. The ice was melting rapidly. Garchomp watched as the ice around it became thinner and thinner, almost turning into water.
"Does every trainer that comes onto the Ice Field feel the need to melt it during battle?" I wondered out loud to Misty. She simply shrugged her shoulders. Eventually, Garchomp was stood on one small iceberg floating amidst the water. Charizard began to fly forward, sending a Dragonbreath in Garchomp's direction, but Cynthia held her Poke Ball forward, withdrawing Garchomp just before the Dragonbreath connected.
"Cynthia has taken Garchomp out of the match for now," the announcer stated the obvious yet again. "Which Pokemon will she use to battle Charizard?" The answer came in a surprising form. Dropping into the cold water, a serpentine creature came into view. It's head and body was a creamy colour, with two long crimson streamer-like features running down its body. It's tail was blue with red splotches and split into a fan-like shape. It was a truly beautiful Pokemon. It simply stared up at the Charizard, who was still flapping its wings above the water. "Cynthia has chosen Milotic to continue this battle," the announcer confirmed. Cynthia sent an order to the gorgeous serpent, before it fired a beam of extreme cold towards the airborne dragon. It struck one of its wings, freezing it solid. The Charizard tried desperately to stay in the air, to no avail. It plummeted into the bitterly cold water, wailing as a huge splash drenched Gentleman. The rushing water knocked his hat off for a start, but that was only the beginning. Beads of gray water ran from his hair, revealing his natural undercolour… blue. What's more his moustache had washed off his face and was now floating in the pool of water. He quickly returned his Charizard, which had been declared unable to battle by the official. The crowd murmured in confusion as to what was going on.
"Hey!" I jumped up with surprise, talking to Misty. "Isn't that one of the guys who tried to steal Casey's Meganium and Ash's Pikachu?" I noticed that the vendor who sold me that lemonade, which I had yet to drink, had run over to his side…
"What's going on, here?" the announcer mumbled, apparently not realising that his microphone was still switched on. The vendor and the Gentleman began laughing.
"Listen, is that a crowd I hear?" the vendor smirked.
"They were cheering for me, loud and clear," the fake Gentleman replied.
"Carrying through the stadium," the woman continued.
"Through the stands," the male added.
"In the lobby!" came the goofy voice of that Meowth, although I didn't see where it was.
"Bringing chaos at a break-neck pace," she laughed.
"Dashing all hope and putting fear in it's place," he chuckled.
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet," she added.
"When everything is worse, then our work is complete," he delivered his line.
"Jessie!" the woman shouted, throwing her costume to the floor.
"And it's James!" the man did the same with his drenched suit.
"Plus Meowth!" it called from somewhere again. "Now that, my friends, is a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jessie posed.
"We're Team Rocket!" James stood alongside her.
"We're in your face!" the trio called out together. This time however, the Wobbuffet from before was not in sight… possibly since it had been defeated by Cynthia's Garchomp. But a voice did appear in it's place…
"Abso--l!" came a deep voice. I looked over to see that from one of the Poke Balls that James was holding, an Absol had appeared. It looked over directly where I was sat. I suddenly let out a gasp.
"That Absol…" I muttered. I looked up to see a figure was falling from the sky… or rather the Meowth shaped hot air balloon that I had only just noticed looming above the stadium. The figure swung something and a familiar looking Pokemon appeared. The Weezing lowered his trainer down toward the Ice Field, he glared at me with evil intention.
"Disaster," Darkhan sinisterly chuckled at me, clasping his sword in both hands…
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: Darkhan seeks revenge on Jonathyn, aligning himself with Team Rocket to do so. Jonathyn must join forces with Cynthia to stop the evil foursome. But is Darkhan truly as bad as he seems?