Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this? I do not own Pokemon… at all…
MESSAGE TO READERS: This chapter has a lot of action in it, which is what I know you people are fond of. The next chapter will be even better hopefully. But that's all I have to say, other than keep those reviews coming! Also, check out the spin-off story "A Smeargle's Tale" which I have just started to write. Don't worry, it will not be updated nearly as much as this story. So go grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy.
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 21: ROCKET GANG'S RECRUIT! STOP THE VENGEFUL SWORDSMAN!
It was one of the most venomous looks that any human being had ever given me. I could literally see flames of rage burning in the very centre of his pupils, yet he had a sadistic grin etched across his face. The crowd was gasping, some running away in fear. Even Harley had ran away screaming like a little girl. To be truthful, I had never been in a situation where another man threatened me in such a manner. Disembarking his Weezing vehicle, he stood on the edge of the battlefield just inches from where Misty and I were sat. Misty herself appeared to have frozen in a combination of disbelief and pure fright. I hadn't seen her quite this scared since Harley introduced her to his Ariados, but this expression was ten times more fearful. Darkhan let out another one of his trademark chuckles, before swinging his sword viciously into the air. Two Poke Balls into the sky. Two Pokemon that I had never seen before appeared… the first resembled a bush of some sort. It's whole body was covered in thick vines, several of which formed a pair of arms. I could only see it's eyes peering from the thick overgrowth. The second was a bit shorter than its comrade. It looked as though it had been mummified, except that one cycloptic eye stared out towards me. The Dusclops and Tangrowth stood alongside their malicious trainer, who had now also been joined by Jessie and James of Team Rocket, both of whom had smug expressions on their faces.
"What the hell…" I stammered, as Darkhan glared over to where I was stood, surrounded by his Pokemon… including the Absol that he had obviously allowed James to borrow in order to defeat Cynthia.
"Vengeance!" Darkhan sneered, turning his head until he could see Cynthia out of the very corner of his eye. "Eradicate," he muttered to the duo.
"It would be our pleasure," Jessie grinned. "Seviper, Poison Tail!" she shouted, throwing her Poke Ball forward. The poisonous snake appeared right above Cynthia, lunging for her whilst whipping its tail across. However, her Milotic leapt out from the water, firing an Ice Beam directly at its face. The Seviper managed to twist its serpentine body to evade the attack, but at the same time missed Cynthia, fortunately.
"What do you think you are doing?" an official ran forward in protest.
"Sleep!" Darkhan sneered once again. This time, his Dusclops took a step forward, before its single eye glowed a dark red. The official dropped to the floor, snoring loudly. I had now got out of my seat, with Misty accompanying me. We leapt down to the ground below, arming ourselves with Poke Balls of our own. James by now had, albeit reluctantly, passed back the Poke Balls that contained a defeated Charizard and an external Absol. Darkhan snatched them back. One of the Poke Balls in his sword began to crackle, before vanishing into thin air, as well as the ball containing Charizard. Darkhan stared at his hand, wondering where his Poke Ball had gone. I said nothing, although I knew that the maximum number of Pokemon one could carry at any one time was six. No more than that was allowed. It had gone back to wherever Darkhan stores his Pokemon… This was going to be tough… Tangrowth, Dusclops, Absol, Weezing and Seviper were already in view. It was only Cynthia's Milotic that was capable of doing anything to them at this point. I ran over to where Cynthia was stood along with Misty. I threw two of my Poke Balls forward, as did Misty. From our Poke Balls came Gyarados and Corsola, along with my Pelipper and Nidorino. "Even," Darkhan smirked, noticing that it was now five on five.
"What's all this about?" I asked, with a frustrated tone. "Are you that bitter about losing to me that you feel the need to take your anger out this way?"
"Incorrect," Darkhan smirked. "Azelf…"
"What about Azelf?" Misty stuttered.
"He's told us all about your little escapade the other day," James smiled menacingly. "You see, he was after Azelf but you twerps got in the way of his plans. So we've agreed to help him capture Azelf as well. Darkhan is not just a Pokemon Collector, you know. He's the newest member of Team Rocket!"
"False!" Darkhan boomed, frightening James a little. "Azelf…by any means necessary!"
"Cripes," I chuckled. "I never knew you could use more than two words in your sentences!" I then began to laugh mockingly.
"Silence!" he boomed, lifting his sword so that the tip was just millimetres away from my face. For some reason though, I continued to laugh. Even though this was obviously angering the swordsman, I could not help it. "SILENCE!" he roared again. This just made me even more hysterically. I fell back, clutching my side from the pain this laugher was causing.
"I can't help it!" I chuckled. "It's just that I find it completely hilarious that you feel as though the only way that you can intimidate me is by bringing out five Pokemon against us and waving a piece of tin foil in front of my face. And the only way for you to achieve your goals is by cheating your way into it."
"No Cheat!" Darkhan shouted in the same way he had done when I had accused his Absol of interfering in our match.
"You liar!" I protested, still chuckling. "You can't deny the fact that your Absol wasn't causing interference. Otherwise it would never have been by your side. If it was that loyal a companion of yours, you'd have it by you all the time. Yet both times when we saw you, in Azelf's cave and when I was battling Ash, your Absol was nowhere to be seen."
"It makes perfect sense," Cynthia nodded at my thesis. "I watched your match with great interest and even the television coverage did not show you order your Espeon to use Future Sight, yet I know for a fact that Absol can learn such a move." Darkhan suddenly fell silent.
"So?" Jessie snorted. "What do you twerps know, anyway?"
"He wants revenge fair and square," James grinned. "So we agreed to help each other get what we want. Besides, the Pokemon of the Champion are super strong. The perfect present for the boss!"
"Imbecile," Darkhan huffed back, before glaring at Misty and I. "Settle now…" he muttered sinisterly.
"There is no reason for us to fight," I stepped forward. My Pelipper and Nidorino both showed signs of concern as I approached the swordsman. "I won the match, you're going home. And there is no reason for you to be upset because you lost whilst trying to cheat."
"NO CHEAT!" Darkhan roared, swinging his sword in front of my face. I managed to duck to avoid the blade as Misty let out a horrified gasp. Even Cynthia seemed astonished at Darkhan's actions. "No Cheat…" he repeated, taking a deep breath. Cynthia stepped in front of me, with her Milotic in tow.
"How do you justify yourself?" she asked with a dead serious tone. "Jonathyn is exactly right in what he says. You cheated to win and you still failed. And now here you are, kicking and squealing like a child that hasn't got his own way. You should be ashamed to call yourself a Pokemon Trainer."
"Does it look like he cares?" Jessie sneered.
"Listen, I will be more than happy to challenge you to another battle outside of the arena, but this is the wrong way to go about asking for it." I stared at Darkhan and Team Rocket for a moment. Darkhan was obviously contemplating the idea. He let out a sigh, hanging his head down.
"I…" Darkhan began, now a tone of sadness had filled his voice. Some officials had now ran up to where we were stood, along with an Officer Jenny.
"You three," Jenny called. "On the ground, hands behind your head."
"Not today, we won't," James smiled, holding a Poke Ball in his hand. "I'm sure that Carnivine agrees with me!" he tossed his Poke Ball forward as the Flycatcher Pokemon appeared in front of the Officer Jenny. "Please don't bite me," James cowered as the Grass Type headed towards him affectionately. "But you can take a bite of HER blue hair if you prefer!" The Carnivine shot away, heading for the Officer Jenny with its gaping mouth wide open.
"Nidorino, help out Jenny with Poison Jab!" I called. Nidorino also began charging toward Jenny, but more in the direction of Carnivine, thrusting its front paw into Carnivine's jaw, almost making it bite its lip.
"You there," An official dressed in a suit pointed at James. "You are disqualified from your battle. Cynthia will go through to the next round."
"That's fine by me," James laughed. "Although she won't have any Pokemon left by the time we are through…"
"Battle now!" Darkhan boomed.
"What? Five on Five… at the same time!?" I laughed. "Come on, Darkhan. That would be near impossible and you know it. But if you want to take this elsewhere, then I'd be more than happy to beat you again."
"Double Battle!" Darkhan nodded at me. "Forest."
"Fine by me," I smiled.
"Oh, forget this!" she snorted. "We didn't come here to see a sitcom, we came here to nab some Pokemon… whoever they belong to!" All of a sudden, a giant net of some sort covered all of us, with the exception of Team Rocket along with their Seviper and Carnivine, who was still recovering from Nidorino's Poison Jab. It scooped up all of our Pokemon before lifting us up skyward. It had been fired from their hot air balloon, I could hear the talking Meowth laughing diabolically.
"A Pokemon in the net is worth two in the bush!" it shouted greedily.
"Betrayal!" Darkhan boomed, leaping up into the air. He swung his sword at the net, but the blade simply bounced back off, almost catching his Tangrowth in the head.
"Oh, boo-hoo!" Jessie mocked. "We don't need you to get to the good stuff! And don't waste your time trying to break that net. It's made from rubber. Thick rubber at that. Perfect for insulating electric attacks and bouncing off swords!"
"This time, we've got you beat!" James grinned. "And this huge haul of Pokemon is bound to get us that promotion for sure!"
"Then let's seal the deal!" Jessie laughed. "Seviper, use Haze!"
"Sevi--per!" the poisonous serpent hissed as a thick black fog billowed from its mouth. Everyone coughed and spluttered as the Haze engulfed us. We could not see anything at all.
"Whirlwind!" I heard a voice shout from beyond the smoke. A sudden gale force wind blew against us, dispersing the attack. I opened my eyes to see Ash running straight for us. "You're not going to get away!" he yelled angrily. "Staraptor, Brave Bird!"
"Star--," it cawed, hurtling itself towards the balloon which Jessie and James had somehow managed to embark upon during the time which we were blinded by Seviper's Haze. The hawk flew directly at the top of the rubber net, but it simply rocked the basket of the balloon a little. Ash's Staraptor seemed a little stunned that the attack did not have any effect at all.
"Where did you come from?" Misty asked surprised to see her friend.
"I was watching on the television…" Ash replied. "Team Rocket always seems to cause trouble at the most inappropriate moment."
"Damn… if only Pelipper were still out I'd be able to help too," I frowned. "But I think I've got the next best thing! Gabite, you're up!" I tossed the Dragon's Poke Ball forward. It emerged looking refreshed, despite the beating it to in the third round battle with Darkhan. "Use Dragon Rush to bring that balloon down!" I shouted, as the Cave Pokemon sprang into action. It's body was covered by the same blue aura that I had seen during the third round battle. It flew up towards the balloon.
"Wobbuffet, Counter!" Jessie shouted, throwing her Poke Ball forward. The Pokemon she had chosen emerged, although it looked pretty much wiped out. Jessie smacked her forehead dopily. "Why'd you have to use Wobbuffet in that battle, James?" she cried angrily.
"I didn't hear you complaining when it took out that Lucario," James shouted back. "Carnvine, use Bullet Seed to stop that shark freak!"
"Carnivine," it chortled with a bit of a goofy voice, firing a torrent of seeds from its mouth.
"Dodge!" I shouted up to my Dragon Pokemon. It swooped to one side, but the attack still followed it. The Carnivine seemed notorious for continuing it's Bullet Seed attack for such a long time. I recalled the time before when it almost managed to defeat Casey's giant Vespiquen with the move just by relentlessly barraging its foe with seeds. "Gabite, keep going!" I encouraged it as it carried on evading the attack.
"Staraptor, use Aerial Ace on the balloon!" Ash shouted up. The Flying Pokemon approached the balloon with rapid velocity.
"Seviper, use Wrap!" Jessie ordered as the Poison Pokemon leapt out of the balloon and coiled itself around Ash's Staraptor just as it had done against my Pelipper before. "Now Poison Fang!" she called, as the Seviper followed up by opening its mouth. It's fangs turned a putrid shade of purple before sinking them deep into Staraptor's neck. I could hear it squawk in agony as the poison seeped into its bloodstream. "Aim for the water!" Jessie shouted once again. Seviper angled itself to fall towards the water.
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!" Cynthia shouted, as the evolution of Gabite appeared from its Poke Ball. It quickly imitated Gabite's attack and slammed into Seviper with such force that it knocked it off Staraptor. Garchomp caught the poisoned hawk, as the snake fell helplessly into the ice cold water. Both landed on the floor, Staraptor was unconscious now due to the poison's effect. Ash ran over to it alarmed to see its condition. I looked back up at Gabite, who was still airborne and still managing to avoid Carnivine's Bullet Seed.
"Gabite, fly above the balloon!" I cried out to the dragon. With a burst of speed, it shot upwards, right over the top of the hot-air balloon. Carnivine's Bullet Seed continued to follow it…
"Stop, you dummy!" James shrieked, but it was too late. The Bullet Seed had made several small holes at the top of the balloon. It began to deflate, lowering it slowly towards the ground.
"Give it more juice!" Meowth growled, making the flame bigger to try and keep them aloft. But this was to no avail. Gabite landed on the ground at the same time as the balloon, along with the rubber net containing the Pokemon.
"That rubber net is shock-proof, Ash," I grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Definitely," Ash grinned. "Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" The electric rodent jumped down from his trainers shoulder and began to run at top speed at Team Rocket, who had now congregated by the melted Ice Field to fish out Seviper. Pikachu's body was engulfed with an electrical aura, before slamming into the villainous trio. A cloud of smoke appeared upon impact, as the threesome began to blast off into the sky.
"This won't happen in the next chapter of this story!" Meowth shouted faintly.
"We're blasting off again!" they all called out simultaneously as a star blinked as soon as they had disappeared completely. We all breathed a long sigh of relief, with the exception of Ash, who was still concerned that his Staraptor had hardly moved since the poison had consumed its bloodstream.
"What can I do?" Ash whimpered, worried for his Pokemon.
"Here," I passed him something. "Casey gave it to me before she went, this would be the perfect time to put it to good use!" I reached into my backpack and pulled out a Full Restore. Ash happily took it from me and sprayed it over his Staraptor. It took a while for the spray to do its magic, but eventually Staraptor's eyes opened. Although a little weary it looked like it was back to full strength. "Thanks, Jonathyn," Ash sighed with relief, yet gratefully to me.
"No worries," I nodded. "Now to set our Pokemon free…" I turned to see Darkhan was now staring at us, with his Dusclops stood next to him… "How the…" I exclaimed upon noticing that the Pokemon had escaped from the net."
"It's a Ghost type," Misty replied. "It can pass through anything." Darkhan ordered his Pokemon to stand directly in the rubber net.
"Through," Darkhan said to the Pokemon in the net. Curiously, Misty's Corsola approached the Ghost Pokemon. It cautiously stepped towards the ghoul, before disappearing part way into its body. Misty's face seemed to turn white as the Corsola nearly vanished, only to re-appear through Dusclops' torso, out of the net. "Next," Darkhan jerked his head, signalling the other Pokemon to follow suit. I could hardly believe what was happening.
"Clever!" Cynthia smiled. "Dusclop's body is completely hollow. But it's somehow made a pathway between the net. It's almost like walking through a black hole."
"That really is something…" I stood still with awe, as the remaining Pokemon passed through the ghost's body. Even Misty's Gyarados somehow managed to squeeze through. Nidorino and Pelipper quickly made their way towards me. "Thank God you are alright," I sighed with relief. I looked around to see Misty delighted to see her Gyarados and Corsola were both safe. Darkhan's Tangrowth rejoined him, along with his Absol and Weezing. He quickly returned the latter two into their Poke Balls, as did Misty with her own. Cynthia and Milotic said nothing to each other, but pleased expressions were exchanged amongst the two of them. She also called back the serpentine creature. In the end, the only Pokemon remaining in the area were my Pelipper and Nidorino, Ash's Staraptor, who was still getting treatment from its trainer and Darkhan's Tangrowth, who was the last the exit the net.
"Is everyone alright?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Fine," Cynthia nodded. "It doesn't look like any of the Pokemon were seriously harmed. And the Staraptor there looks as good as new."
"Star--," Ash's Flying Type cawed happily.
"I don't think Team Rocket will be causing too much trouble any time soon," Jenny smiled, "But we will need to heighten security for the upcoming rounds."
"And what about you?" I turned, pacing towards Darkhan. "You're still after Azelf, obviously…"
"Problem?" he sneered back at me. "Azelf… my dream!"
"Your dream? To capture a legendary Pokemon?" I asked him.
"Azelf is sacred around these parts," Jenny said to us all. "If it were ever to fall into the wrong hands, the whole balance of human order would be thrown into chaos. Legendary Pokemon have powers that we can only dream of. Some say the creator of the land, Groudon resides somewhere near here."
"I heard that too," I nodded, looking at Cynthia. She smiled at me somewhat strangely.
"Even though you almost harmed an innocent, you have obviously seen the error of your ways," Jenny said to Darkhan. "Since I'm feeling in a generous mood, I'm not going to arrest you. But I don't want to see any of this sort of behaviour again? Understood?" Darkhan grinned for a moment, before silently nodding.
"Battle…" Darkhan growled at me, his Dusclops and Tangrowth both seemed to flex, ready to fight.
"Well… technically we're not supposed to have a proper battle outside of a stadium," I shrugged. "It's against the rules."
"I know where you can battle," the suited official said to me. "Come to the Final Battlefield. It could use a bit of loosening up. And technically, it isn't outside of the arena. I'll allow this one to slide, as long as you don't say anything…"
"Regards," Darkhan nodded, walking away from us. It was as though he knew exactly where to go.
"Are you sure that this is such a good idea?" Misty pressed herself against me.
"I've beaten him once and that wasn't enough for him," I smirked with a battle-ready expression on my face. "I'll force him to admit defeat, once and for all." I began to follow Darkhan out of the Ice Field. Some people had now began to return to the Ice Field.
"Well folks, Cynthia goes through due to a disqualification. But don't despair, we've got plenty more action here on the Ice Field," the commentator suddenly sprang back into life as we left the field. It was going to take some time before the action on the Ice Field returned to normal. With that little incident now behind us, I was ready to fight my next battle. Darkhan did not say a word as we approached the empty stadium. The only spectators would be Ash, Misty, Cynthia and Officer Jenny. Along with a couple of officials as well. It took no time at all to get to the Final Stage, which was still being prepared somewhat by some groundsmen. The suited official ran over to them and whispered something to them. Almost instantly, they picked up their tools and walked out of the stadium.
"I will be the referee," the suited official said to us both. "By the way, the name is Rufus Goodshow, grandson of Mr. Goodshow, the chairperson of the Pokemon League."
"It's nice to meet you," I shook his hand. "And I thank you for taking the time to do this for us…"
"Don't thank me," Rufus grinned. "The thrill of the battle is what I like to see. Two trainers going head to head with nerves of steel and an iron will. Now take your positions." Darkhan did not stop to address the future chairman, instead stood on the far side of the plain battlefield. The ground itself was perfectly level on a hardened mud-like surface. "Any idea on what battle you would like?" Rufus asked us both.
"Double Battle," we replied in unison. The same sort of battle we had in the previous round.
"Very well," Rufus nodded in acknowledgement. "A double battle it is… now, select two Pokemon to battle with." I took a look at my Pelipper and Nidorino, both of which looked at me almost sweetly. I sighed a little, but considered that this would be great experience for them. After all, in all three rounds I had used all my other Pokemon that I had brought with me on my journey with the exception of these two.
"Alright. Pelipper, Nidorino, let's do this!" I shouted to get them a little pumped up. Pelipper squawked and Nidorino let out a confident snarl. They took their positions next to each other on the battlefield.
"And you, Darkhan?" Rufus turned to face him from halfway across the battlefield. Darkhan simply smirked, as his Tangrowth took a step forward. "And the second?" Darkhan simply began to laugh with sadistic complexity.
"Behold…" Darkhan sneered towards me, reaching around the back of his neck and removing his cape slowly. Everyone watched with great interest as he finally drapped the strange cape over his arm. He tossed it over to his Dusclops, which caught it in its phantomesque hands. In an instant, something strange began to happen. The Dusclops began to glow a strange shade of white. It looked similar somehow… but I could not figure out where from. Darkhan was laughing almost devilishly. The Dusclops began to expand and grow, before the light faded completely. The Dusclops was no longer seen, instead… the King Of Ghosts… rather than feet, it hovered from the ground, it's feet replaced with nothing but a genie-like wisp. It still maintained its single eye, but it looked much more terrifying and intimidating than it had done as a Dusclops…
"How…" I gasped. "It evolved just by giving it his cape?"
"I thought that thing looked a little familiar," Cynthia frowned. "His cape was actually a Reaper Cloth."
"A Reaper Cloth?" I shuddered. "What's that?"
"An evolutionary item," she replied. "It is what is required for a Dusclops to evolve into Dusknoir."
"So I'm facing a walking bush and a dead thing, fine by me. We'll take you down," I grinned…
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: It's Jonathyn versus Darkhan Part Two! Can Jonathyn's Pelipper and Nidorino defeat the awesome combination of Darkhan's newly evolved Dusknoir and his Tangrowth?