Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing these disclaimers, so take a guess at what would be said… that's right. I do not own Pokemon
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 25: THE FOURTH COMBATANT! AGGRON & GABITE'S DUEL!
Hopefully by now, the curfew would have passed. I had awoken especially early due to the fact that no one was allowed out last night and I felt that a little bit of training would go a long way before my upcoming battle. Solitude was one thing that I had hardly managed to grasp during my time here. But now most of the trainers that usually filled the meadow where I was about to exercise my comrades was completely empty. Where the sun was usually shining brightly, the sky was now blanketed with thick and dark clouds. Only a few drops of rain were falling and nothing else seemed to come of it. Fortunately for me. In my hand, I held four minimised Poke Balls. By pressing the center of the ball, it quickly expanded into a much larger sphere. I did this one at a time, tossing the balls forward once they had swelled to their maximum size. From the first ball, my recently evolved Aggron appeared. It seemed to have adjusted to its new form perfectly by now. It began flexing its arms that had developed from it's former front legs, displaying its power and strength. From the second ball emerged Pelipper, which began flying around in circles above Aggron and I. It soon landed next to Aggron. At first, it seemed a little intimidated at its size but it soon settled down when it realised that it was still Lairon on the inside. Pelipper seemed to get on with most Pokemon without any problem at all. It would sometimes try and attack Pokemon such as Finneon and other small fish due to the fact it saw them as something of a late lunch. Once I had released my third Pokemon from it's Poke Ball, Aggron turned to face it looking boastful of its new power. Gabite appeared next to Pelipper, which separated the two rivals. Both Pokemon glared hatefully at each other.
"When are you two going to learn?" I sighed as they continued their stand off. Pelipper looked back and forth at the two of them, before flapping it's wings and raising a couple of feet off the ground. It somehow managed to maintain a perfect height, cutting off the two rivals' eye contact with each other. My eyes seemed to widen when Pelipper did this. I never considered it to be an enforcer of any kind. "Listen," I said a little snappily. Aggron and Gabite turned their attention to me for the moment. "You three are going to help me in the Fourth Round Battle coming up later today." Their cheers demonstrated their delight of being able to battle. "It's four against four and none of you have ever met it before, so I want you all to welcome it nicely, alright?" They obligingly nodded to me. I tossed the Poke Ball containing my surprise choice forward. It appeared right in front of me, staring at the three new Pokemon that it probably had never seen in its life before. It seemed to have a huge gaping smile across its face, looking a little bit dim witted. "Pelipper, Aggron, Gabite, I want you all to meet Quagsire, one of my old friends." The three bowed their heads respectively to their new ally.
"Sire!" it rasped happily. Quagsire's smile grew wider, as it charged towards Aggron. It tackled it playfully, but it surprisingly managed to make the heavy Pokemon stumble a little. It had certainly become a lot more powerful since I last battled with it around the Johto region. Aggron scowled a little, looking down at the mudfish-like creature. Aggron let out a brief snort, but Quagsire still had its light-hearted smile across its face. As a Lairon, it probably would have headbutted it all the way to Sinnoh, but Aggron kept its cool and simply raised its head. It could see that Gabite had a small smile etched across face. It seemed to me as though it found Aggron's reaction humorous. "Quagsire!" it called out again, looking over to Gabite. It quickly ran over to Gabite, jumping up at it and wrapping its arms around its neck attemping to give it a big hug. Quagsire seemed to wrench at Gabite's neck, although it was only trying to play. It seemed to be causing some discomfort, as Gabite attempted to raise its head, but Quagsire simply kept yanking it with an over exaggerating amount of force.
"Cut it out, Quagsire," I told it sternly, although I also found this quite funny. Aggron seemed to show as much signs of humor as Gabite did when the shoe was on the other foot. "Save it for the opponents!" I shook my head. Quagsire then looked at Pelipper, who seemed a little bit worried by this. Quagsire released the hold on Gabite, before trying to jump up at Pelipper. However Pelipper cleverly decided to levitate a little higher in the air, just out of reach of Quagsire's fin-like hand. "Listen, Quagsire, I need to know what you can do before we do anything else. So how about you show me what you can do?" Quagsire then looked at me a little bit confused. It seemed to shrug its shoulders a little bit, or whatever it has. I smacked my forehead. "You really are dim, but never mind," I smiled, trying to show the most amount of patience that I could. "Tell you what, how about you have a little battle against Gabite, Aggron and Pelipper. You can show me what you can do then."
"Quag?" it turned to face the three Pokemon. Aggron and Gabite seemed quite happy to teach this thing a lesson. Pelipper simply nodded its head. "OK, so let's start with you, Pelipper. Use Hydro Pump on it." Pelipper let out a caw, sending a torrent of water towards the amphibian. Quagsire did not even seem to move. Whether or not it actually knew that the Hydro Pump was approaching it was beyond me. The move struck dead on, drenching the Pokemon. However, the water just seemed to vanish. Only a few drops fell to the floor.
"What the heck?" I exclaimed, wondering what just happened.
"Water Absorb," a voice replied. I felt a pair of lips press lightly against the back of my neck. Misty then joined me at my side. "It's an ability that Quagsire has. When its hit by water, it is able to heal itself without taking any damage."
"Nice," I smiled. "You're more useful than I thought, buddy! And how did you know where to find me, Misty?"
"Pretty obvious, since I followed you here," she replied, tapping her foot. "You don't have to run so fast, you know. I can't keep up with that speed."
"Sorry," I chuckled. "There must be a better way to have Quagsire use its moves than to have its allies attack it."
"It's OK," Misty smiled. "No offense to you or your Quagsire, but it is quite a dim witted Pokemon. It probably won't mind even if you knock it out."
"You could be right," I shrugged. "Alright, Aggron, use Shock Wave!" Aggron began to charge its electric attack, before scattering it forward to strike Quagsire. But once again, it did not even move. The electrical attack simply scattered away from its body once again doing little to no damage whatsoever. "Oh, of course… it's part Ground Type as well!" I sighed, punishing my own stupidity. Quagsire had now formed a fist, which was glowing a bright white colour. It punched Aggron right in the chest, causing it to let out a roar of agony. It fell to its knees, clutching the area where it had been hit. "Whoa!" I gasped in awe. "Since when did it know how to use Focus Punch!?"
"Don't ask me," Misty smiled. "Looks like it doesn't have the brains but definitely the strength."
"Let's see what else it can do!" I exclaimed, happy that Quagsire was proving to be more powerful than I had ever imagined. "OK Gabite, let's use Dragon Rush!" Gabite suddenly bolted forward as streaks of blue energy flew from its darting body. Quagsire noticed it coming towards it this time and opened its mouth. A small, pale blue orb appeared just inside it, before firing a beam of blue light towards Gabite. The Dragon Rush attack suddenly halted, as Gabite let out a roar of pain that was near equal decibels to Aggron's.
"Jonathyn, do you know what that attack was?" Misty gasped.
"Ice Beam…" my grin grew to the widest it could possibly be. "The only thing that will take down Sandra's Dragons are other Dragon Moves and Ice moves… oh… this is TOO good!" I whooped, punching the air. I ran over to Quagsire, who turned to me and let out a long yawn. A bubble appeared in the air. I recognised it immediately and dodged out of the way. Misty, however, did not move. She must have hardly seen the clear bubble approach her, before popping in her face. She in turn let out a long yawn…
"And I only just woke up…" she stretched, before lowering herself onto the ground and curling up. She was sound asleep.
"I guess a Yawn really is contagious," I grinned, trying to remember where I had heard that joke before. "Quagsire, you were great!" Quagsire smiled and went to tackle me once again. "Yes, I know about your Body Slam, pal!" I laughed, evading Quagsire's playful attack. "Return for now," I called, withdrawing the amphibious Pokemon back into its Poke Ball. I looked back to Gabite and Aggron, who were both still reeling in pain from Quagsire's super effective attacks. "I really must have underestimated Quagsire," I said to no-one in particular. Pelipper was the only one who had come away from this little misunderstanding unscathed, who had now perched itself on the ground and made itse. I knew that I would need to heal Aggron and Gabite before the match after taking such critical damage from Quagsire. They still glared at one another though as they both tried to stand back at a vertical position, as if having a contest to see who could stand upright first. Without any indication, Pelipper got up to its feet and began to waddle away from the competitive duo. They stopped dead as they watched the pelican Pokemon walk off. I could not help but chuckle at this.
"Pel, Pelipper!" it seemed to mock Gabite and Aggron as it took off into the sky and began circling above us. I took the opportunity to check on Misty, but she was still sound asleep. It would take some time for her to wake up yet. The silence was suddenly broken when I a howl of wind blew throughout the meadow. A tornado had formed not too far from where we were stood.
"This is bad!" I shouted, as the tornado became larger. It was obviously heading right for us. I began to fumble around for their Poke Balls, but I was rushing so much that I could not figure out whose was whose. "Run for it!" I shouted, lifting up Misty in my arms. Pelipper began to fly well ahead of me, as Aggron and Gabite also managed to get ahead of me. Gabite was moving in leaps and bounds, whereas Aggron was simply taking long strides. Although I had nowhere near the strength that any of my Pokemon possessed, I managed to keep a reasonable pace. But when I looked back, the tornado had gotten much closer. Whilst looking back, I could see something in the sky, heading right past the tornado at great speed and then facing it just behind me. I saw the creature fire something from its mouth, some sort of attack. Within seconds, the tornado began to die. The wind turned into nothing more than a breeze. The dark clouds began to disperse as well. I stopped running, panting and out of breath. I lowered Misty to the ground, trying to get a good look at the creature that had stopped the twister… a Flygon. Instantly, I knew what had happened, as Sandra leapt down from its back.
"Did I scare you, then?" Sandra smirked mischievously, as her Flygon came to rest beside her.
"Hardly," I shrugged, still trying to catch my breath. "I see you're getting some late training done. I gather you had your Flygon create that Twister?"
"Not my Flygon," she grinned. "One of my other Dragon Pokemon, but I'll savour the surprises until our battle."
"Fine by me," I nodded. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve too, but I'll save them for now."
"As you like," Sandra turned away nonchalantly, facing a nearby tree. "I saw what happened with you and that guy in the cape."
"Guy with a cape?" I asked, bewildered by her statement. "Oh… you mean Darkhan?"
"Yes," she nodded, still her back was turned to me. "I should warn you, Jonathyn, he's not just any regular trainer."
"I kind of gathered that when he nearly chopped my head off!" I replied. "But he's gone now."
"But he'll be back," Sandra interrupted. "You don't know Darkhan… nobody does…"
"What exactly are you getting at, Sandra?" I folded my arms as I spoke. Sandra peered back at me a little, but then turned back and clicked her fingers. Her Flygon nuzzled up beside her, before she climbed on its back once again. "Where are you going?"
"This isn't the time to talk about this," Sandra said coldly. "Both you and I need to concentrate on the upcoming battle. I look forward to it." With no time for me to respond, her Flygon flapped its wings and took off to the skies once again. I watched as she left, before hearing a tired grunt from behind me. Upon turning around, Misty had awoken to Pelipper prodding her with its beak. She pushed herself up from the ground with her hands, clambering back up to her feet. "Nice to see you're awaken, lazybones," I laughed. Misty did not seem too impressed at my mockery.
"Shut up," she yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "It's not like I chose to sleep."
"Sorry," I apologised a little more sincerely. "I guess Quagsire's moves are a bit off since being away."
"It's no problem," she smiled. "It's nearly time for your match. You should take your Pokemon to the Pokemon Center. After all, you want them to be one hundred per cent match fit."
"Good point," I nodded. "Shall we go?" I turned to my Pokemon, only to see that Gabite and Aggron were in each other's faces once again. I don't know what had sparked it this time, but I knew that it wasn't going to be good. "Will you two just get along for a second?" I scowled, a little annoyed at this routine. But my Pokemon seemed to completely block out my words. They were focused on each other, almost as though they were about to engage in combat. Pelipper stayed out of the way, standing next to Misty and myself. "How are they going to get along?"
"It's best if you just let them duke it out," Misty sighed. "It's the only way that they will be able to determine just which one of them is the best."
"You really think so?" I pondered the thought, before shaking my head negatively. "I can't let them do it," I sighed. "We're meant to be a team. You don't see the players of a soccer match battle each other, do you?"
"Which would you prefer? The relief of not having to worry about their rivalry or having to put up with this sort of thing every time they have to battle together?" Misty asked a little bit sternly. I let out another long and confused sigh. I really did not know what to do.
"Do you two want to battle each other?" I approached the feuding Pokemon. They did not look at me, but simultaneously nodded. To be honest, I wasn't too surprised by the answer. "Fine, I'll let you battle but on one condition. Once it's over, I don't want to see you two argue again. Let bygones be bygones, understood?" Once again, they bobbed their heads in approval, both smirking at each other confidently. "Pelipper, you probably shouldn't get involved. Return for now," I withdrew the Water Flying Type back into its Poke Ball, before looking over to the two Pokemon. They took a couple of steps back, positioning themselves as if to intimidate each other. My heart seemed to sink as they both lunged for each other. Gabite attempted to use a Dragon Claw, which Aggron was able to block using its Iron Head technique. Both attacks tried to outdo the other, but in the end both Pokemon jumped back and armed themselves for the second wave. Gabite launched itself forward using a Dragon Rush, slamming into Aggron's torso. Aggron staggered back a little, but did not fall as Gabite continued to push it backwards. Aggron let out a snarl, before smashing its skull downward with a second Iron Head, knocking Gabite down. It tried to stomp on its head with its giant hoof-like foot. But Gabite disappeared beneath the ground as Aggron pressed down on it. Aggron waited for Gabite to reappear.
"They're both going to put everything they have into this battle," Misty watched on in awe at the two power packed Pokemon. I said nothing to respond, my eyes still fixated on the battle. Gabite had still not appeared, but Aggron appeared to use Iron Head on the ground. I could feel a shockwave ripple across the surface, before Gabite suddenly reappeared looking rather dazed. Aggron charged forward, once again trying to connect with its Iron Head, but Gabite began stomping on the ground. The entire area began to shake, the Earthquake attack doing super effective damage to Aggron… or so I thought. It wasn't until I noticed that Aggron's skin had began to glow that I realised that it was using Protect to avoid being hurt. Gabite seemed to scowl, but continued using its Earthquake technique. In the end, Aggron could not maintain its Protect and it resulted in Aggron falling to the ground. Gabite seized the opportunity, hurling towards it with another Dragon Rush. However, Aggron unleashed the power stored for its Metal Burst attack, knocking Gabite down as well.
"This is intense!" I gasped, as both Pokemon seemed to have already drained a lot of power from their powerful attacks. Gabite slowly managed to get back up to its feet, before Aggron fired a bolt of electricity at it. The Shock Wave did no damage to the Ground Type, which appeared to surprise Aggron. Gabite lunged forward, poising its claws for another Dragon Claw attack. Aggron quickly used Protect as the claws slashed against it, before headbutting Gabite right in the face with another Iron Head. Gabite stumbled backwards, before burrowing beneath the ground again. This time, once it had fully disappeared from view, the ground shook once more. The Earthquake seemed to gain power whilst Gabite used Dig at the same time. Aggron roared out in pain, his Protect manoeuvre failing him this time. Aggron fell the ground with a loud thud, but was sent skyward as Gabite resurfaced, slamming into its bitter rival. Aggron began to fall back to the ground, but not before unleashing one more Metal Burst attack which sent Gabite flying. Both Pokemon slammed to the ground and were down for the count, both of them apparently completely exhausted.
"Wh…What happened? Who has won?" Misty stammered in disbelief. I let out a small smile of relief.
"They're both as strong as each other," I replied, walking over to my fainted Pokemon. "They both have the same strength, the same passion and the same will to win. In all honesty, I could not have asked for a better result." I stood right in between Gabite and Aggron, both weakly lifting their heads to stare each other down, but I blocked their view, switching views from one to the other. Slowly, they managed to get back up to their feet. They both tried to lunge past me, but fell down to one knee in exhaustion. "Do you understand now?" I said to them both sternly. "You do not have to see which of you is better. I care for you equally as each other and the rest of our friends."
"He's right," Misty smiled, walking up to my side. "You don't always have to solve your problems by battling. All you have to do is try your best. No matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you. But you will excel them in different aspects. So don't try to be the best Pokemon around, just be the very best that you can be." Aggron and Gabite seemed to absorb these words, despite the fact that they were out of breath. They glared at each other briefly, before looking away from one another.
"Let's get you both to a Pokemon Center," I smiled. "We need to go out and beat Sandra. Then we're through to the next round. You both up for that?" It did not take long for them both to make their replies quite clear. They both nodded, whilst producing confident growls from their mouths. "Good," I replied with a grin. "Let's get you healed up. Return!" Two beams of red light shot out from the two Poke Balls. Gabite and Aggron both returned into a separate ball. I checked the time on the Poketch attached to my wrist. It was almost quarter past eleven. Only another three quarters of an hour until the battle would commence. "We'd better get a move on," I said to Misty, starting to walk off.
"You really think that you can beat Sandra?" she asked.
"I'm sure," I replied with a nod. "But she said something earlier that makes me wonder about her. She was saying stuff about Darkhan… and how he isn't like other trainers."
"You think she has some sort of connection with him?"
"I don't know, to be truthful," I replied. "There's definitely something that she isn't telling us. And when I defeat her, I'll find out what it is…" my eyes seemed to narrow as I said this.
"Didn't you say that she has to make out with Harley if you win?" Misty asked.
"I'm sure that this proposition would be a bit more suitable than going at it with that weirdo," I shrugged. "We don't have much time left and I need to heal my Pokemon before its too late." I quickly began walking back from the meadow towards the Trainer Village. Misty fumbled for a moment, before quickly running to catch me up. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I was sure that it wouldn't be too long before I found out…
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Time: The Fourth Round Battles begin, with Jonathyn battling Sandra. Can our hero defeat the powerful Dragon Master? And what kind of secrets is Sandra keeping from Jonathyn?