DISCLAIMER: For goodness sake, I do not own Pokemon. Don't you people know that by now?
MESSAGE TO READERS: So… the one hundred thousand word milestone has now passed. Hooray for me. I had a bit of trouble writing the beginning of this chapter, but got into it a bit more once the actual battling begins. Although I have rewritten the beginning many times now and I'm fairly happy with it. This chapter also has a slight homage to "The Darkness Within", which is by far my second favourite Pokemon Story. (if you were wondering which is my first, you're reading it!) So, go grab a lemonade or something, kick back and enjoy!
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 26: BEGIN THE FOURTH BATTLE! THE DRAGON WITHIN!
"Hurry up, Misty!" I called back to my girlfriend rapidly. "I'm going to be late." Misty was plodding wearily behind me. I had left her in my dust as I had raced to the Indigo Plateau and had already given my Pokemon to the Nurse Joy that was on duty. Thankfully, they would be fully healed with little time left to spare. Finally, Misty had caught up with me and sat down on the bench where I was sat.
"How long have you been waiting for me?" she asked, not knowing how much time had lapsed since I had run on ahead of her. I simply shrugged. "Quite a while, I gather," she answered her own question, to which I nodded. "Just as well really, I'm still pretty tired from that power nap." She suddenly stopped, noticing something that seemed strange to her. "What's wrong with your leg?" she asked.
"Huh?" I replied, bewildered to what she meant. I looked down at my leg to see that it was going into some sort of spasm. It was bouncing up and down rapidly and uncontrollably. Upon seeing this, I let out a small laugh. "Oh, it's just nerves," I responded.
"I would never have thought of you to be the sort of person who gets nervous," Misty frowned a little.
"It's human nature, I suppose," I stammered, trying to press down on my leg to stop it shaking, but the force simply travelled up my arm and made my shoulder shake as well. Misty chuckled at the sight as I stood up. My feet were plagued by the sensation of pins and needles as I walked over to the Nurse Joy, who was holding a tray with the four Poke Balls that I had given in. I figured that it might take less time to heal just the four Pokemon that I would battle with rather than have Houndoom and Nidorino at the same time. Bayleef had gone into the depository PC whilst I had Quagsire included in my party. Without delay, I removed the spheres from the tray. "Thanks very much, Nurse Joy," I gratefully said to her. She bowed to me accepting my thanks. "What are you going to do, Misty?" I asked as I walked back over to where she was sat.
"Hey guys," a male voice greeted us as he approached. I was quite surprised to see Brock had reappeared.
"Where have you been, Brock?" Misty asked him with a tone of slight concern. "I was getting a bit worried about you."
"I'm fine," he smiled politely. "Just keeping myself out of the way, that's all. Are you going to watch the battle?"
"Too right," she smiled, getting out of her seat having recovered from her recent bout of exhaustion. "Then I was going to go and watch Ash's match afterwards."
"You must have read my mind," Brock chuckled. "Jonathyn, you do your best out there."
"I always do," I grinned. "Don't worry, I've got this one covered. My Pokemon are fighting fit and ready to take Sandra down."
"Well that's good to hear," he nodded. "You should get a move on. They've tightened up security for some reason and getting around the place is a nightmare."
"Oh, that's right. You haven't heard about what's happened," Misty gasped. Had Brock really been away for this long? "I'll fill you in on the way," she said to him, before taking a couple of steps forward to where I was stood. "Good luck, Jon," she softly encouraged me, giving me a short kiss on the lips. The words 'Thank You' did not come out of my mouth, even though my lips moved to say the words. She let out a small giggle, before walking off with Brock towards the stands. I would have to take a slightly different route to get to the Water Field. The corridors seemed to be packed with police officers and security personnel. It was actually quite astounding when you realised just how serious they were taking this. And all for the sake of the likes of Darkhan and Team Rocket. As I walked, the thought of the Swordsman re-entered my mind. There was something about him that I truly admired, but at the same time some sort of dread filled my thoughts. I tried not to think about it, but the thoughts just kept flooding back to me like waves lapping on a sea shore. I had reached the mouth of the tunnel that would lead to the Trainer Lounge of the Water Field. I quickly sat down at a locker which once again had my name and identification number attached to it. My Poketch displayed to me that I had just over five minutes to make my final preparations. As I sat down, I noticed someone walking over to me. For some reason, I stood up again instantly. Sandra seemed to be a little more disturbing than her usual self.
"I was hoping I'd see you before the battle again," Sandra coldly spoke to me. I remembered when I had first met her, she was a bit more competitive and bouncy, but now she was almost motionless, as inanimate as a lamp stand. "When the battle is over, I want you to come with me. There is something that I need to tell you."
"What is it?" I asked, now even more apprehensive about what she was keeping from me. "If it is so important, why can't it be said now?"
"Because now is not the right time," Sandra snapped at me harshly. "To be honest, I should not tell you at all..."
"Why not?" I demanded. "If you are making such a big deal out of it, then I want to know."
"I can't tell you," Sandra quietly muttered. "Sorry for wasting your time."
"Hold on," I clasped her by the shoulder. "How about I change the bet. You want to have your Gabite breed with mine, right? Well, if I win then you do not have to make out with that Harley guy, but instead you need to tell me what you know?" Sandra fell completely silent, almost exactly the same way that Darkhan had done after I had confronted him and told the story like it was. "Well?" I impatiently scowled. "You haven't got long to decide, they're already announcing the battle out there."
"Alright," she nodded, gaining a little bit more of her normal behaviour back. "In that case, you'll never find out."
"Want to bet?" I retorted.
"Hmm… what have we been doing so far?" she sarcastically smirked, before walking past me. I let out another small growl, before following her down the corridor. The layout of the Water Field was slightly different than the other arenas. Rather than two tunnels at each end of the field, there were two running parallel with one another, coming out at exactly half way across the battlefield. The reason for this I did not know, whether or not they had undergone some sort of refurbishment. At the very end of the tunnel, two Officer Jennys were stood side by side, with their hands clasped behind their backs.
"State your name and identification number," one of the Officers spoke somewhat sternly.
"Uhh… Jonathyn Christian, KAN-259… I think," I tried to remember. The Officer Jennys then both smiled at me and stepped out of the way. "Wow… you really are tight on this security business, aren't you?" I said with a voice of surprise.
"To be fair, we know that you're not one of the bad guys," the other Jenny smiled. "But we've been asked to check all the trainers today, just in case."
"But we take our job very seriously," the more stern faced Jenny added.
"Well, you're doing a good job," I gave them both a thumbs up, realising just how lame that was. "Keep it up," I smiled, before walking out from the tunnel into the main arena. The crowd roared as both Sandra and I appeared at the same time from our respective tunnels. We both gave each other a quick glance, before walking over to our respective podiums. I could not hear a single word that the announcer was saying over the personal announcement system due to the sheer volume that the fans were producing. My mouth was starting to go dry, a problem which I tried to resolve by licking my lips. It was truly amazing… the rush that you get when the entire crowd is cheering for you… it made me feel good inside. And it was the passion with which they cheered that made the adrenaline pumped even harder through my veins. I just could not stop staring at the crowd, even as the podium that I had walked on began to rise from the ground. The Water Field itself looked unchanged from when Misty had had her battle with Paul in the earlier stages of the tournament. Several pontoons floated in the pool, some of which were large enough to fit two large Pokemon on, others were much smaller, barely big enough to manage one small Pokemon. Sandra was smiling at me. All the coldness seemed to have vanished from her. She was back to her competitive self, I was sure.
"Ready to lose?" she taunted me. I said nothing, grabbing the Poke Ball that I was to throw forward first. The official raised his flag to me, to which I nodded to signify that I was ready to battle. Sandra then did the same.
"Begin the match!" he called out to us both. The crowd went nuts as we both threw our Poke Balls forward. My first choice was Pelipper. I figured that it's compatibility to both aquatic and aerial combat would provide the edge that I would need early on in the match. Sandra's first Dragon Pokemon appeared. I recognised it instantly as her infamous Flygon that I had seen her use so many times before. "This is it…" I sighed to myself, quite intimidated by the insect-like dragon. It's bulging red eyes seemed to pass through Pelipper and towards me. "Pelipper, use Steel Wing!" I shouted, making the first move. Pelipper flapped its wings towards the also airborne Flygon, before gliding towards it with its wings filled with silver.
"Flygon, use Steel Wing too!" Sandra ordered. The Dragon roared, before approaching the attacking Pelipper with its own version of Steel Wing. It's rhombus shaped wings collided head on with my Pelipper's. They carried on flying forward, the momentum not allowing the attacks to carry on. "Again, Flygon!" Sandra called. The Flygon acrobatically spun itself around and headed for Pelipper a second time.
"Pelipper, try Steel Wing again!" I yelled. Pelipper also quickly turned around and surged forward with its wings filling with silver again. Just like before, the two attacks collided as they passed one another. It was almost like watching a joust, with both combatant apparently equal in speed and power. "Don't give up, Pelipper!" I encouraged it the best I could. "Keep on using Steel Wing!"
"Don't tell me that's the only move it knows," Sandra laughed. "Flygon, show it how a Steel Wing should look." Both Flygon and Pelipper manoeuvred themselves to attack, both of their Steel Wings slamming against each other. A loud chinking sound could be heard as impact was made.
"Looks like Pelipper isn't the only one," I mocked slightly. Sandra simply smiled at my taunt.
"Flygon, fly right above the surface of the water and then use Steel Wing from below!" Sandra called. This was a tactic that I thought I could use to my advantage. I also had a little bit of time as Flygon tried to turn around in mid air.
"Pelipper, skim the surface as well and prepare a Steel Wing," I ordered it. Both Pokemon swooped down to just a few inches above the water. Small ripples could be seen as they both glided towards each other. "Wait for it…" I muttered to myself, as they both drew nearer and nearer to one another. "Underwater now!" I called. Pelipper cawed out, before suddenly dropping beneath the water. The Flygon suddenly stopped as its target vanished from its view. "Now surface!" I called. It took but a second for Pelipper to respond, it's Steel Wing connecting to the unsuspecting Flygon's underbelly. It let out a groan as the Steel Wing hit its mark. The crowd acknowledged my strategy by applauding the move.
"That's a good trick you just pulled," Sandra smiled. "But we've got some of our own. Flygon, use Dragonbreath!" Strange energy began to swirl in the Dragon's mouth, before spitting a large beam straight at Pelipper, striking it at great speed. Pelipper was knocked skyward and began to fall back towards the water.
"Aerial Ace!" I called. This instruction seemed to work out a lot better than I had planned it, as the momentum of Pelipper's fall seemed to boost its speed as it spread its wings far apart before slamming into the Flygon once again. Flygon landed hard on one of the podiums, sending a small wave across the pool of water. Pelipper began to circle the arena, since it could not hover in the air for very long at one time. "Let's wrap this up with a Hydro Pump! Go!" I called, hoping that Pelipper could deliver the final blow quickly. Pelipper began to fly down towards the fallen Dragon, spitting a large torrent of water from its bill.
"Flygon, Sandstorm!" Sandra called. The Flygon brisk flapped its wings, creating a tornado of golden sand across the water, blocking the Hydro Pump attack.
"Pelipper, fly around it and use Hydro Pump again!" I instructed. Pelipper did indeed manage to evade the Sandstorm and launched a second violent flow of water at Flygon.
"Sandstorm again!" Sandra ordered. Flygon was now airborne again, sending a second Sandstorm just as the first one had dispersed. The Hydro Pump splashed against the Sandstorm again, sending small droplets of water and grains of sand in nearly every angle, other than towards Flygon and Pelipper.
"I see what you are up to," I realised. "You're using the Sandstorm to deflect the Hydro Pump. Very good."
"I told you we had some of my own tricks up my sleeve," Sandra grinned confidently. "But I think it might be time for a change. Flygon, come back!" Sandra's decision to change Pokemon caught me by surprise. I couldn't help but wonder what she would use to replace her Flygon. The answer came just after Sandra threw her second Poke Ball forward. The creature that had emerged was a limbless serpent that had coiled itself like a compressed spiral on one of the floating podiums. I could see that it had a small horn protruding from its forehead. Two tuft like ears wisped back on the side of its head. A small orb just underneath its chin was a slightly darker shade of blue than the rest of its body. "This is my Dragonair," Sandra grinned menacingly. "It's definitely one of my favourite Dragon Pokemon."
"That's nice," I shrugged, not really caring. "I'll beat it in seconds. Pelipper, show what your Hydro Pump can do." Pelipper flew straight at the Dragonair, spitting another Hydro Pump towards the serpentine Dragon.
"Go into the water," Sandra grinned. With that, the Dragonair slid into the water. The Hydro Pump narrowly missing it.
"You're forgetting that Pelipper is just as good in the water as it is in the air!" I called to Sandra. "Go in after it, Pelipper! Use Aerial Ace under the water." Pelipper let out another caw, before tucking its wings into its side, diving beak first into the water. It slammed beak first into the Dragonair, but it did not seem to do as much damage as I would have liked.
"That would have worked if the water hadn't slowed it down," Sandra called over to me. "And you've also played into my trap. This is really going to shock your Pelipper."
"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow, wondering whether she was just toying with me.
"I mean, this Thunderbolt!" Sandra called, as the Dragonair's orb began to glow a bright yellow colour. The pool of water was suddenly iluuminated by Dragonair's Thunderbolt. Streaks of yellow light scattered beneath the surface. Once they had stopped, Pelipper quickly appeared and somehow managed to reach the safety of one of the podium. That attack was critical, especially hitting a Pokemon with a dual weakness to electric attacks. "Water conducts electricity, making that particular Thunderbolt even more powerful than normal.
"That doesn't mean its over," I sneered. "Roost, Pelipper!" The moment was perfect. Pelipper was already on one of the pontoons, making Roost's healing effects instantly begin. The white feathers began to float around Pelipper's body as it began to regain some of its strength.
"Oh, no you don't!" Sandra snarled, much more competitively than she had been. "Hyper Beam, Dragonair!" A small ball of orange energy began to form inside the Dragonair's orb beneath its chin, before opening its mouth and firing the powerful beam of energy. It rocketed towards Pelipper, who was still healing with Roost.
"To the skies, Pelipper! Now!" I desperately shouted to the pelican Pokemon. It's eyes widened and quickly took flight, the Hyper Beam narrowly missing and exploding as it landed on the podium on which Pelipper was roosting just milliseconds earlier. "Back down and Roost to full health!" I called. It quickly lowered itself onto the same podium and continued to use its healing technique. "I know that after a Pokemon uses Hyper Beam, it takes a moment for it to recharge. Plenty of time for my Pelipper to finish using Roost at least."
"That may be so," Sandra grinned. "But just how much longer do you think you can fend us off for? Remember, neither one of us have lost a Pokemon yet. But that is about to change." Dragonair and Pelipper seemed equally as competitive as Sandra and I were. Pelipper was still roosting, almost back at full power. "Dragonair, Flamethrower!"
"Damn, how did it recharge so fast?" I wondered out loud, as the Dragon Pokemon spat a stream of fire towards Pelipper.
"Dragonair is fast anyway, but your Pelipper is just slow," Sandra mocked. Pelipper snorted a little as it heard this. The Flamethrower approached further.
"Dodge!" I called, Pelipper taking to the sky to avoid the attack as it had done before as soon as my instruction was called. "And slow? A bit like your brain," I retorted. "Don't you know that fire type moves don't do much against water types? That's a rookie mistake!"
"Is it?" Sandra replied with a sneer. "Thunderbolt, Dragonair!" With that, the Dragon sent another bolt of electricity at Pelipper, striking it with deadly force once again. Pelipper cawed out in pain as the voltage surged through its conductive body. It began to fall towards the water once again. "While your Pelipper was using Roost, Thunderbolt would not have been as effective. I used the Flamethrower to at least get it into the air before firing the attack." I could not help but admire her knowledge and strategy, but was annoyed that she had these skills on this occasion. "Hyper Beam, go!" Sandra called. Dragonair quickly exhaled another beam of orange energy directly at the plummeting Pelipper. The attack struck fatally, knocking Pelipper even further off course and crashing into the water with an almighty splash. Water shot everywhere, as the Dragonair coolly coiled itself up on one of the pontoons. Pelipper, however, was unable to move. It had been completely wiped out by that awesome combination.
"Pelipper can no longer battle," the official raised his flag high. "This round goes to Dragonair." I could only call Pelipper back into its Poke Ball, as the crowd was going pretty much insane with excitement.
"Don't you worry, Pelipper," I smiled. "You did great and I know that we can win this." After placing the defeated Pokemon's ball back in my pocket, I began to wonder which Pokemon would be best to battle it. Aggron? I don't think it would fare too well against this Dragonair, particularly if it knew Fire Type moves. Possibly Gabite, yet it would be up against another of its kind. No. It was time to unleash the Pokemon that could provide the greatest help to me yet… "Quagsire, let's go!" The Poke Ball opened just after I had tossed it forward. The strange fish Pokemon seemed quite mellow, with one of its traditional gaping smiles. The Dragonair simply stared at it, as did Sandra.
"You're really trying to use this Water thing to your advantage, aren't you?" she chuckled out loud. "It won't help you, although it is a slight inconvenience to me that you have a Pokemon that can withstand quite a lot of attacks. But we'll still try. Dragonair, give it your Aqua Tail!" The Dragonair began to wriggle through the air, dragging its tail in the water, before flicking it up and smacking Quagsire across the face. Sandra seemed to be quite content that the attack had hit, but Quagsire simply turned its head back around with another dim witted smile. Sandra gasped a little. The Aqua Tail had barely done any damage at all. "How the…" she stammered.
"Quagsire, use Body Slam!" I figured that I would leave Ice Beam as a little surprise for later. Quagsire raised its fins into the air and wrapped them around the Dragonair's neck, before slamming into the ground almost as though it was playing with it or showing it affection as it would do for me. Still, it done the trick as Dragonair tried desperately to free itself from Quagsire's hold.
"Return, Dragonair!" Sandra called, the Dragon fading from beneath the Quagsire before reaching any more harm. She muttered something to the Poke Ball, before placing it to one side. "Not bad, Jonathyn," she nodded to me. "You've got a mighty fine Quagsire there, but I know how to defeat it. Take two, Flygon!" she called, the insect-like Dragon reappearing in the air. Quagsire smiled as soon as it appeared, trying to jump up and grab its tail affectionately, but to no avail. Flygon seemed quite bemused by this.
"Your Flygon has already got the disadvantage here," I grinned. "It has already taken damage during the battle against Pelipper. Do you really think it can outlast Quagsire?"
"You'll soon find out," she sneered to me, as her Flygon prepared to engage in combat once again…
TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT TIME: Already down one Pokemon, can Jonathyn make a comeback? With Quagsire, Aggron and Gabite all still fighting fit, can they defeat Sandra's four Dragon Type Pokemon? Will Jonathyn be able to unlock Sandra's mysterious secret? Make sure you read the next explosive chapter!