Disclaimer: I actually DO own Pokemon… but I am lying when I say that… in other words, I do not own Pokemon.

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 29: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DARKNESS! ARRIVAL OF ANABEL!

She was still distraught even when we were out of sight of the excited crowd. My shirt had been stained by her tears mixing with her eye shadow. She could not seem to control her emotions. I could not help but wonder exactly why she was so upset. Hopefully, she was not too worked up about the fact that she lost. The last time someone was angered from defeat, they almost sliced my head off with a sword. This made me remember what I was about to discover… she was keeping something from me and finally, after hours of mental torture I would be told the truth. We had both returned to the now empty Trainer Lounge. Sandra had slumped into a sofa that had been placed far away from any entrance or exit, which was quite convenient for us. I sat by her side, awaiting the answers that I had been seeking.

"I'm really sorry," she sniffed, wiping more tears from her eyes. "I don't know what came over me."

"You don't have to explain your feelings, Sandra," I sighed. "It was a fantastic battle and you should be proud have got so far."

"It's not about losing the battle," she whimpered, blowing her nose into a handkerchief that I had passed her from somewhere. "It's the fact that now I have to tell you all of this stuff… and I just can't do it."

"We had a deal, didn't we?" I said firmly. I refused to be denied just because she did not want to tell me. "You were who agreed to the bet. If I lost, I sure as hell wouldn't back out of the consequences."

"You don't understand," she mumbled quietly to me. "If I tell you, it could…" she suddenly fell completely silent. She slumped against me, before shuddering as if fearfully. I was unsure of what action to take, other than comfortingly place my arm around her and squeeze her a little. I saw a small smile appear on her face, which in turn made me smile. She was still shaking though.

"Why can't you tell me?" I asked quietly, yet seemingly desperate to get a response from her. She looked up at me, before sitting up and shuffling to the other side of the sofa. She withdrew a Poke Ball from her pocket… one that was somewhat different to any that I had seen before. Rather than the usual red top and white underside, this ball was pink and white, with two small lumps sticking from each side of the top. I tried to think of what significance this strange Poke Ball might have.

"This Poke Ball has a special ability," Sandra said at the volume of a whisper. "It can capture any Pokemon without fail, hence they call it a Master Ball."

"A Master Ball?" I repeated, looking rather bemused. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Have you never noticed?" Sandra faced me with a small frown. "All the Pokemon that… he… has in his possession are all in this kind of ball?"

"He who?" I asked with deteriorative grammar. "You mean Darkhan?" Sandra looked around, as if scouting for witnesses. Since there weren't any, she replied with a very small nod. "So Darkhan's Pokemon are all in these Master Balls that can catch Pokemon without fail, what's the big deal?"

"He claims to be a Pokemon Collector," Sandra frowned, standing up and walking towards the door, closing it to prevent intrusion. She walked back over to me, still holding the ball in her hand. "He is much more than that," she sighed. "Darkhan and I go a long way back. During my childhood, I used to move all around the world. My father worked for a company based here in Kanto called Silph Co. You may have heard of it."

"Yes, I've heard of the name," I replied positively.

"Back then, Darkhan was 'normal'," Sandra continued. "He worked alongside my father as his assistant. He was deeply involved in the workings of Poke Balls and finding ways to improve them. My father was the man who struck technological gold when he created the first prototype of the Master Ball."

"He must be minted!" I gasped… but then began to think of where this story might be leading. "Hold on, if Darkhan worked for your father and he created the first Master Ball…"

"You may not want to hear the rest of this story, Jonathyn," Sandra's voice suddenly turned a lot more saddening.

"I really do," I replied, a little unsurely to say the least. "What happened?" Sandra fell completely silent for a moment.

"It wasn't easy for Darkhan to become my father's assistant," Sandra sighed, sitting back down next to me. "I met him years and years ago, but it seems like only days have gone past. We formed a relationship together."

"You and Darkhan!?" I suddenly blurted out in shock, but quickly leaned back into the sofa as Sandra shot me a dagger-like stare. "But… I don't understand. Why would he form a relationship when he was working for your dad?"

"He took advantage of my father's kindness," she whimpered. "Knowing that he was looking after me, he took him under his wing without any question. He stayed with me for as long as it would take for him to get what he wanted."

"The Master Ball?" I questioned. Sandra nodded, another tear drop falling to the floor.

"My father sent him out on an excursion to test the Master Ball," Sandra continued to tell her story. "He said to me that we should go to Seafoam Islands, which is believed to be one of the only remaining breeding grounds of the legendary Pokemon, Articuno." I did not respond at all, being so engrossed by the chain of events that was being revealed to me. "We searched for over three weeks, before we finally found a strange nest. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It seemed to have been made entirely of ice, as if sculpted by hand. Inside the nest, the most incredible sight… an Articuno egg, approaching their time to hatch. It was at that point that the true Articuno appeared, attacking Darkhan and I. Darkhan simply threw the Master Ball and captured it immediately… I'll never forget what happened after that…"

"What?" I asked, awaiting the next part with great anticipation. At this point, another tear dropped from her face.

"He… assaulted me," she shuddered, weeping further. "He left with the Articuno, leaving me and the chick to die." She fell silent, trying to hold back the emotional tears. "To this day, I don't know how I managed to get out. The last thing I remember was waking up at the Pokemon Center on Cinnibar Island. Someone must have rescued me, but to this day I don't know who."

"So then what happened?" I urged her to carry on telling me about her past.

"I returned to Saffron City, where the Silph Co. is primarily based. When I returned, I found that the whole place was in ruin from the inside. The Master Ball designs and prototypes had all gone missing… and my father… he'd been…" she stopped at that point, bursting into tears once again. It was obvious what had happened. I clenched my fist, almost disbelieving her story but it was real enough to make me feel an emotion that I had not felt in a long time. Pure rage. Somehow, I maintained my relaxed composure, yet my blood was beginning to boil. My face had turned red and felt hotter than a Ponyta's mane.

"I can't believe that…" I muttered. "So how do I tie in with this?"

"When I realised he was here, I began to plot my revenge. To avenge my father, I would have to make sure that Darkhan suffers the ultimate penalty."

"That wouldn't make you any better than he is," I sneered back to her. "Why haven't you told the police about this?"

"Because the Darkhan that you have seen is not the same man that I once loved," Sandra replied, almost in a snappy manner. "He was once a man who enjoyed life. He even talked full sentences. Darkhan is not even his real name!"

"Then what is it?" I asked. Before Sandra could open, the door opened. Misty and Brock entered the room, both with congratulating smiles on their faces. I gave them a quick look before standing up. Sandra rapidly wiped her tears away, but keeping her face away from their view.

"Jonathyn," Misty smiled, running up towards me. I placed a hand out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. I twitched my head in the direction of Sandra, who was still looking away. "What's with her?" Misty asked, tilting her head.

"We're having a bit of a private conversation, Misty?" I said to her.

"Really?" Misty said, giving Sandra an almost jealous look. "Well, I won't bother you then. Just come to the Grass Field when you're done. We're going to watch Ash battle. But also, that… other girl is there." For some reason, she said that whilst glaring still at Sandra. Sandra in turn said nothing, not even recognising Misty at all. "Well?" Misty nudged me, getting frustrated with me.

"Well what?" I shrugged.

"Oh, you're hopeless," she scowled. "Are you going to join us or not?"

"That depends on whether you've changed your attitude by then or not!" I snapped back. "Sandra's a little bit upset and I'm trying to comfort her a bit. Is that a problem?" Misty said nothing for a moment, simply glaring at me.

"You'd better not be long," she huffed, walking out of the room. Brock shrugged to me and followed her through the exit.

"Just go with her," Sandra sighed, standing up. "I'll be alright."

"You sure?" I asked, turning back to her.

"Yeah. I'd better go and heal my Pokemon," she nodded to me.

"And then what are you going to do?" I added. Sandra shrugged in response, unsure what to do. "You want to come and watch Ash's battle with me."

"I think I'll pass," Sandra replied. "I've got some things to think about." With that, Sandra walked over to me and bowed gracefully. "I'm going to go to that lake later on. If you want to come along, just turn up," she smiled at me, her sadness seemed to have completely faded. She brushed past me, her eyes still trying to keep me in view even as she went past. She momentarily stopped at the door, returning another glance to me before slinking out of the door. I let out a long sigh. There was something about Sandra that I made me feel rather uneasy. Whether or not it was to do with her previous experiences with a person who had attempted to kill me, I could not be sure. But at the same time, there was a presence of excitement around her. Even when she was sad, it was almost as though I was doing something wrong, like a naughty child stealing an apple from an orchard. Quickly, I snapped myself back to reality. Now I had to decide what to do. I knew that I would have to heal Pelipper, Gabite, Quagsire and Aggron at the Pokemon Center. I also knew that I would have to find out who my next opponent would be in what would now be the Fifth Round…

Fifth Round!? Already!?

I suddenly realised what this meant for me. I was now to battle one of fifteen other trainers who had proven themselves thus far to be the best in the entire Kanto region. And I was there with them. Sixteen is quite a small number, considering how many trainers there are in Kanto. There must be thousands. I could not remember the figure that Rufus Goodshow had told me before, but the statistics still staggered me. I am now one of the most powerful in the region. All I would have to do is keep on going until I became number one. But there would still be fifteen other trainers who also wanted that position. This would be something that I would not tolerate. But rather than focus on that, I had to decide what to do next. Misty was expecting me to appear for Ash's battle, which to be honest I did not really care too much for. I had seen enough battles in the last couple of days than I could handle. You might be surprised at the mental strain one gains from battling consistently. You always have to think fast and effectively and it really does drain your energy. Some say that Pokemon are just tools for entertainment and that their trainers do not really care for them…

What utter nonsense that is…

Like I said, a trainer must think fast. Sure, everyone is focused on winning, but not without concern for their Pokemon. Every trainer must create a foundation with their partners and bond with them. It is not just the Pokemon that work hard. In fact I would say that a trainer and their Pokemon work as hard as each other. If the trainer is poor, then so will their Pokemon be. But I mustn't be flippant.

I had to decide what to do. Misty would be angry with me if I didn't join her, but she would be angry as well if I did. That's women for you. But still, I thought it would be a good idea to at least stay in her good books by joining her. I could then heal my Pokemon once Ash's battle was over and then I could go and see Sandra again. There were still some things that I needed to know from her, so I would not be put off by Misty's temperament from going. I flung my backpack over my shoulders and left the Trainer Lounge the same way that Sandra had done. The corridor was eerily empty, yet I could hear cheers echoing through the walls. I tried to remember which way the Grass Field was, seemingly forgetting that I had my first Pokemon League Battle on the same field. After carefully viewing some conveniently placed signs, I managed to ascend a small staircase which took me right into the bowels of the stands. Everyone was cheering, some on their feet. I looked out onto the field. Sure enough, Ash was battling. I looked up at the big screen first to see how the match was going so far. Ash had lost just one Pokemon, the image of an elephant-like creature that I recognised as a Donphan had been faded out, signalling it had been defeated. His opponent's losses were a stag-beetle creature with two mandibles protruding the top of its head and a strange cat-like creature with a tail that resembled a mermaid. I wondered why his opponent had chosen the Vaporeon to battle on the Grass Field, yet it's Pinsir seemed to be a more logical choice. I could hardly patronise the trainer's choices, since I had made some choices that did not seem logical and I had still won.

On the battlefield at this moment in time, I chose to look onto the field rather than look at the screen. Ash had chosen an orange primate-like Pokemon. I had not seen the Sinnoh-native Pokemon in real life before. It was too large to be a Chimchar, but smaller than it's fully evolved form, so I deciphered the Pokemon to be a Monferno. The opponent had chosen a strange looking Pokemon. It was like a large tree wearing a sombrero of some sort. I could tell by the bizaare appearance that it was a Ludicolo. Another interesting choice by Ash's opponent… Ludicolo is both Grass and Water type orientated, so it would have an advantage both on this battlefield and against Ash's Fire Type, Monferno. As the two Pokemon exchanged attacks, I looked around to see if I could find Misty, but it was very much like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I was sure that I had used that metaphor before, but it didn't bother me. After wandering between a few rows, I could see her trademark ginger spiky hair close to the front of the stands. There was a spare seat directly next to her. Obviously, she had reserved it just for me. But no sooner than I had approached the seat, a purple haired girl sat down in it, holding a hot dog in her hand. I stood still for a moment, before being urged out of the way by some people behind me who could not see beyond my tall stature. I reached past this purple haired girl to prod Misty on her shoulder. Misty gave me a small glare, before smiling softly at me and nudging this other girl in return. I could not hear what she was saying to her over the crowd, but hopefully it would be to get the hell out of my seat. My legs were still aching from where I had been standing up near enough all morning. The girl quickly stood up, offering her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jonathyn," the purple haired girl said politely. "Misty and Ash have told me about you."

"Uhh… you too," I said, not knowing who this girl was. Nonetheless, I shook her hand. "Who are you, sorry?"

"Oh, I'm Anabel," she smiled. "I'm Ash's girlfriend."

"Ah, I've heard about you too," I nodded to her, finally able to start a proper conversation. "You're a Battle Frontier Brain, right?"

"That's right," she nodded. "I'm the Salon Maiden of the Battle Frontier."

"Will you get out of the way!?" one of the crowd members behind us shouted, getting frustrated by my obstruction. I apologised by bowing before looking at the seat.

"You go ahead," Anabel gestured for me to sit down.

"No, no. You were there first," I replied. I could tell that there were more fans behind us also getting rather annoyed. I then saw Misty stand up slightly, pointing at her seat. I shuffled between Anabel's seat to Misty's, before sitting on it. Anabel placed herself in the vacant chair next to me, as Misty then sat on my lap. I didn't mind this so much. I noticed that Brock was chatting up a young lady sat next to him as well. The question that entered my mind was how long it was going to be before his Croagunk appeared to Poison Jab it in the stomach again.

"So what was all that about back there?" Misty whispered sternly to me, here eyes fixated on the match.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "There was nothing going on."

"I'm not stupid, Jon," she replied, still with the same tone. "And you say that as thought you've got something to hide."

"I'm not hiding anything," I scowled a little. "Sandra was telling me about her past experiences with Darkhan. And if you were in her position, you would want to be comforted too, I'm sure." Misty fell silent for just a couple of moments.

"Sorry," she said softly. I stroked her leg as a sign of affection. Anabel seemed to have closed her eyes, but had a complacent smile on her face. I could not help by raise an eyebrow at her expression. It was a little bit spooky, yet not malicious. She opened her eyes… the crowd suddenly roared. I tried to see past Misty's shoulder. All I could see was the Ludicolo laying flat on its back. Smoke was still smouldering on its charred skin. It was quickly returned. It was quite strange how the two events happened right after one another.

"Psychic power," Anabel smirked monotonously, as if reading my mind… then it struck me.

"What!? You're a Psychic?" I exclaimed, completely stunned.

"Yes. I have had the ability since I was very young," Anabel replied. "I could tell that the Ludicolo was about to use Hydro Pump, so I let Ash know. And he countered it very effectively."

"Isn't that a form of cheating?" I asked.

"Heavens no," Anabel chuckled. "You are allowed help from the outside providing it doesn't interfere with the Pokemon or the opposition."

"She's right," Misty nodded, twisting her neck to try and look at me. "Brock and I used to be in Ash's corner the very first time he entered the Pokemon League."

"The only difference is that I can talk to Ash telepathically," Anabel smiled, but in no way boastfully. This did make me shudder a little. I had only heard stories about people like Anabel. But to find out that they really do exist was a bit of a bolt from the blue. I am very secluded when it comes down to other people knowing what I am thinking. But how can you do that when there is someone who can actually read your thoughts? By now, Anabel had closed her eyes again. I could tell that now she was using her telepathic powers to converse with Ash. For some reason, Ash called back his Monferno, before throwing out another Poke Ball forward at exactly the same time as his opponent. Ash's third battling Pokemon was a small, green creature. It resembled a tortoise of some sort, with two small leaves sticking out from a branch atop of its head. The Turtwig looked quite impressive for something that small, but what astounded me the most was the timing of his choice, especially when I saw what it was facing… a Pokemon with the same Water Ground combination of my Quagsire, but this creature had a much more intimidating look. The opposing trainer did not look happy that his Swampert would be battling a Pokemon that could do severe damage to it with its Grass type moves. Anabel opened her eyes again, smiling as she had done before. I tried not to think that this wasn't fair, in case she read my thoughts and took offense to it.

"I won't… don't worry," she murmured to me. I stared at her with a worried expression. Now she had read my thoughts as I feared she would. More than likely, she also knew what else I was thinking about.

"Please… don't read my mind," I requested as kindly as I could.

"Sorry… can't help myself sometimes," she chuckled. She then looked out onto the battlefield again, where Ash's Turtwig was going all out against the Swampert. It looked like a one sided battle, with Ash completely dominating his opponent, even though he had already lost his Donphan. He still had his Monferno and an unknown Pokemon left to battle. Although I knew that his Pikachu would be very much doubtful since it's electric attacks would be no good against it. I could not be bothered to guess which other Pokemon he had chosen.

"His Staraptor," Anabel answered my question quite quickly.

"Stop it!" I snapped with a slight chuckle, trying to make light of this strange situation. Anabel also laughed in response, before being interrupted by the roar of the crowd. Ash's Turtwig had just been knocked down. It seemed to be encased in a block of ice… Misty was apparently fawning over the Water Pokemon. Ice Beam was certainly a popular move… although there was snowflakes scattered around the Turtwig too.

"That Swampert's got a powerful Blizzard attack," Misty said. Ash's Turtwig was quite literally frozen solid. The Swampert began to unleash it's Blizzard once again, making the whole arena a lot colder. Ash's Turtwig was helpless, before suddenly the leaves on its head began to glow. The sun beamed down on the ice block where it had been frozen… it was using Synthesis. "I guess Turtwig isn't out of the running just yet," Misty noted. She was right. This battle was certainly not over. I let out a sigh, when something caught my attention above the arena. There seemed to be two more Pokemon high above where the action was. I could not tell what sort of Pokemon they were, but they both seemed to exchange attacks ferociously. They were so far away, that I could not even tell what they were. I thought nothing of it and focused my attention back to Ash's battle. Some other members of the crowd had also become interested in the random battle above the arena.

"What's going on up there?" Anabel muttered. "I can't tell what sort of Pokemon they are from this far away." I squinted my eyes to try and see if I could get a better clue. One of the Pokemon appeared to have wings, yet the second just looked like a floating blob. I could see no sign of wings or any other limbs for that matter. Then I saw a beam of light fire from the winged creature towards the limbless Pokemon. It almost looked like a Solarbeam.

"Surely not…" I sighed, remembering where I had seen that attack earlier today.

"Isn't that thing a Weezing?" Misty exclaimed. It made sense, since Weezing only consist of two differently sized heads.

"What about the other?" I asked. It wasn't until I saw the creature create a small twister of golden sand that my suspicions were confirmed…

TO BE CONTINUED

Next Time: Jonathyn investigates the strange battle that has broken out nearby. And what will he discover when he finds the cause of this battle? Also, the final sixteen competitors are confirmed.