Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. And all those who say that I do must be clinically impaired.
MESSAGE TO READERS: This chapter was really difficult to write. Damned subplots are tough, especially when I want to implement so many ideas into one chapter. So this chapter might seem as though it just jumps from one part to another, but hopefully with the amount of retyping I've done to it, it should be tolerable now. I've also got a new story planned for when "The League Of Champions" eventually ends. Yes… it WILL end. But I don't think we're even halfway through this one yet. And I've also got the next chapter of "A Smeargle's Tale" partially completed. So yes, I've been working hard. So, I'm going to go grab a lemonade or something. And so should you, then kick back and enjoy!
THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS
CHAPTER 30: BATTLE OF FORMER PARTNERS! FROZEN BY ANOTHER MYTH!
Already, I had jumped out of my seat almost dumping Misty to the floor. The girl who was sat besides me, Anabel, seemed confused by my abrupt departure and had decided to follow as well. Misty was almost reluctant to pursue me, although she did drag Brock away from the girl he was talking to by his ear. I did not feel particularly bothered about missing the conclusion of Ash's battle. I knew that he would more than likely win anyway. As I reached the entrance to the exiting stairwell, I looked over to where the two anonymous Pokemon were battling. After a moment's thought, I rushed down the stairs and arrived at the lobby. A short, impatient wait later and Anabel, Misty and Brock had joined me. However, I did not stop to explain my motives, I simply carried on running. Out of the lobby and into the windy outdoors, the skies had began to fill with thunderous clouds. The battle that had caught my attention was now obstructed by the colossal walls of the Indigo Plateau. This did not stop me, as I began to rush around the perimeter of the stadium. Although it was more luck than judgement, I picked a route that made the raging battle come into view, although it was still incredibly far away.
"Jonathyn, what are you doing?" Misty yelled at me from behind. "What's got you so worked up?"
"Darkhan… Sandra…" I panted, trying to call back to her turning my head as far as I could to see her. From the expression she wore on her face, she was not too happy about something. Perhaps it was because I mentioned Sandra. She obviously had some sort of jealousy problem with her. It did not make much difference to me. She could moan all she wanted. This was not about Sandra… this was about my biggest foe of all.
"I sense that the ones you seek are close by," Anabel called to me.
"Stop reading my mind!" I chuckled to her, but a little more forcefully than I had done the previous times before. Sure enough, the Pokemon that were engaged in battle were becoming much clearer in view. They had also dropped to a lower altitude, which was just as well. After all, the last thing I wanted was to be interrupted by an uninvited guest. After a few more moments of running, the two targets finally came into full view. And as it turned out, it was not only the two Pokemon who were fighting. The image of an airborne blade filled my eyes, as the man dressed entirely in black swung his sword at an evasive female dressed as the Pokemon that battled alongside her. "Sandra!" I called with genuine fear. Something snapped in my mind as I charged forward even faster, arming myself with a Poke Ball. "Aggron, let's take care of this!" I threw it forward as I continued to make ground. As my metallic lizard Pokemon appeared, we both let out a similar battle cry. The swordsman turned his head too late. With as much venom as I could, I tackled Darkhan to the ground. His sword flew from his hand, clattering harmlessly to the dirt below. Sandra, who's face was dripping with sweat seemed both ecstatic and relieved at our presence.
"Jon, stop!" Misty pleaded, but I was deafened by my own rage. I felt anger of such an extreme that I had never experienced before. I pinned Darkhan down, tempted to grab his throat. However, before I could I felt something sharp slash across my back. It hit me with such ferocity that I was sent flying off the sinister swordsman and landing a few feet away. I looked up to see what had hit me… the Absol stood proudly next to his owner. Darkhan sat up with a sadistic smile on his face. It was as though he was not the slightest bit intimidated by aggressiveness.
"Disaster," he smirked, as my Aggron ran to my side. I could tell that Aggron was still fairly tired after the battle against Sandra. I mentally cursed Misty for dragging me to that stupid battle when I should have healed my Pokemon. "Water Pulse!" Darkhan grinned, as his Absol unleashed a sudden burst of water almost from nowhere. The rush of water covered my Aggron, which roared out in pain. I was also hit by the attack. It was surprising just how hard the water hit me. It took the wind out of my lungs. I began to cough and splutter, trying to get my breath back.
"Jonathyn!" the voices of my friends' concern rung through my ears. I got back up to my feet, rolling my shoulders.
"Flygon, use Solarbeam!" Sandra called to her beloved Flygon, which was still battling the Weezing from above.
"Let me deal with this," Anabel growled, stepping forward. Darkhan glared at the Psychic, who suddenly stopped. She fell to the ground, clutching her head. What was going on? Anabel let out ear splitting shrieks, the agony she was in must have been real. I ran over to check on her, droplets of water still dripping off me. Some landed on Anabel. As she writhed, I noticed Darkhan's face filled by a sinister smile, he continued to glare at Anabel as if looking into her very soul. His Absol's eyes were glowing a pale light blue. It was at that point that I noticed exactly what was happening.
"Aggron, use Iron Head on Absol!" I called, hoping that it could make the Dark Pokemon lose its focus. Aggron stampeded forward, smashing its metallic skull into the bipedal creature. It skidded a fair few feet along the rough terrain. Anabel shook her head quickly to rid herself of the remaining pain that was lingering before getting back up to her feet.
"I wish I could help, but my Psychic Pokemon can't do much against a Dark Type like Absol," Anabel apologised. I said nothing, as Darkhan's Weezing suddenly fell the ground like a comet. Throughout the melee, he seemed to have neglected Sandra, who's Flygon had knocked it out of the sky. The dragon landed next to its trainer, as we all paid our attention to the swordsman.
"Too many," Darkhan sneered abruptly, calling back his Weezing into it's spherical storage unit. "Refuse," he bluntly added, picking up his sword.
"Refuse?" I frowned with a blank expression as he placed the ball back into its respective slot along the sword's shaft. "You mean you refuse to battle us?"
"Too many," he repeated. "Five… one." His eyes seemed to roll across our group. Sandra, myself, Anabel, Brock and Misty. Even though Sandra and I were the only two trainers currently using our Pokemon, Darkhan did not seem to want to continue with the battle.
"Hold on, you still owe me answers!" Sandra yelled at the blackened man. "You do not deserve to get away so easily."
"Easily?" Darkhan chuckled. "One Trainer. Not Two." I immediately stepped forward, as did Sandra. We both seemed as eager as each other to defeat the swordsman once and for all.
"I'll battle you," came a stern voice from the rear of our pack. We all turned around, as Misty and I seemed quite surprised at the speaker.
"Paul!?" I apparently gasped. "Where did you appear from?"
"Does it matter?" he bluntly replied. "Are we going to battle or not?" Darkhan let out a small chuckle, before calling his Absol back into his Poke Ball. As he placed it back into the slot, I noticed that he only had five Poke Balls out of the possible six. This did not seem to matter so much, as Darkhan reached into his pocket and withdrew the sixth. This ball was a lot different than the others in his possession. It was a sort of purple or pink colour with two very small bumps at the top of the ball. It matched the identity of the one that Sandra had shown me before this confrontation.
"Indeed," he nodded, placing the ball in the vacant slot.
"Hold on," Sandra interrupted. "This is my fight."
"You've had your chance," Paul snarled. "I'll show you how its done." He then glared over to Darkhan. "One on one sound good to you?" Darkhan replied with a simple nod.
"This is none of your business, Paul," I stepped in front of the arrogant trainer. He simply closed his eyes and stepped to one side before walking past me. "Are you deaf as well as arrogant?" I snarled, getting impatient.
"I saw your last battle with Darkhan," he sneered. "You chose two weak Pokemon to battle two of his strongest. That kind of move is the difference between winning and losing. It's called survival of the fittest."
"There's more to battling Pokemon than just the strength of your team," I snarled. "How can you even say that?"
"Hmph," he snorted. "I don't need to explain my logic to you. I have business to take care of." He took another step forward towards Darkhan, who looked about ready to battle once again. "I'll take you on with Metagross!" Paul yelled, throwing the Poke Ball forward. There was a bright light as the alternately coloured Pokemon emerged from its Poke Ball. Anabel looked at it in awe.
"A Shiny Metagross!" Anabel exclaimed. "I have a Metagross too, but that one looks just as powerful."
"Nice," Darkhan grinned, examining the shiny Psychic Steel Pokemon. "Now behold." With a mighty whoosh, he swung his heavy sword with ease. The Master Ball that Sandra had told me about shot out from the blade. What emerged from it made me gasp. A magnificent bird with blue feathers flapped its giant wings in mid air. It's tail was like a long blue streamer. It's beak was a pale shade of blue as well. As soon as it had appeared, the air became much colder. I began to shiver after a few seconds. Paul seemed to have an equally shocked look, which was surprising for someone who came across as nonchalant.
"You've got to be kidding me!" I choked in disbelief.
"That's the Articuno that he captured!" Sandra gasped. "I can't believe he still owns it! You really do disgust me, Darkhan."
"Don't care," Darkhan smirked. Even though I despised both of these trainers, this was going to be one heck of a battle. He then looked over to both myself and Sandra. "Call back," he growled whilst indicating my Aggron and Sandra's Flygon. Sandra and I both looked at each other, before reluctantly calling our Pokemon back.
"If you lost to a loser like Jonathyn, what hope do you have of beating me?" Paul taunted Darkhan. Darkhan simply chuckled in his usual manner.
"Actions louder," he muttered in response. "Blizzard." The legendary Articuno began to flap its wings faster and faster. A sudden storm of snow engulfed the entire area. It blew with such force that we all had to shield our eyes from it. With the exception of Paul, who simply closed his. The Metagross, despite taking the full brunt of the powerful Ice Type attack did not seem at all harmed.
"You're a fool," Paul grinned confidently. "Ice type attacks don't do much against a Steel type like Metagross, no matter how powerful your Articuno is. Now, Metagross. Use Meteor Mash!" The colossal Pokemon raised one of its huge legs and turning it as it would if it were an arm. It began to glow with energy, before swinging a form of punch at the Flying Ice Type.
"Evade," Darkhan ordered calmly. With another swift flap of its wings, it shot up skyward. "Mind Reader." The Articuno seemed to stare intently at the Metagross, as if detecting the tiniest of movements. Paul frowned at this.
"Metagross, use Magnet Rise then Meteor Mash!" Paul cried with a tone of desperation in his voice. The Metagross tucked its legs in and began to levitate into the air. It positioned the same front leg as before, whilst rising closer to where the Articuno was hovering. It swung a punch, connecting with the chest of the mythical bird. It began to fall towards the earth, but quickly managed to swoop back up. Paul suddenly withdrew a Poke Ball from his pocket. "Return," he said with a small scowl. I was slightly shocked by this action, as the Metagross disappeared from view.
"What was that all about, Paul?" I snarled. "You just gave up?"
"He was going to use Sheer Cold," Paul replied, attempting not to make eye contact with me. "There's no need to put Metagross through that."
"A combination of Mind Reader and Sheer Cold is completely unavoidable," Anabel explained understandingly. "Sheer Cold is a One-Hit Knockout move. Mind Reader ensures that the next attack does not miss. Do the math."
"That sucks!" I sneered. "You're a coward. That's the cheapest tactic I've ever seen." I heard a rustling come from nearby, which I quickly turned my head to see. All I saw was a small brown creature with it's tail held in its paw. Whatever Pokemon it was, it had ran away now. I shrugged to myself before turning back to Paul and Darkhan. "Why don't you just get lost, Darkhan?" I scowled angrily. "The only reason you are here is to cause others grief. You're pathetic in my eyes."
"Pathetic?" Darkhan snarled back. "Interesting." His Articuno landed right next to him as he shot me a venomous look, similar to when he tried to attack me during Cynthia's battle. "Ice Beam," he muttered slyly. A ball of pale light appeared in the legendary Pokemon's beak, before a beam of ice shot forward, striking me. It was so cold that my whole body went numb instantly. It felt as though time had stopped. All I could see were distorted images of the Articuno and Darkhan in front of me. A layer of blue had covered me. I was literally frozen. No matter how hard I tried to move, nothing happened. All my senses seemed to stop functioning. My mouth was dry. The images in front of me turned into a blur. I still could not feel a thing anywhere throughout my body. The silence was perfect. I couldn't hear a thing. Thoughts suddenly began racing through my mind… before everything went dark…
"Jonathyn, stay calm," a voice suddenly entered my head. I would have jumped out of my skin if was able to move. I tried to move my lips, but couldn't. Not a sound came from my mouth, my voicebox had also seemed to stop working. "Jonathyn, it's Anabel," the voice said to me again. "I'm talking to you through telepathy. Darkhan has frozen you solid and your icy prison is near impenetrable." I began to fear the worst. I was too young to die. There was still so much that I had left to do with my life. "Don't think that way," Anabel's voice soothingly said to me. "We're doing our best."
"Jonathyn," I suddenly heard Misty's voice call to me in the same sort of echo-like voice. "Are you okay?"
"He can't talk back, Misty," Anabel replied to her. I wondered how Misty was able to use telepathy. "She's talking to you through me," Anabel answered. As much as I hated it when she read my mind, at least it was doing some good this time.
"Jonathyn, stay strong," Misty encouragingly pleaded. "I'm sorry for being so… you know… recently," she sniffed. It almost sounded as though she was crying. "It's just that I care for you so much and I don't want anything to come between us. To be honest, I thought that Sandra was trying to steal you away from me. But now… you might be gone for good."
"I'm not going anywhere," I blurted out, taking me by surprise. My lips had not even moved, still frozen in the same position. "What the…" I spoke again with a confused tone.
"You've tapped in to your own Psychic power," Anabel said with a tone of excitement. "It makes sense. When you use mental powers, your other senses seem to become useless. Perhaps being encased in ice has helped you tap into that."
"I get the picture," I replied with a sarcastic voice. "But… what is happening? What's going on?"
"Sandra and Brock went off in pursuit of Darkhan," Misty said. "Darkhan got away on the back of the Articuno. Sandra is giving chase on her Flygon and Brock is flying on the back of her Salamence."
"I didn't know Sandra had a Salamence," I replied. "They're quite powerful. Wonder why she didn't use it in our battle."
"Quagsire's Ice Beam would have done more damage to it than her other Pokemon, being both a Dragon and a Flying Type," Misty's voice explained to me.
"Makes perfect sense," I approved her reply. "But what is happening now? How are you going to get me out of this ice. I'm not being funny, but there's not a lot that I can do."
"There is a trainer nearby," Anabel said to me, her voice fading a little. "Misty's gone to get her and see if she can help you out."
"What about Paul?" I asked. Surely Paul wasn't THAT shallow as to walk away from someone who had been frozen solid.
"He went off in a sulk," Anabel confirmed my hypothesis. "I don't think that he's fond of losing."
"I don't think many people are," I replied with another sarcastic tone.
"Brace yourself, Jonathyn," Anabel's voice spoke to me once again. "This Pokemon trainer is going to try and melt the ice with her Pokemon."
"A Fire Type, huh?" I pondered. "Just as well, it's a bit cold in here."
"Nice to see you're trying to make light of the situation," Anabel said with a kind of relieved voice. "Get ready, she's doing it now." It fell silent for a few moments, before slowly I began to feel the difference in temperature. I could feel the ice melting against my skin. It was cold and wet, but the rest of my body was certainly warming up. I could now see a mixture of red behind a layer of frozen blue. I could hear small cracks where the ice was melting around me. It was as though all of my senses were coming back all at once. "You're doing great," Anabel almost whispered to me. The volume of her voice seemed to be fading. Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that I was regaining the use of my senses. Eventually, the distorted layer of blue faded. My arm jolted forward, breaking through the thinned ice. With a small amount of effort, I burst out of my tomb and back into reality. The sun had now come out in place of the black clouds, shining fiercely. Upon breaking free I could see two Smeargles stood in front of me. One greeted me with a low pitched tone, the other was much more squeaky.
"Oh… hello again," a female voice greeted me also. I turned to see the innocent young face of a girl I had met earlier.
"Mimi isn't it?" I tried to remember her name. She nodded, letting out a small playful giggle. "Yes. Hello. Thank you for helping me just there."
"No problem," she squeaked. Her two Smeargles looked delighted with themselves. "Thank you Jelly! Thank you Arty."
"Arty?" I raised an eyebrow at this strange nickname. "And Jelly?" I added with an even stranger tone. The Smeargle stood on the right side of me suddenly began to glow a pale white colour… it began to change its shape. "Is that Smeargle… evolving!?" I gasped in awe.
"No silly!" Mimi giggled again. The Smeargle had now turned into a small pink blob. I recognised what kind of Pokemon it was after a moment of examination. "This is Jelly, my Ditto!" Mimi explained. "I had it transform into my Smeargle, Arty, to use the Flamethrower technique that it knows."
"That was a good idea," I smiled. "What time is it now?" I asked, my Poketch did not work at the moment due to the effects of the cold.
"It was about four o'clock or so," Mimi replied. My jaw dropped. That couldn't have been the time!
"Well then… how long was I frozen!?" I stammered, still not believing that the time had gone by so quickly.
"A good two hours or more," Anabel answered. My jaw dropped even further. The time really had shot past. It was as though the whole experience took less than ten minutes or so. "I'm quite amazed that you managed to survive for as long as you did," she continued. "But you managed to tap into your hidden talents and I guess that is what kept you alive." I nodded, before looking over to Misty. She had been unusually quiet and was turned away slightly from the rest of us.
"Is something the matter, Misty?" I asked, trying to sound concerned. I was still recovering from my frozen ordeal, but Misty looked as though she had been through even more than what I had. She remained completely soundless. "Misty?" I asked again, before noticing a small tear drop fall to from her cheek to the ground. Anabel and Mimi both gave me encouraging looks. I nodded both of them before sliding my arms around her as comfortingly as possible. She wiped another tear from her eye, before clasping hold of one of my arms with both her hands. It was strange that even though I could tell she was using both hands, I couldn't tell which arm she had a hold of. That must have been to do with the lingering effects of the cold. My nerves had not yet fully returned back to normal.
"I was so scared," Misty whimpered. I shushed her quietly, rocking with her in a twisting motion. "I thought I'd lost you for good."
"Nah," I chuckled in an attempt to make this conversation slightly more positive than it was at this time. "Takes more than a big ice bird to take a guy like me down."
"But what if…" Misty began.
"…It didn't, did it?" I interrupted, not wanting to hear her whine anymore. "So don't get so worked up about it. I'm here. Large as life. Don't be sad, Misty."
"I'm not crying because I'm sad," Misty turned to me, her eyes had turned red where she had been crying so much. "I'm crying because I am happy. I'm crying because I'm relieved."
"Sorry, why are you crying?" I asked acerbically. In response, Misty mischievously elbowed me in my side. She began to laugh a little, which was a good sign.
"Umm… excuse me, Jonathyn," Mimi pipped up from behind us. She also seemed a little bit different to the giggling young girl that she had been before, but it was probably an awkward time for her to chuckle with us. "The draw for the Fifth Round was made not too long ago."
"Oh man!" I sighed. "I missed the draw? Come to think of it, do you know who is through?"
"Yeah, course I do!" Mimi replied, a little more seriously than usual. "There's that Cynthia girl who is really really good. The guy who dresses up as a Cacturne… Marley I think his name is."
"Harley," I corrected her, cringing at his name. How the heck did a guy like that manage to get through to the last sixteen? I didn't have time to wonder, as Mimi continued her list.
"That Ash guy won his battle too, so did that Paul who was here earlier," she resumed. "Uhh… then there's you… me… and some other people that I don't really recognise. All I know is that you're on the Steel Field."
"Make sense, since I haven't battled on there yet," I acknowledged. "So what are the rules?"
"It'll be a Four on Four Double Battle," Mimi replied.
"That's a new one," I shrugged. I understood the jist of the match type, but had never battled in one before. I assumed that both trainers could battle with two Pokemon at once and switch between two more. "So, who are you battling?" I asked her. Mimi gave me a strange look. It was obvious what her answer was going to be.
"I'm battling against you, Jonathyn Christian," she replied, as she and her Smeargle and Ditto both looked at me without any hesitation.
TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT TIME: With the curfew still in effect, Jonathyn must select his team for his next battle. But strange things are happening in his dorm…