DISCLAIMER: I own my own house, but I do not own Pokemon! Actually, they're both lies… apart from the second one.

THE LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS

CHAPTER 40: MIMICRY UNLEASHED! A PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BATTLE!

What had happened in the Trainer Lounge itched at the back of my mind as I paced closer and closer towards the red coloured podium. What on earth was that girl doing, trying to trick me like that? I was fortunate that my mind was sharp enough to detect that something was amiss and even luckier that Rotom had managed to destroy the camera. But still, I felt rather strange about myself. In a way, it felt kind of exciting. She had literally thrown herself at me and I had rejected her. But it was the way she acted that confused me most of all. When I first met her, she was incredibly timid. Then, when she appeared to thaw me out of Articuno's icy prison, she had a much more serious attitude… and then she came over as a total tramp. I could not read this girl, which might be one of her tactics. If I figured out what she was really like, the perhaps I could have formulated some sort of battle plan, but she was completely unreadable.

What I did know though was that she used Pokemon that were exceptional when it came down to mimicry. A Chatot, which is capable of repeating human speech, A Smeargle, which is capable of copying pretty much any move a Pokemon can learn by imitation, a Ditto which could transform into any opposing Pokemon and a Sudowoodo, which was a master at imitation as it would pretend to be a tree despite being a Rock type. All of which resulted in what would be an extremely unorthodox battle party. My main concern would be that she would possibly use all my own moves against me, so I had to think carefully about which moves I would use in battle. Gabite would be particularly at risk, since its own attacks would damage it more severely. I knew that I would have to take out Mimi quickly, otherwise I would be in deep trouble.

I looked out over the Steel Field as the podium ascended. The base of the field was covered in thick metal. There were about six large metal box-like structures dotted around the field which could be used as platforms. It was quite an impressive field, the metal seemed to shimmer a dark purple colour rather than the silver glow that I had expected. On the opposite side of the arena, I could see Mimi blowing kisses to the crowd. She really was strange, perhaps more of a worrying character than Harley, although both of them now made me feel uncomfortable when I was in either of their presences. An official took his position just as he had done in various other matches.

"This is a Fifth Round Battle on the Steel Battlefield," he began to explain to the both of us. "This will be a Four on Four Double Battle with no time restriction. Trainers are not permitted to switch any of their Pokemon unless they have been deemed unable to battle, or through the use of a legal Pokemon move. Do you both understand?" he looked at Mimi first of all, who was grinning cunningly.

"I understand," she continued to smirk, locking eyes with me once again, I quickly turned away from her gaze, a small blushing sensation quickly coming over me.

"And you, Jonathyn?" the official asked, awaiting my answer. "Do you understand?"

"Crystal clear," I replied a moment or so after, withdrawing from my pocket two Poke Balls. I knew exactly which two I had chosen to start this battle off. I pulled them out into view, but did not throw them forward until the official raised his flags to signal the start of the match. "Alright, let's do this!" I shouted, the adrenaline starting to pump through me once again. "Nidorino and Aggron, you're up!" With a flash of light, my chosen Pokemon appeared. The small poisonous creature looked up at the much larger metallic rhinoceros-like lizard, nodding at each other in recognition of their partnership.

"I choose Squawks and Woody! Come on out!" Mimi yelled, elegantly throwing her Poke Balls forward. Her Sudowoodo and Chatot appeared side by side, bracing themselves for battle.

"Squawks? Woody?" I snickered to myself at the stupid nicknames she had given to her Pokemon. I hated the thought of calling a Pokemon anything other than the name of their species. Yes, a nickname is a bit more of a personal thing between a trainer and their Pokemon, but Woody for a Pokemon? It just didn't sound right. Mimi could tell that I was secretly mocking the names of her Pokemon, but retaliated in a most surprising manner.

"Woody, use Hammer Arm on Aggron!" she ordered. "Squawks, use Aerial Ace on Nidorino!"

"Aerial Ace! Aerial Ace," the small bird replied in it's squawky voice. As quick as lightning, the two Pokemon darted forward. The Sudowoodo's branch-like hand glowed a pale brown before slamming down across Aggron's skull, which roared in agony. Chatot, despite it's small size was able to knock Nidorino to the ground with surprising ease using its Aeriel Ace. Both my Pokemon were shaken by the attack, but not critically injured just yet, although a large mark had already appeared on Aggron's skull due to the impact of the super effective move.

"I'll be that thing has Rock Head as an ability too," I muttered to myself as I noticed the Sudowoodo had taken no recoil damage from what normally would be a self-damaging move also. "No matter, we can take it out. Aggron, use your Metal Burst on Sudowoodo. Nidorino, Thunderbolt on Chatot!" With that, both my Pokemon began surging forward as well. Aggron unleashed a metallic energy using the pain that was caused from the recent Hammer Arm, sending Sudowoodo hurtling back. Meanwhile, Nidorino began charging the electrical attack and quickly struck the small parrot-like Flying Type dead on. Both of Mimi's Pokemon were definitely shaken by the two super effective attacks. To my astonishment, they did not look too damaged by my attacks, despite both being super effective. "They're stronger than I thought," I muttered to myself. I knew thought that if I kept on using these sorts of attacks, it would not be long before both the Sudowoodo and Chatot would be history.

"Don't undestimate us, sweetie pie," Mimi winked at me amorously. I frowned a little at this, before turning to my immediate left. Sat in the very front row was Misty, sat next to Brock. Anabel and Ash were also sat together, which I found a little odd since Ash had only recently lost an important battle. Even more strange was that Cynthia was sat right next to Misty, equally interested in the battle. She was obviously watching my technique, but I tried not to let that bother me. If I allowed my mind to wander just for one moment, Mimi would most certainly do something to give her the upper hand. "Squawks, use Hyper Voice on Nidorino. Woody, use Hammer Arm again." With that, Sudowoodo surged forward, raising its arm once more.

"Hyper VOICE VOICE VOICE!" the Chatot shouted with an ear-splitting screech that even caused members of the crowd to cover their ears.

"Aggron, quickly use Protect to stop both attacks!" I instructed. Aggron stepped forward, creating a barrier of multicoloured light across a wider area than it usually did. The Hyper Voice simply dispersed into silence and the Hammer Arm of the Sudowoodo simply bounced off the barrier. "Now, Nidorino use Poison Jab on that Sudowoodo." Nidorino leapt over Aggron, it's horn engulfed in a poisonous purple ooze, almost piercing the Rock Type's torso, which let out a small wail as the move connected with it. "You'll never get beyond Aggron's defences now," I taunted the harlot.

"It's only a matter of time before Protect fails you," Mimi replied snidely. "Besides, there's more than one way to win this battle." I raised my eyebrow, noting Mimi's now sly tone of voice.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, a little concerned.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Mimi giggled far from sweetly. "And you've also made a big mistake there. Woody, use Mimic now!" I suddenly gasped, as the Sudowoodo's branches filled this time with the same purple ooze as Nidorino's horn, punching it right across the face. "Did you not remember that Poison Types are weak against their own attacks?" Mimi chuckled out loud.

"Damn," I scowled to myself. "Are you alright, Nidorino?" The Poison Pokemon looked rather shaken, but was determined to keep battling. It nodded its head, lowering it ready to attack once again. "Good! Aggron, use Shock Wave on Chatot. Nidorino, use Horn Drill on Sudowoodo." Aggron was the first to move, firing a jolt of electricity at the Music Note Pokemon, striking it with the unmissable electric attack. Nidorino darted forward, it's horn beginning to rotate like a drill, hence the name of the move. It slammed it into the Sudowoodo, which grunted a little on impact.

"Knock it off with Hammer Arm," Mimi ordered. The Imitation Pokemon quickly raised its arm and slammed it downwards, smashing Nidorino across it's back. It fell limply to the ground, but pushed it back up. The Sudowoodo glared at the Poison Type, pinning it down by pressing one foot on the area that the Hammer Arm had connected with.

"Aggron, help Nidorino with your Iron Head!" I called. The Steel Type quickly charged forward, lowering its head which was slowly filling with a silver glow.

"Squawks, Mimic!" Mimi cried.

"Mimic!" it squawked cheerfully. The Chatot then flew directly at Aggron, lowering its head in the same fashion. Both Pokemon collided head on, knocking each other down to the ground. Chatot seemed to be a little more shaken than Aggron, although the metallic lizard had also taken damage from the collision. All the while, Nidorino was still pinned down by the Sudowoodo. "Now Woody, use Poison Jab!" It raised it's fist once again, filling with toxins.

"Get out of there!" I shouted to Nidorino. "Shadow Claw!" Instantly, Nidorino raised a free claw, engulfing it in a mysterious dark aura, slashing the Rock Type across its short legs. It dropped down in pain, clutching two slash marks where the attack had sliced it. Nidorino quickly ran over to where Aggron was stood. Mimi's Sudowoodo and Chatot also regrouped side by side. "I must admit, I never thought you'd be this good," I grinned at Mimi.

"Don't try and sweet talk me out of this," Mimi chuckled. "Besides, the best has yet to come."

"I'm sure it is," I smirked cockily, "that will be when I'm declared the winner and you go home packing."

"Don't make me laugh, pretty boy," Mimi sneered back at me. "You're only winning half the battle." Once again, my suspiciousness was roused by these comments.

"Cut to the chase, Mimi," I growled. "If you're going to win this match, then do your worst!"

"All in good time," she smiled calmly. "Now, Woody… use Earthquake!" My eyes suddenly widened upon hearing this. I noticed Chatot ascend a little bit higher into the air as not to be hit by the shock waves of the quake, I assumed. The Sudowoodo slammed both its branchy fists to the ground, creating a large quake that shook the whole Steel Field. Aggron, despite taking the super effective attack had jumped up onto one of the raised Steel platforms, along with Nidorino. This seemed to be a good plan, as the metal seemed to absorb some of the quake's energy. "Damn sakes!" she cursed. "Squawks, Mimic Woody's Earthquake!" she grinned with a boastful expression.

"What!?" I gasped, as the ground once again began to shake. Once again, Aggron and Nidorino both felt the tremors through the metal which was being caused this time by the Chatot.

"Mimic Woody's Earthquake, Mimic Woody's Earthquake," it squawked as the ground shook with more intensity.

"Aggron, Protect!" I shouted. The barrier appeared momentarily, before vanishing entirely. The move had failed, which is what I feared would happen. Aggron looked highly shaken by the attack, whereas Nidorino was still reeling from the earlier Poison Jab and Hammer Arm. It must have been horrible for Nidorino to be struck down by its own moves, but I knew that it was one of Mimi's most developed tactics. Finally, the quake ceased and both Pokemon were shaken, but still standing. "Nidorino, Thunderbolt on Chatot, let's go!" Nidorino leapt forward, firing another burst of electricity which hit the Flying Type yet again. But still, it maintained flight. I could not believe just how resistant Mimi's Pokemon actually were. But then again, she wouldn't have made it this far into the competition by battling with weak Pokemon. I had never considered using a Chatot in battle and thought it was a careless and desperate move to make, but Mimi was doing it so professionally I had to admire her as a trainer. But certainly nothing more than that.

"There's no way you can withstand my Pokemon's power," Mimi smiled. "Woody, Poison Jab on Nidorino. Squawks, you use Hyper Voice on Nidorino as well!" I knew full well what Mimi was trying to do now. Now that she had worn Aggron down with those Earthquakes, she was heading to eliminate Nidorino from the battle. Not if I could help it.

"Nidorino, use your own Poison Jab to counter Sudowoodo's! And try not to listen to Chatot's Hyper Voice!" I instructed, hoping this would work. Sudowoodo's fist was thrust forward, as Nidorino forcefully shoved its horn into the poisonous punch. The Sudowoodo let out a grimacing face as the toxins that it was storing was forced further into its own body. Chatot's deafening Hyper Voice seemed to do little to Nidorino, who was facing away from the attack. "Good job, Nidorino," I grinned. "Sudowoodo has been poisoned. And that's because you stayed strong!" Nidorino seemed to grin at me, happy with its performance. "It's not over yet, stay focused," I warned it. It quickly nodded and leapt back to Aggron's side, who was still stood atop one of the steel boxes.

"So, you won't listen to my Squawks' Hyper Voice, huh?" Mimi frowned, before turning it into a malicious smirk. "I've got something that will make everyone here listen…"

"What are you talking about now?" I growled, getting frustrated with Mimi's mind games.

"I'll show you," Mimi giggled. "Squawks, how about a little Chatter?"

"Chatter?" the Chatot asked, tilting its head by about ninety degrees or more.

"That's right," Mimi grinned. "You know what to do."

"Ah," Squawks nodded, realising what it had to do. It suddenly flew past Aggron and Nidorino and maintained flight just between me and the stands. I noticed that it was slowly moving towards where Brock, Misty and the others were sat. "Jonathyn's a love-rat! Jonathyn's a love-rat!" it suddenly began to caw. My eyes widened at this, especially as its voice was growing louder and louder.

"No! Stop!" I begged, as the Chatot continued to recite the same statement over and over. "Aggron, Shock Wave! Nidorino, Thunderbolt! Do it now!" Both my Pokemon obeyed, turning their attention to the chattering Flying Type. Both electric attacks hit with a massive amount of force, but it was still not enough to knock out the bird. It quickly flew back to where the Sudowoodo was stood. I wiped a palmful of sweat from my forehead, giving Misty a somewhat guilty glare, but she seemed completely oblivious. I then focused on Mimi, who had cracked a sly grin across her face. "Why are you doing this?" I growled, clenching my fist as the anger inside of me built up.

"Why?" Mimi giggled. "Because I will do whatever it takes to win. Even if that means destroying your relationship with Misty."

"So everything that happened back there was just a farce?" I continued to interrogate, trying to block out the kiss that we shared back in the Trainer Lounge. Mimi began to blush a little.

"You're such a sweet guy," she said softly. "But you're such a nitwit as well."

"Nitwit? Is that the best insult you can come up with?" I sneered.

"Far from it," Mimi replied with a cunning smile. "You need to decide which is more valuable to you… your relationship with Misty or becoming the Pokemon League Champion. I can help you with either of those two. Either you throw the match for me or I tell Misty. Or, you can tell her what happened between us and I'll let you win the match."

"Nothing happened! There is nothing between us," I insisted forcefully.

"Isn't there?" she gleamed. "I saw the way you were looking at me in there. I could tell that you wanted it."

"Shut up!" I bellowed. "I'm never going to break up with Misty… not for you, not for anyone. I love her and her alone… more than…" I suddenly fell silent.

"Yes? Go on," Mimi urged with another sly smirk on her face. I began to turn red, not with lust but with anger.

"…more than life itself!" I finished. "Now to shut you up once and for all! Aggron, use Shock Wave and Nidorino use Thunderbolt to finish off that Chatot!" My Pokemon, who had been patiently been waiting for an instruction suddenly unleashed their electric attacks.

"Woody, take the hit!" Mimi countered. The Sudowoodo jumped right in the path of the electric attacks, although it didn't seem too badly injured from the two moves. It's Rock Type traits meant electric attacks weren't all that effective. "Now use Hammer Arm on Aggron. Squawks, use Aerial Ace on Nidorino." The two Pokemon suddenly surged forward.

"Aggron, Protect now! Nidorino, get behind Aggron!" I instructed, using the same tactic I had done before. The Sudowoodo's Hammer Arm did nothing but bounce off the barrier, but Chatot was agile enough to swoop past Aggron and connect the Aerial Ace to Nidorino.

"About time," Mimi grinned. "Squawks, Mimic!"

"Squawks Mimic," the small parrot-like Pokemon cawed…

"Aggron, Shock Wave. Nidorino, Thunderbolt on Chatot. Let's go!" I shouted, hoping to silence that bird before it made this situation even worse.

"Protect!" Mimi grinned, causing me to gasp. Of course! That Chatot must have Mimicked Aggron's Protect just now. The electric attacks bounced harmlessly away from the Chatot, which cackled in the same way as its trainer. I was about to curse, when I suddenly noticed that Mimi had left her Sudowoodo prone. I now had a difficult decision. Either take out the Sudowoodo first since it was vulnerable or keep on trying to eliminate that Chatot. I then suddenly had a great idea.

"Aggron, Nidorino… keep on using your electric attacks on Chatot!" I smiled. The two bolts of electricity surged forward.

"Squawks, Protect again!" Mimi shouted. Unofrtunately once again the attacks bounced off the small bird-like Pokemon. "What are you trying to prove, Jonathyn?" Mimi scowled a little.

"You'll see," I winked at her with a cunning expression of my own, causing her to frown a little. At least she wasn't the only one who could play these mind games.

"Oh yeah?" she suddenly grinned. "You've forgotten one small thing. Woody, Hammer Arm on Aggron, now!" With that, the Sudowoodo swung its fist downwards whilst lunging at Aggron. I did not feel the need to have it use Protect this time around. Aggron let out a horrific roar as the super effective move made contact.

"Stay strong, Aggron." I smiled, noticing the sheer determination of my Steel Rock Type. Finally, Sudowoodo leapted back out of harms way… or so it thought. "Aggron, use Metal Burst on Sudowoodo with everything you've got! Nidorino, Thunderbolt on Chatot at max power!" With that, Aggron's unleashed an incredible amount of stored energy as Nidorino fired what must have been the largest Thunderbolt I had ever seen it use.

"Squawks! Protect quickly!" Mimi stammered. "Woody… use…" she fell silent as the Metal Burst attack struck the Sudowoodo dead on. Nidorino's Thunderbolt was jostling to get through the Chatot's Protect, before suddenly smashing through the barrier and striking the bird. Both of her Pokemon were screeching in pain, before falling down onto the metal floor in defeat.

"Sudowoodo and Chatot are both unable to battle!" the official declared. The crowd suddenly erupted for me as I had taken both Pokemon down in the same turn, which the crowds usually loved to see. I embraced the cheers momentarily, before looking over to a frustrated looking Mimi. I was delighted that my tactic had worked. Despite the fact that her Chatot had learned Protect, it was only a matter of time before it failed it. And during that time as well, by using Protect it was unable to use Chatter, meaning that my horrible secret was now silenced. As for the Sudowoodo, I was fortunate that Mimi had it use Hammer Arm on Aggron, rather than Poison Jab on Nidorino. At least Aggron was able to effectively counter attack with Metal Burst.

"Go Jonathyn," I heard Misty call from the stands. This made me smile a little, although I would never be able to face her if word got out about Mimi's stolen kiss. The girl herself had now recalled the Sudowoodo and Chatot back into their Poke Balls.

"This battle isn't over yet," Mimi grinned. "Jelly! Picasso! I choose you!" she yelled, throwing the two balls forward. This is what I was slightly concerned by. Her two most unorthodox Pokemon. The small pink blob known as Jelly was a Ditto. The Smeargle that had appeared beside it was obviously named Picasso. I noticed that this particular Smeargle was not the one that had helped defrost me from Articuno's icy prison… this one was of an unusual colour… it was green rather than beige. "This is Jelly, my Ditto and Picasso, my Shiny Smeargle." Mimi grinned. "You think that you can still win?"

"I know so," I replied coolly.

"Let the battle resume!" the official shouted, raising his flags high into the air.

"Jelly, Transform into Aggron!" Mimi smirked. There was a sudden flash of light, engulfing the whole of the Ditto's body. The light began to expand, before fading to reveal a second Aggron had appeared on the battlefield. Her Ditto had taken the form of my own Aggron to perfect detail. I was completely awestruck at the incredible transformation. "Picasso, use Volt Tackle on Nidorino!" The Shiny Smeargle suddenly bolted forward, it's whole body producing a huge electric aura around it. It gained more and more speed, before slamming straight into Nidorino with such force that it was hurled back into my podium. It fell down the ground, before trying to get back up to its feet.

"Nidorino, are you alright?" I asked with great concern. The Nidorino let out a small growl, before pushing itself up on all four legs. It let out a loud, exhausted grunt before falling to the floor, not longer able to stand. The official quickly raised his flag.

"Nidorino has been defeated!" he instantaneously declared. The crowd then let out some more cheers, mainly Mimi's fans. I noticed that Misty, Cynthia, Anabel, Ash and Brock weren't exactly thrilled that Nidorino had been knocked out of the battle. But I was grateful for what it had done for me. I summoned it back into its Poke Ball, a red beam firing out from it before sucking the defeated Poison Type back into the ball.

"You did great, Nidorino," I spoke to the ball, knowing full well that it could hear me inside it. "Take a good long rest, you deserve it." With that, I placed the ball back into my pocket. Mimi had an incredibly smug look on her face.

"You don't stand a chance," Mimi smirked. "There's no way you can beat Picasso alone, never mind alongside my Jelly."

"We all live in hope," I replied coldly, examining the two Pokemon that I was facing. That Volt Tackle that the Smeargle had produced was highly impressive and her Ditto could use all of Aggron's abilities to the same level. Gabite could be useful against it, but its Dragon Type attacks wouldn't do much good against Aggron, although its Ground attacks would. And I didn't even know what other sort of moves that Shiny Smeargle possessed. I picked out my chosen Poke Ball from my pocket.

"Houndoom, let's go!" I called, throwing the ball forward. The Dark Fire type appeared next to my Aggron, snarling and baring its fangs at the opponents. "I refuse to allow you to win this battle, Mimi," I scowled. "I will take my place as Pokemon League Champion and I'm not going to let a piece of trash like you get in my way!"

"That's not very nice," Mimi smirked innocently. "And there I was thinking we could be friends…"

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT TIME: After taking an early advantage against the conniving Mimi, Jonathyn must now battle against Mimi's Ditto and Smeargle. What tricks does Mimi have up her sleeve? And will Jonathyn succumb to her mind games?