Chapter Forty-three: Draken
The Next Step
The electric door slid closed behind me. My breath escaped through the lungs and I had to force it back into my mouth. I was nervous about Draken. And then, the worst part, Lea. I brought out all my Pokémon. I used a Revive and Potion on Garchomp, a Full Heal on Milotic, Roserade and Lucario. That left Spiritomb, who was fully healed, and Thumper, who I was leaving fainted. I was ready. I returned my Pokémon and stepped up to the next door; not wasting any time. It slid open and I walked in.
This field was purple, blue and black. Darker tones. There was nothing very special about the room, it didn't give any hints about what Type Draken had. Or, it meant he had a mixture of Types. That made me even more nervous. At one side of the field, a platform came up from underneath the battlefield. A man was standing there. He had darker skin and brown hair neatly combed back. He wore a black and purple suit, and stood tall and confident. "Hello there, Cynthia." His voice was deep and smooth, a lot like Brush's.
"Hello, Draken." I tried to match his confidence.
"I've been preparing for this battle for a few days now, and I am quite excited. Your journey has been something, hasn't it? I've watched and heard much about you. Yet you know nothing about me. Just a précis about myself…I was born and raised in Eterna, but then became quite obsessed with Dragon Types…When I came of age, I started traveling and pursuing my interest, and then Lea approached me with this very tempting offer." Dragon Type's. Of course. Of any Type, that would be my weakest one. My stomach flipped. I wouldn't be seeing Lea today. "So here I am. A trainer, much like yourself, and a Dragon Enthusiast. I'm very exciting to see our Dragons battle, so, are you ready?"
No. "Of course." I fake smiled. I waited to see what Pokémon he was bringing out.
"Kingdra, battle with me." Water and Dragon Type, I can handle that. A large seahorse came out of the ball. He hovered in the air, looking elegant and intimidating.
I got Roserade's Pokéball out and released her. "Roserade, let's go." She came out and spun around on her toes.
"Bubblebeam twist." Draken commanded. Bubblebeam twist? Kingdra blew a string of bubbles, all plummeting toward my Pokémon, then spun in a circle, creating a rough tornado that crashed down the field, picking up bubbles on its way, and then picking up Roserade. The tornado subsided and Roserade fell to the floor.
I need to be creative like that. I thought. "Petal Dance then Mega Drain." Roserade got up and whipped flower petals and leaves around. She pushed her arms out, and the wave of leaves shot across and hit Kingdro. Then, Roserade started to focus.
"Hydro plus." Fantastic. Kingdra spat lots of water at Roserade, ruining her concentration and knocking her to the ground. Then, more water rushed over her, making her screech loudly.
"Magical Leaf and Petal Dance." Roserade combined the two, making more ammunition. She shot them to the foe, and Kingdra was knocked to the ground.
Draken cocked his head to the side, like my grandfather did while studying something. "Twister." What? No twist, plus, anything? Kingdra used the move, and no other, but it still hit hard.
"Petal Dance." I shouted. My Pokémon got up and summoned her Grass Type things. She started sending it to the opponent.
"Deflect it, Kingdra." Kingdra made another twister, and it gobbled up all of the leaves before it reached him. Then the twister, and the debris within it, hit Roserade, and she met the floor again.
Roserade jumped back up and locked eyes with me. We needed to get our act together; and quick. "Mega Drain." Roserade focused, and Kingdra fell to the floor wincing and whining. "Petal Dance." Then, she sent out all the hundreds of petals, and they swirled around the rival, making a wall you couldn't see through. But you could hear the screeches of Kingdra behind it.
"Brine twist." Draken called.
"Dodge it, Roserade, twist means Twister!" I tried to warn her, but when the water poured out of Kingdra's mouth and knocked her to the ground, and then bubbles followed it, I knew two things: I was too late and 'twist' doesn't always mean Twister. I smacked my forehead. "Use Mega Drain!" Kingdra winced and fell to the floor. He screeched. "Toxic." Roserade ran to the rival and hit him on the face. His face turned purple for a quick second, and when Mega Drain was over, he was still wincing on the floor. A second later he threw up poison and vomit. He lifted his head, then it smacked back to the ground. He wasn't getting back down. Draken returned him. Relief filled me. Roserade doubled-over and took in hasty breaths. Draken got another Pokéball out, and I panicked. Do I stick with Roserade? Get another? What? But it was too late, he let out his next Pokémon.
"Lucario, take out the opponent." A Lucario came out. This one looked…Older than mine. That could mean it was higher in levels, and that made me even more nervous.
"Do exactly what we just did." I tried to battle like my opponent. Lucario strained under Roserade's invisible grasp, but when Roserade used Toxic, nothing happened.
"Did it escape you, fellow Lucario trainer, that this magnificent Pokémon is immune to Poison Type attacks?" Yes. "Dragon mix." He yelled.
Lucario snapped back to normal and started to glow the Dragon purple. Light and Dragon electricity shot out of him and pushed Roserade across the field and tossed harshly to the ground. She was instantly KO'd, and I didn't even learn what the 'mix' was.
I returned my Pokémon and brought out my next. "Milotic, let's step up!" She made a positive noise, and hope flickered inside of me.
"Dragon mix, again." I guess I would be learning now. Lucario used Dragon Pulse, and then put his wrists together and used Aura Sphere. Milotic fell backwards, her large snake-like body barely missing mine, and then she got back up and waited for me to command her.
"Aqua Ring then Aqua Tail." Milotic focused and water rings surrounded her; ready to replenish her health. Then her scaly tail became water and she slapped Lucario to the ground.
"Force Palm." Draken commanded. Lucario jumped up and pushed his paw at Milotic, she took the hit and fell to the ground. Aqua Ring activated, and she got back up.
"Water Pulse." Pulsations of water hit Lucario hard. "Hydro Pump." He was thrown across the room harshly.
"Pulse." In a second, Milotic was on the floor screaming. Her eyes had glazed over with blackness. Then, Lucario lit up, and Dragon Pulse activated, and shot to Milotic. It snapped her out of Dark Pulse, but hit her hard.
"Twister." I commanded. Milotic made the tornado and it engulfed Lucario, throwing him around hard.
"Aura Sphere." Lucario got back up and sent the psychic ball to my Pokémon. It hit her face and she screeched. She wasn't happy.
"Twister, again!" Milotic shook her head and a tornado took off towards the foe. Then, water exploded from her mouth, pushing Lucario a few feet backwards.
"Dragon mix." Lucario used Dragon Pulse. The Dragon energy pulsing through his body and shooting out like a beam at Milotic. Then, he tossed the energy ball that met my Pokémon and dissolved on her skin, making her whine.
"Aqua Tail." I yelled. She was getting angry; something I had never seen of her before. She whipped her tail around and smashed it on the foes side, causing him to face-plant on the floor. "Aqua Ring." She started to focus.
"Stop her." From the ground, Lucario looked at Milotic. Then she fell to the floor, screeching and squirming. Her eyes covered in shadows; blocking them from the real world, making her watch horrific scenes. I winced for her. "Force Palm." Lucario jumped up and ran across the field, he pushed his hand on Milotic and sent he backwards a few feet. The shadows left her eyes, but then they rolled back in her head. I returned her and pondered on my next Pokémon.
"Spiritomb, let's beat him!" I was worrying. There was little chance for me winning; that made me feel sick. Just what Lea wanted.
"Pulse." Draken commanded. Now it was Spiritomb's turn. Her eyes glazed over and blended in with the rest of her hazy body. She screamed. Then, Lucario sent out the powerful beam, and it covered her body; extra pain. I bit my lip.
"Shadow Sneak!" She escaped the moves, not without being harshly harmed, and appeared next to the rival. She tackled him, and he fell on the floor, hitting his head. "Sucker Punch." The shadowy, bodiless fist appeared and whaled on the opponent, making him cry out in pain. Spiritomb grinned and disappeared; appearing on her place in front of me.
"Dragon Pulse." Lucario got up and glowed, and before I could react the beam was shooting at my Pokémon and engrossing her. To our luck, the beam only lasted a few seconds.
"Ominous Wind." Spiritomb shot out 'arms' of ghostliness that wrapped around each other, forming walls around the opponent. You could hear him screech from behind the walls. "Faint Attack." Spiritomb disappeared, and then you heard the final screams of the foe. When the walls dispersed, Lucario was fainted. I smiled.
Draken returned his Pokémon and cocked his head again. His eyes were deep in thought. He got another Pokéball. "Salamance, have a good battle." A huge dinosaur materialized. He was a blue color, with large red wings and stood on four legs. He was intimidating, but Spiritomb didn't think so.
"Do what we just did again!" I yelled. Spiritomb obeyed and used the two moves perfectly. Salamance seemed somewhat unaffected, and that made me worry more.
"Power mouth." Draken commanded. Salamance opened his mouth, and Dragon energy poured out and shot at Spiritomb, she screeched and made unpleasant noises. Then fire coated the inside of his mouth, and he lunged forward and bit my Pokémon. Of course, his mouth went right through her, but she still felt the pain.
"Sucker Punch." The fist appeared and slammed into Salamance's side, and he was pushed to the ground.
"Dragon mix." Before I could double-hit, Salamance was using Dragon Breath again. Then, almost instantly after that attack, he was across the field, foot glowing, the claws extending, and swiping across Spiritomb's body.
"Ominous Wind then Shadow Sneak." My Ghost Type didn't miss a beat. She got the walls up, and morphed into nothing but a shadow on the ground, and slid under the walls; unharmed.
"Avoid the attack." Draken shouted. Salamance flew up into the ceiling. The walls dispersed, and Spiritomb morphed into her regular state, and Salamance darted down and tackled her, using Fly perfectly.
"Sucker Punch!" The fist punched Salamance off of her, but as she collected herself, you could tell how tired my Pokémon was.
"Dragon mix." Salamance spewed the stuff on her, and then swiped his claws over her body, messing up her ghost figure. She slumped into a puddle, and I returned her.
I was really worried now. That left Garchomp. She was strong, but was she strong against her weakest Type? Of course, the only thing that can beat a dragon is another dragon, so the odds were at least kind of even. "Garchomp, let's take him down!" She materialized and roared.
"Power mouth." Dragon Breath hit hard. Garchomp crashed to the ground and growled. When the foe bit into Garchomp's side with Fire Fang, she punched the Pokémon and escaped his grasp. But the burn, and teeth marks, were there.
"Use your Dragon moves!" I called. Garchomp leapt into the air and quickly glided to the opponent. She started to glow purple, and she zoomed towards Salamance at lightning speed and tackled him. He fell to the ground hard and roared at her. She sat on top of him, forcing him to stay on the ground. She lifted her hand, her claw glowing as well. She swiped it on his chest and then jumped up. Salamance got up slowly; the hit was powerful.
"Fly!" Draken commanded. Salamance shot through the air and attacked my Pokémon, both of the hitting the ground, then jumped back up.
"Crunch." Garchomp lunged in and bit the rivals wing, making him screech. My Pokémon's claw glowed, and she scratched the foes face. I smiled. Salamance threw her off and got up.
"Dragon Claw." Salamance used the move on Garchomp, and she roared in pain. She looked at me.
"Dragon Rush." I yelled. Garchomp instantly turned purple and tackled the rival. He fell to the ground again. She sunk her teeth into his leg before jumped off. He hissed as blood started to form at the bite marks.
"Fly, again." Salamance swooped into the air the darted downwards at Garchomp. She was hit hard and thrown across the room. She stood up slowly. That was a bad sign. "Dragon Breath."
"Dodge!" I screamed. Garchomp burrowed into the ground. She popped out under and Salamance, but he flew into the air and avoided it. "Dragon Rush!" She swooped up after him and tackled him. She pushed his large body to the ground. He broke the floor as he crashed into it, and Draken and I both knew he was down for the count.
He returned his Pokémon. "Interesting, you've got me down to my last. But, I have gotten you down to your last as well. Who will prevail, I wonder?" He smiled and held up his Pokéball. "Dragonite, claim victory!" The large Dragon Type materialized. He was the same height as Garchomp, but was much bigger around. He had wings stuck out to the side, and teeth sticking out of his mouth. He roared, and Garchomp roared back. This was it.
"Dragon moves, now!" I commanded. Garchomp used the Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw combo. She made the foe hit the ground, then gave him a red line across his stomach. The moves were definitely effective.
"Tail plus." Draken shouted. Dragonite swung his tail around. It quickly morphed into Aqua Tail and then slammed into my Pokémon. Then, the tail morphed back to normal, and the rival jumped up in the air, turned upside-down, and hit his wings against Garchomp, making her roll backwards a few feet. She jumped up and roared.
"Dragon Rush!" She tackled the in-air Pokémon, bringing him to the ground harshly.
"Dragon Rush." Draken commanded. Dragonite started to glow, then turned the table. He pushed Garchomp to the ground, breaking the floor as he did, then jumped up off of her. She leapt up after him and used Dragon Claw. "Slam." Dragonite smashed back into Garchomp. They both his the ground hard, but Garchomp took the most damage.
My Pokémon stood back up. "Crunch." She lunged in and bit the foe hard, he yelped and escaped. "Dragon Claw." She swiped her claw across Dragonite. She was tired, I knew she was about to go down.
"Dragon Rush, one last time." Draken knew it too. Great. Before I could react, Dragonite had Garchomp on the floor, and she let our one last roar before fainting. The battle was over.
We returned out Pokémon. Defeat set in. I didn't know what I was feeling. Anger brewed in the pit of my stomach, but sadness lumped in my throat. I didn't win. I didn't win. I wouldn't be seeing Lea today. That's what that card meant. It didn't matter that I got those potions, Lea knew I wouldn't have made it that far. And I couldn't even beat an Elite, I wouldn't be able to beat the Champion. I mashed my lips together. I looked up, Draken was coming my way. He didn't look pleased. I walked towards him.
"Nice battle, Cynthia." He stuck out his hand. I gathered everything inside me and shook it. "Although, I haven't been completely honest…"
I cocked my head. "What?"
"Well, why don't we take a seat?" He pointed to the corner behind him. A platform listed up, bringing two wingback chair with it. We walked over and sat down.
"What is this about?" I asked.
"Patience is a virtue." He cleared his throat. "One thing I haven't been honest about is my name…It's not Draken, it's Drake. And I'm not from Eterna, I'm from Oreburgh." I wasn't following. He took in a deep breath. "Right before Oreburgh, went under, for lack of a better statement, myself and a group of mineworkers escaped through the tunnels. We had a plan. We were able to get in touch with an ex-Oreburghian who works in Hearthrome. He got into the mainframe of the system and was able to change our names and information. I started traveling, and as I said, pursuing my Dragon Type interest." He paused. "Let me skip ahead. Lea approached me with this offer. I wasn't going to take it, at first. The last thing I wanted was for Lea to know me and figure out my secret. He started to beg me…Quite childishly, actually. And he told me he needed me to beat you, so I accepted. Not for the cruel reason you're thinking, however. Let me just say this…" He leaned closer. "Pete was a personal friend. He helped us escape. I knew of his planning's, and I know you're a part of it."
"So…What does this have to do with anything?"
"This means, Cynthia, I'm going to join your group, even it's a bit too late, and I'm going to let you move on…If you want to."
My heart thumped quickly. I sat up straight. "Of course I want to move on, why wouldn't I?" I couldn't get the words out quick enough. Then I realized. "Because I can't beat him."
He shook his head. "I excel that fool…But I do believe it's quite dangerous. He's crazy. I've seen him slip more and more into craziness with only the few days I've been here. I wouldn't suggest you continue on. Take more time to train, then try again."
I stood up. "Sorry, Drake, I'm going for this. I'm not a quitter. I've worked so hard for this…I will be the champion today."
He nodded. "Do go on, then. I'll be wishing you luck." I slung my bag over my shoulder and jogged to the door. It slid up, and I entered the next room. Yes, I was nervous. So nervous, I had to force myself to breathe. But I wasn't going to think of one bad thought. Just kept my head in the game. I used my six revives and the potions needed on my Pokémon. I was going for this. I walked up to the next door.
I walked into the room. It was extra-large, as was expected. The floor was black with gold lines. Solid gold, no doubt. The walls were black with large pictures on them. On one wall, there was a Gyradose, Dusknoir, and Weavile. The other wall was Honchcrow, Mismagus, and Gliscor. His Pokémon. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Then, I noticed the man standing in the middle of the room.
Maroon, his advisor.
"Welcome, Cynthia…I'm afraid there has been a change of plans."
Authors Note: Change of plans?! What tis this magic?! Oh I do wonder what that Maroon means! Oh wait. I know. Hehe, I'll never tell!
Totally just quoted the best YouTube video ever. Does anyone know what it is? I'll be seriously impressed. Anyhow, WE ARE NEARING THE END. Although, you all should have expected there to be a twist...I mean, did you really think it would end the normal way? I guess I'm not following the games/anime in what I'm doing but...Oh, just read the next chapter! It will take longer, because I'm going to do my write two post one thing again. Reminder: The poll is still on my profile. Who do you want me to write a short story/backstory of? I'll be honest, I'm rooting for Lea. And once this story ends...You might want me to write a short backstory. Just saying.
Thanks for reading! Fifty reviews from 200...I don't even care if we make it. You guys have blown me outta da water. My socks have been knocked right off of me. So, from the bottom of my hearts, (I have multiple...I'm a gamer) THANK YOU!