(Hey, I updated again. IF YOU LIKE IT, GOOD. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, WHY ARE YOU STILL READING? Okay, enough banter. Take it, Narrator-dude!)
In our last chapter, Ash and company were escorted to the secret Taupe gym, where Ash and Snorlax started things off on the desert arena against Michael's Slaking, which had an amazing defensive strategy. After a clever plan and a little luck, though, Snorlax was able to topple Slaking, though it collapsed from exhaustion soon afterward. What awaits our hero in the next round? We're about to find out!
(Couldn't have said it better myself. NOW, LET THE CHAPTER BEGIN!)
The Ultimate Battle
Chapter Three: Unseen Opponents! The Battle Continues
"So," Ash asked. "What're we doin' for round two?"
"See for yourself." Michael smirked.
Michael hit a few more buttons on his podium and the desert battlefield sunk into the floor. In its place, four walls and a ceiling made of a transparent material came up and formed a cube over the battlefield between the trainers.
"Interesting choice, Mikey." Claire commented. "You don't use that battlefield often."
"Why?" May asked. "What is it?"
"The arena of darkness." Michael announced. "The walls are made of a very special material. We can see in, but when inside it, nothing can see out, or anything else, for that matter. The only light that can get in is a Pokeball's recall mechanism. In other words, the Pokemon will be fighting blind. You'll have to coach them properly to win. A real test of—."
"Just choose your stinkin' Pokemon, already!" Max yelled.
"Very well." Michael sighed.
Michael pulled open a small square panel on the wall of the arena in front of him and pulled out a Pokeball. This Pokeball, however, instead of being red and white, was dark green. A Dusk Ball. Michael tossed the Dusk Ball in and a Pokemon appeared in a cloud of darkness. This Pokemon had a tall, round build, with two strong arms and a large chest. There was an eerie pattern across its stomach that resembled eyes and a mouth. It had no legs to speak of, just a genie-ish wisp of a tail that seemed anchored to the floor. It had no face, just a single eye on its head and an antenna on top.
"My Pokemon will be Dusknoir," Michael announced. "But don't think a Ghost-type will be able to see. The darkness in this arena is so pure that nothing can see."
Ash nodded and pulled out his Pokedex. "Dusknoir," it said. "The Gripper Pokemon. Legend has it that the antenna on its head receives messages from the spirit world, beckoning it to take people away. Because of this, it is often associated with the Grim Reaper."
"It certainly looks creepy enough!" May commented.
"Agreed," Claire said with a shiver. "Dusknoir even creeps me out!"
"Choose your Pokemon, Ash." Michael requested.
Ash nodded and opened his own panel and threw in a Pokeball. "Glalie, I choose you!" he yelled. In a flash of light, a Pokemon with black horns that looked like a round face carved out of ice appeared.
"Glalie." It said, opening its eyes wide to try and see in the darkness.
"This match will be Glalie vs. Dusknoir in the arena of darkness." Alex announced as the pictures of Dusknoir and Glalie appeared on the scoreboard and Ash and Michael closed their panels, terminating the last bit of light in the arena. "Let the battle begin!"
"Glalie, use Ice Beam!" Ash ordered.
Glalie didn't obey. It kept turning and squinting, trying to see its opponent. "Gla, glalie." It said nervously.
"To the left!" Ash directed. "Keep going—no, that's too much! Turn back, turn back!"
"Dusknoir, use Astonish!" Michael said.
"Dusk." Dusknoir said in an eerie tone. The mouth image on its chest opened up. "Dusk…NOIR!" it shouted in a loud roar, causing Glalie to panic even further.
"C'mon, Glalie," Ash called. "Use your Icy Wind!"
Glalie stayed put, looking nervous.
"What's wrong with Glalie?" May asked.
"Astonish sometimes causes flinching." Brock explained.
"But Glalie has the Inner Focus trait!" Max objected. "It can't flinch!"
"It's just confused because it can't see." Claire said.
"Exactly," Michael agreed. "Now, Dusknoir, use Shadow Punch!"
"Dusknoir." His Pokemon said as it raised its arm and shot a ghostly fist out of its hand, which struck Glalie right in the forehead.
"Use Ice Beam where the attack came from!" Ash shouted.
Glalie smiled, opened its mouth and fired a blue beam, but, to every spectator's surprise, the attack missed by over three feet! Glalie was truly fighting blind.
"Dusknoir, another Shadow Punch!" Michael commanded.
Dusknoir nodded and fired another spectral hand, which, despite the Ghost-type's inability to see, zoomed right at its opponent.
"Dodge it with Double Team!" Ash told Glalie.
Glalie nodded and split into five Glalies as the attack neared.
"Ash, no!" Brock warned. "It won't work!"
Sure enough, the Shadow Punch veered off-course toward the Glalie on the right and hit it where its nose would be if it had one, causing the other four Glalie illusions to disappear.
"What the—?" Ash exclaimed.
"Ash, Shadow Punch is a homing attack." Brock explained. "It never misses."
"He's right," Michael grinned. "And now that you know where your target is, Dusknoir," he said, turning back to the battle. "You can finish it with Fire Punch!"
Dusknoir raised its fist as it was covered in flames. "Dusk!" it whispered as it charged directly at Glalie.
Just as Dusknoir was about to finish Glalie, though, Ash held up its Pokeball and shot a red beam of light at the Face Pokemon, returning it to its Pokeball.
The picture of Glalie on the scoreboard's background faded, but the image of Glalie itself stayed bright.
"Ash has recalled Glalie!" Alex declared, pointing a flag at Ash.
"Well, better to retreat than to lose pointlessly, I guess." Michael shrugged. "Now, select your next Pokemon!"
"C'mon, Ash!" May cheered. "Beat that Dusknoir!"
"Try choosing something that can find Dusknoir using something other than sight!" Brock suggested.
Ash smiled as he opened the panel on the arena's wall and threw in another Pokeball. With another flash of light, a Pokemon resembling a short, round, armored elephant with big tusks appeared. It blinked in the darkness as Ash closed the panel again.
"This match will be Donphan vs. Dusknoir on the arena of darkness." Alex proclaimed as Donphan's picture appeared under Glalie's. "Let the battle continue!"
"Why would Ash use Donphan?" Max asked.
"I don't know," his sister replied. "But he looked like he knew what he was doing."
"We'll find out soon enough." Claire said with a smirk. "C'mon, Mikey!" she cheered. "Beat him into the ground!"
"You got it, Babe!" Michael laughed as he turned toward the battle. "Dusknoir, use Shadow Punch!"
"Noir." Dusknoir said as it fired another ghostly fist, which sped right at Donphan.
"Donphan, Defense Curl!" Ash bellowed.
"Don." Donphan said as it curled its wide trunk to cover its legs, making it look remarkably like a tire. The Shadow Punch plowed into it, but Donphan took minimal damage.
"You know where it is, Dusknoir!" Michael declared. "Use Night Shade!"
Dusknoir's one eye went wide as it fired a black beam aimed exactly where Donphan was.
"Donphan, dodge to the left!" Ash warned.
"Don, don!" Donphan said as it heeded the command and jumped aside just in time to avoid the attack.
"Great work!" Ash grinned. "Now use Odor Sleuth!"
Donphan closed its eyes and raised its trunk, sniffing around and finally turning toward Dusknoir.
"Odor Sleuth?" Michael repeated. "So that's your plan!"
"I don't get it." May said. "What's Odor Sleuth?"
"It's an attack." Max explained. "One that neutralizes attacks the opponent uses to make itself harder to hit, like Double Team and Sand Attack."
"Not only that," Brock added. "It also makes Ghost-types susceptible to types of attacks that wouldn't normally work on them."
"Right!" Ash said. "And now Donphan's got Dusknoir's scent, which means it can't hide in the dark anymore! Now, Donphan," Ash commanded. "Hit it with Take Down!"
Donphan nodded and charged full-speed ahead toward Dusknoir, ramming into it for a good deal of damage.
"Dusknoir!" Michael called out. "You okay, man?"
"Dusk." Dusknoir said as it regained its composure.
"Then use Shadow Punch!" Michael commanded.
"Donphan, Defense Curl!" Ash shouted.
Donphan curled into a ball just in time as the ghostly hand hit its mark yet again.
"Now use Fire Punch!" Michael yelled.
Just as Donphan uncurled, Dusknoir rushed over and delivered a flaming uppercut to its trunk.
"Donphan, use another Take Down!" Ash said.
Donphan raised its trunk and sniffed, but didn't move. Then Ash saw why.
"Looks like Dusknoir's Fire Punch burned away Donphan's sense of smell, Ash!" Michael laughed. "And that means Odor Sleuth is null and void. All right, Dusknoir," he commanded. "You know where Donphan is. Wrap this up with Night Shade!"
Dusknoir fired another dark beam from its eye directly at the confused Donphan, but Ash, thinking quickly, held up its Pokeball and recalled it before the attack could land.
"Ash has recalled Donphan." Alex announced as the background in Donphan's picture went dark.
"Switching out again?" Michael asked. "You're just wearing out your Pokemon, you know."
Ash said nothing as he opened the panel and threw in another Pokeball. Glalie reappeared in a flash of light.
"Ash has reselected Glalie!" Alex declared as Glalie's picture's background lit up again. "Let the match continue!"
"Dusknoir, use Shadow Punch!" Michael ordered.
"Dusk." Dusknoir agreed, firing yet another ghostly fist.
"Use Icy Wind to the right, Glalie!" Ash cried.
Glalie whipped around and sent a flurry of snowflakes (smaller than Blizzard, but more wide-spread) directly ahead. The attack not only caused the Shadow Punch to disintegrate, but dealt some damage to Dusknoir as well!
"Glalie." It said proudly.
"Hit the source of the attack with Fire Punch!" Michael yelled. Dusknoir nodded and rushed at Glalie with a flaming fist.
"Glalie, Double Team, now!" Ash yelled.
Just as Dusknoir was about to hit Glalie, Glalie once again produced four copies of itself. Dusknoir hit one with its attack and caused it to vanish.
"Hurry, Glalie," Ash commanded. "While you know where it is: Use Sheer Cold!"
"Glalie!" it said as it turned to where the glow of the Fire Punch was only seconds ago. Glalie glared and let loose a massive wave of frost from its mouth.
From the outside, all the spectators watched as Dusknoir was completely encased in ice. After a second, the ice shattered and Dusknoir dropped to the floor.
"Dusknoir is unable to battle!" Alex announced as Dusknoir's picture went dark. "Victory for this round goes to Glalie!"
"Nice work, Glalie!" Ash congratulated as Pikachu cheered.
"Gla, glalie!" it said, bouncing happily.
"Excellent work, Ash." Michael said as he recalled Dusknoir. "You showed amazing promise. When one strategy failed, you instantly and successfully switched to another. Even better, you proved that your Pokemon trust you as much as you trust them, which it turns out is a lot. That trust will be a valuable asset in life, and in the next round. Speaking of which, could you recall Glalie? I need to set up the next battlefield."
Ash nodded and complied, returning the Face Pokemon to its Pokeball as its picture's background went dark again.
"Thanks," Michael said. "Now, for the battlefield, I'll go with…this one."
Michael hit several more buttons on his podium, and the walls of the current arena folded back into the floor to be replaced by a battlefield that could only be described as a garden. It was simply covered with tall, exotic, colorful flowers, and there was a small tree in the corner to Michael's left.
"Welcome to the Flower Elysium!" Michael announced.
"It's so beautiful." May commented, with Pikachu and Raichu nodding in agreement.
"Ah-CHOO!" Claire sneezed, turning everyone's attention toward her. She didn't look too good. Her eyes were watering and her nose was red. "Mikey," she said between sneezes. "You know I'm (AH-CHOO!) allergic to these flowers! I thought we agreed that you'd (AH-CHOO!) tell me in advance when you (AH-CHOO!) planned on using this one so I could (AH-CHOO!) bring some nasal spray."
Michael's eyes went wide. "Sorry, Claire." He apologized, sweatdropping. "We battle here so little, I guess I forgot."
"Well," she said as she stood up. "I'm going (AH-CHOO!) to get some. Keep going with the battle while I'm (AH-CHOO!) gone, and we'll talk about this later." She added as she walked into the tunnel leading back to the Pokemon Center.
"Well," Michael said once she was out of sight. "You heard her, Ash: Continue the battle. So, for my Pokemon, I choose one I like to call 'Sniper'."
"Why do you call it that?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll see." Michael smirked, tossing a Pokeball into the battlefield. The ball landed in the flowers, and a flash of light was seen, but no Pokemon was visible.
"Where is it?" May asked, scanning the battlefield.
"It must be hiding under the flowers." Max guessed.
"Well, what kind of Pokemon is it?" Ash asked.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Michael replied with a big smile.
"Doesn't a gym leader have to say what Pokemon they're using?" Max asked.
"Actually," Brock told him. "There's no rule against it. It's just that people usually know what it is when it comes out, anyway."
"He's right." Michael agreed. "I'm abiding the rules perfectly. Now, Ash," he said, turning to his opponent. "Select your Pokemon."
Ash thought for a moment before pulling a Pokeball off of his belt and throwing it into the arena. "I choose Sceptile!" he announced.
After the usual flash of light, another Pokemon appeared in the arena. This one looked like a seven-foot-tall green gecko that stood on two legs, with four yellow knobs on its back. It had strong legs and long, skinny arms with what appeared to be leaves growing out of its elbows. Its tail looked like four palm leaves that had been stiffened and placed together in the shape of an X. It also had a small twig in its mouth. "Sceptile." It said, in a rather high-pitched voice.
"This round will be between Sceptile and Sniper." Alex announced as the scoreboard displayed a picture of Sceptile and, oddly enough, a question mark. "Let the battle begin!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As this happened, Claire, whose allergy symptoms had cleared up since she left the gym, emerged from the secret staircase into the Center's lobby.
"I can't believe he forgot to tell me." She muttered to herself. "If he wasn't so cute…and strong…and brave…and sweet…well, I probably wouldn't have had any reason to go out with him in the first place, come to think of it."
"Chansey." Chansey said, snapping her back to reality.
"Oh, hi, Chansey." Claire said, heading for the staircase. "Just had to get some nasal spray. I'm going back in a minute."
Claire dashed upstairs and grabbed a bottle of nasal spray from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and jogged down. Just as she was almost at the Chansey statue, though, the door opened and two people—a man and a woman—walked in. They looked rather old, with grey hair and out-of-date clothes. The woman was also holding a Meowth.
"Darn!" Claire thought. "Can't go back with people here to see me open the door. Better get rid of them, and quick!"
"Hello," she said. "Welcome to Taupe Town. May I help you?"
"Uh, one moment please." The man said.
Claire watched as the two huddled in a corner.
"What do we do?" the man asked. "This changes everything!"
"This changes nothing." The woman hissed. "The plan will still work."
"Besides," the Meowth added. "She's a Joy. How tough could she possibly be?"
"Exactly!" the woman agreed. "This plan will work just fine so long as Meowth plays along and, above all, keeps quiet!"
"Do you need any help?" Claire asked again.
"Yes," the woman said, turning around. "My name is, uh, Jessica."
"And I'm Jim." The man added.
"And this Meowth is hurt." Jessica finished.
"It looks okay to me." Claire commented, staring at the Scratch Cat Pokemon.
"Oh," Jim stuttered. "Well—HEY, WHAT'S THAT?" he exclaimed, pointing out the window.
Claire and Chansey turned to look where he was pointing. After a second, though, Claire heard a yowling noise and whipped around to see the Meowth with a black eye that she was sure wasn't there before. "Okay," she said suspiciously. "Well, my sister, our Nurse Joy, is out, but Chansey will be able to help you."
"Oh, can't you?" Jessica asked.
"I'm, uh, not really trained as a nurse." Claire told them.
"Please?" Jim begged.
"Oh, all right." Claire sighed. "But I won't be much help."
"Thank you." Jim said as Chansey escorted everyone into the back room.
Claire didn't see the two people and the Meowth as they smiled at each other and chuckled evilly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the gym, the battle had just started.
"All right, Sniper," Michael said. "Let's start things off with Screech!"
At Michael's command, a loud noise that sounded like a mixture of clicking and buzzing sounded from within the flowers, causing everyone except Michael, Raichu and Alex to wince in pain.
"Sceptile," Ash shouted. "Aim a Bullet Seed at the source of the sound!"
"Scep." Sceptile said with a nod. "Scep…tile-tile-tile!" it said, firing numerous large, glowing, seedlike projectiles from its mouth.
"Dodge it, Sniper!" Michael yelled. The flowers rustled as the Pokemon inside sped away from the attack to behind Sceptile. Strangely enough, the sound of the Screech didn't stop, though it did get a little softer.
"Now use Shadow Ball!" Michael ordered.
As soon as he said it, a ball of dark energy was fired out of the vegetation and struck Sceptile in the back.
"Nice try, Ash," Michael said. "But it won't work."
"Try finding out what you're up against, Ash," Brock coached. "Then come up with a strategy once you know."
"Good idea," Ash said, shouting above the buzzing and clicking. "Sceptile, cut these flowers away with Leaf Blade!"
Sceptile nodded as the leaves on its right elbow converged and formed one long, curved, glowing blade. "Sceptile." It said as it leapt at the flowers.
"Sorry, Ash," Michael said again. "But I can't let you do that. Sniper, Shadow Ball!"
Right away, another dark energy orb flew out of the flowers and collided with Sceptile, causing the Leaf Blade to turn back to normal as Sceptile fell face-down into the flowers.
"Are you okay, Sceptile?" Ash asked over the sound of the extended Screech.
"Sceptile." It said, jumping confidently to its feet.
"Then use Leaf Blade where that Shadow Ball came from!" Ash ordered.
"Tile!" Sceptile said as it turned and leapt at the aforementioned spot, its elbow becoming a long, glowing blade again as it did.
"Dig, then Shadow Ball!" Michael commanded. The buzzing was muffled for a minute as Sniper apparently burrowed underground, but it went back to normal as another Shadow Ball was fired and struck Sceptile from its left, once again canceling the Leaf Blade and knocking Sceptile into the colorful and fragrant flora.
"My apologies, Ash," Michael said. "But do you have any idea how expensive this arena was? Or how hard it is to keep these flowers fresh and healthy? I'm not about to let you cut them away just to win a battle. Besides, they're perfect for showing off Sniper's strategy."
"Strategy?" Max repeated. "You call running and hiding a strategy?"
"You want it to come out?" Michael asked. "Very well. You heard 'em, Sniper! Give everyone a quick demonstration of your Cut attack!"
The Screech sound got louder and the flowers rustled as Sniper apparently approached Sceptile. When it was about two feet away, something suddenly burst from the grass and whizzed past Sceptile before reentering the abundant plant life.
"Did anyone see anything?" Brock asked.
"No!" Max replied. "It's like it was invisible or somethin'!"
"I think I did." May piped up. "It was only for a second, but I'm sure I saw something red."
"Well, whatever it was, it doesn't seem like it actually did anything." Ash said.
"Really?" Michael inquired. "Look again."
Everyone stared at Sceptile, looking for a sign of damage. At first, it seemed like nothing had happened to it, but after a second, something happened: The front half of the twig in Sceptile's mouth fell to the floor, having been sliced clean off.
"And that was just a demonstration, Ash." Michael said. "Just wait until Sniper shows off its real power! If you're going to defeat it, I suggest you do it soon, because I guarantee things'll only get tougher as time goes on."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ash is getting kicked around like a soccer ball, and he doesn't even know who's doing it! What is this mysterious Sniper, and how can Ash defeat it? And what about Claire, and those people who are obviously Team Rocket in disguise? Find out in the next installment of "The Ultimate Battle"!
(This narrator ROCKS! Totally worth his high rates. Anyway, to the reviewers: What species do you think Sniper is? Tell me in the review, 'cuz I wanna know what you think! 'TIL NEXT TIME!)