He was standing in front of the back wall, obviously thinking deeply about something. He had told me on Route 5 that he would leave for Victory Road to evaluate himself, and try to get stronger. I had known of his passion to be the best ever since we were young, so I understood him. He didn't turn around as I entered the cave, even though my steps were unnaturally loud.
"Cheren," I said quietly. He still did not move, but I knew he had heard me, for he shifted his feet uncomfortably.
"Hi, Annabelle," He murmured, finally turning to me. His glasses were slightly dirty, as though he had wiped them on the rock wall behind him. It seemed that he had been living rough for days with his Pokemon. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," I said. "It's just that, well, I'm gonna challenge the League again, and I was wondering if we could have a battle."
Cheren smiled. "All right, then, how do you feel about six-on-six?" he said, and when I nodded he took a Pokeball from his belt. I prepared my own, ready to show him how much shit I had done since I last battled him, when he had finally won for the first time, down at Route 10. Now, I would show him.
"Liepard!" He yelled, throwing the Pokeball into the air to release Liepard, the first Pokemon he had caught in his journey.
"Glaceon!" I cried, throwing my own Pokeball into the air, sending out my shiny Glaceon, who flicked her tail elegantly. Cheren raised his eyebrows, before saying, "Liepard, use Fake Out!"
Liepard ran towards Glaceon and clapped his hands, creating a shockwave that pushed Glaceon back. She then just stood there, cringing and unable to move.
"Shadow Claw!" Cheren ordered. Liepard's paw became cloaked in shadows and ran towards Glaceon.
"Glaceon, block it with Blizzard!" I cried. Glaceon finally managed to move and sent a huge blizzard at Liepard, who yelled out and fell down at Cheren's feet, who was, as usual, expressionless.
"Glae Glae!" Glaceon cried triumphantly, flicking her tail again. Liepard's back was frozen, and the Cruel Pokemon couldn't get up-now was our chance.
"Alright, Glaceon, use Hail!" I ordered. Glaceon's body glowed light blue, and all of a sudden grey clous appeared overhead. Then snow began falling, and a particularly large hail ball flew from the clouds directly at Liepard, hitting his head, but he was still frozen and still couldn't move.
"Let's finish this, Glaceon!" I yelled. "Use Ice Beam!"
Glaceon formed a large, pulsing ball of blue energy at her mouth, before shooting bolt-like beams out of the ball at Liepard. Liepard screamed, I could hear the ice on his back being shattered, and then, through the snow and hail, I could see that Liepard had fainted.
Cheren returned him before taking out his next Pokemon, sweeping snow from his hair and wiping the stuff off his glasses.
"Go, Gigalith!" he yelled, and from the Pokeball came the giant Compressed Pokemon, a new addition to Cheren's team that I hadn't seen before. Cheren just glared at the clouds above us.
"Fuck, did you really have to use Hail?" he moaned.
"Don't worry, it'll wear off in another four turns," I teased.
"Fuck you," he hissed.
"Aww, I love you too," I giggled. I saw a hint of a smile on his face before he yelled, "Gigalith, use Stealth Rock!" Gigalith created about four huge rocks that stood in a circle around Glaceon, who just stood there, grinning-she had a huge opening to attack now.
"Blizzard!" I ordered, and once again Glaceon let loose a huge blizzard at Gigalith, who cringed as the powerful attack hit him-however he wasn't done for yet, what with fucking Sturdy.
"Stone Edge!" Cheren cried. I gasped as Gigalith shot small rocks at Glaceon, who cried out as the super-effective attack pierced her, but by the end of the attack she was still all right, just a little damaged…she had, after all, been trained to withstand an attack like that.
"Use Blizzard one more time!" I cried, shaken but relieved that Glaceon had survived. Once again, she sent out the blizzard, and this time Gigalith was properly knocked out. I breathed a sigh of relief before returning Glaceon, despite the Stealth Rock waiting for my next Pokemon.
"Having fun?" I teased Cheren.
"Hardly," he said, though this time he actually smiled while he grabbed his next Pokeball. "Haxorus!" he cried, sending out his second new Pokemon, the fierce Dragon-type that was exactly like my old Haxorus, who was being trained by Drayden at the moment.
"Kingdra!" I yelled, sending out my stubborn Kingdra. Kingdra had barely stepped onto the field, however, when the four rocks launched themselves at her, crushing her underneath their combined weight. I screamed, and suddenly the rocks disappeared entirely, leaving Kingdra battered but all right. However, it seemed she had been touched that I had screamed when she had been hurt, and seemed to trust me now.
"Rain Dance!" I ordered, hoping against hope that she would listen to me for once. I had my eyes squeezed shut in apprehension, and so did not know that Kingdra had used the move until a single drop of water landed on my head. I opened my eyes quickly and saw Kingdra grinning at me as Cheren groaned, deluged in water now rather than snow.
"Dragon Pulse!" I yelled, and Kingdra sent a light purplish silver ball of energy at Haxorus, who cried out in pain as the super-effective attack hit him, though he was still managing to stay conscious.
"Outrage!" cried Cheren, wiping his glasses, and I was already thinking about how to counter this when Haxorus suddenly pulled out a purple-grey gem, and I realised that Cheren was never playing games.
"Kingdra!" I cried, but Haxorus was already glowing red, and he launched himself at her. There was a blinding flash, as though Kingdra was enveloped in fire, then everything cleared and Kingdra was lying unconscious on the ground. I felt like a tonne of bricks had been dropped into my stomach. Kingdra had only just begun to trust me, but now she had been defeated, that trust may have been dashed again…it seemed that Cheren had done some serious shit as well.
"Kingdra, return," I said, and Kingdra disappeared into her Pokeball. Cheren was grinning, despite the fact he was soaked from head to toe, and hatred suddenly boiled inside me.
"Weavile!" I called, and Weavile jumped from behind me to face Haxorus, his muscles tense as he prepared to fight for me. Shit was about to go down.