PokeStones of the Dead – Chapter Ten
The Thunderbolt was now arching towards Misdreavus, crackling in the eerie silence of the arena. Taking the full force of the blow, Misdreavus was flung back all the way to the trainer stand, then slumped back down to the ground. Temperance and Lillette were now only aware too well that Misdreavus had no way of overcoming Gengar via normal attacks. There would be only one way to take him down.
"Misdreavus, Perish Song!"
The smooth, beautiful song rang through the arena. Both Pokemon experienced an upwelling of emotions, the sadness of every note leading them further into the spell. Agatha told Gengar to back away from the source, but a Mean Look from Misdreavus took care of that order, and Gengar froze well within range of the deadly melody. Penetrating both Pokemon's aural systems, the song would no doubt cause both to faint within a short time.
Temperance knew that now the challenge was to stop Gengar from knocking out Misdreavus before the song took effect. If both were to faint at the same time, a draw would be declared, giving the team a lifeline – a sudden death match would occur to decide the winner. However, Misdreavus had a considerable lack of HP, and Gengar could possibly fit in 2 or 3 attacks before Perish Song took effect. It was up to Lillette to engineer her survival.
Gengar was now going all out attack, in a hope of taking Misdreavus down before the Perish count fell to 0, taking both out. First releasing a Thunderbolt, Gengar then dissolved into shadow for a Shadow Punch. Misdreavus was faced with both a speeding bolt of lightning and a Gengar that could not be seen.
"Misdreavus, Protect!"
A star barrier surrounded Misdreavus in the face of the two attacks, deflecting the Thunderbolt harmlessly into the air, while the Shadow Punch bounced off it. The barrier dissolved immediately, but the Perish Song was taking effect, and the last-ditch strategy would work if she could survive Gengar's final attack.
"Gengar, Psychic!"
Gengar, in what would be its last move of the battle, sent obscenely strong waves of psychic energy towards Misdreavus, expending all of its energy into this final attack. The waves spread over such a wide area that any hope of evasion would be futile, while Protect could not hope to succeed twice in a row. Temperance knew that if Misdreavus could survive this, there would be a real chance of winning the battle, but there seemed to be no way out… and indeed, the Psychic slammed into Misdreavus, practically ripping her non-corporeal form into half. To come so close, only to fail now… that was more painful than Temperance could have imagined.
Face covered, Temperance did not want to hear Agatha's proclamation of her victory, asking them to go back and start from the beginning while the Dead wrecked havoc on the world outside. There was simply no time left for them. The necromancer could be infecting every city in Kanto with the Dead, and then what were they going to do?
Somehow, Agatha wasn't speaking. Temperance uncovered his eyes, confusion over the delay overcoming his fear of what he would see. And what he saw was beyond his wildest dreams. Gengar had simply… gone, collapsing into the darkness and shadow like Misdreavus had previously done. And then Temperance noticed the dark thread, previously totally invisible in the darkness. Connecting the places where Misdreavus and Gengar had fallen, the thread was now visible and getting brighter. As the thread grew blindingly bright, before fading away, what Lillette had done came to Temperance in a flash of understanding. Destiny Bond.
"Very well. The battle has ended in a draw. There will be a sudden death battle between one Pokemon on each side. The Pokemon cannot have appeared before in the battle. On a successful knockout, the winner will be decided."
Temperance's hand unconsciously touched each of his Poke Balls in turn. He hadn't used Flygon or Gyarados so far in any Elite Four battle. Houndoom had been used twice, and Victreebel and Dodrio had been used once. Contemplating his choice, Temperance realised that Agatha had a lack of Ghost Pokemon left. There were after all, very few Ghost Pokemon in existence.
Temperance's hand fell on Flygon, which he released onto the battlefield as Agatha released another Hoenn Pokemon. Apparently, the lack of Ghost Pokemon in both Kanto and Johto had forced Agatha to venture into the realm of Hoenn to replace her Golbat and Arbok with actual useful things. Sableye, its two eyes flashing, was summoned onto Agatha's side of the battlefield. This battle would decide their eligibility to go on to Lance.
The man was walking on an island. More islands were around him, surrounded by the deep blue sea. Two phials of a strange yellow and red substance respectively were in his hands. At his back were scores upon scores of Dead. He placed the two phials at opposite ends of the island, at either side of a huge cave. The invasion – and his masterstroke – would soon begin.
Flygon and Sableye faced off as the battle officially began. Temperance comforted himself with the thought that Sableye was weaker than Gengar, at least where raw attack, defence and speed were concerned. However, one of this Pokemon's features was that it had no weaknesses. Its Ghost/Dark typing was unique, and effectively cancelled each other's weaknesses out. Therefore, there would be little strategy involving weak points here. A straight 1v1 battle was on the cards. Thanks to Lillette's miraculous salvation of a draw, he had a chance to bring out someone more proficient in battle. Flygon fitted the bill.
"Fire Blast!"
The wave of fire singed the air as it raced towards the stationary Sableye, who seemed to be oblivious to the oncoming attack. Suddenly, its eyes glowed red, and the Fire Blast stop in midair. What? That was a Mean Look… but Mean Look can only affect other Pokemon, not projectiles! Something is wrong… And then the Fire Blast reflected back at its caster, which thankfully managed to evade the attack. Sableye's eyes were blue this time, signifying a Psychic attack. Again, it was different – usually Psychic manifested itself in the form of waves or a white aura around the caster. It appeared that Sableye's Mean Look and Psychic attacks were much stronger than usual, or they could work on projectile attacks in addition to on Pokemon.
Flygon flew overhead and performed a Rock Slide attack, but then Sableye split into two, both copies melding into the shadows of the arena. The rocks fell hard on where a copy had been, but when the dust cleared, both copies of Sableye were unhurt at the other end of the arena. Again, Temperance was shocked. A standard Double Team… but combining that with a Baton Pass to an illusion? Just how pumped up is this guy? Usually, copies made by Double Team were not real. They could not make any impression on the battlefield or to Pokemon. But now…
Flygon was now resorting to hefting rocks from afar, which Sableye either dodged easily or froze in midair and reflected back at him. Sableye seemed to have no attacking moves of its own, but that could be easily compensated with by its amazing defensive moves. Temperance was only too aware that if this sudden death match was too drawn, Agatha would be declared the winner. Sableye had ridiculous amounts of staying power, as far as projectile attacks were concerned. Melee attacks… it's a ghost!
"Flygon, Slash!"
Lillette, who had been grimly watching the battle from her station, turned to look at Temperance at this point, eyes wide. Surely, Temperance could not be serious? Melee attacks don't hit Ghosts, that's lesson number 1 for any trainer… had the heat and desperation of the battle got to him? Or does he have something up his sleeve…
Flygon's claws emerged, as sharp as several razor blades and considerably faster. Flygon drew his hands close, and then raked it across the Sableye's torso. Obviously, there was no effect. Flygon zoomed straight through the Sableye as though it weren't there, and Sableye took the chance to cast a Psybeam at him – its first attacking move of the match. Flygon dodged it, however, and went back at Sableye in another Slash attack. The same result occurred, and the subsequent dodging of the Psybeam was laboured and almost resulted in failure.
What is Temperance doing? He's just wearing Flygon out, and soon he will be too weak to dodge the Psybeams from Sableye… or, it can just cast Mean Look and freeze him in the air.
Flygon went back again, still gracefully turning 180 degrees despite his apparent weariness. The claws were directed at Sableye for a third time, but before it connected, it glowed blue. Lillette noticed the fury of the dragon in this attack, and knew that this was no ordinary slash. Sure enough, Sableye got hit by the power and speed of a bullet train, and was flung back like a rag doll. Flygon's claws still glowed blue, and Lillette understood what Temperance was doing all along: lower Sableye's guard with a few useless attacks, before changing the third slash into a Dragon Claw to damage Sableye.
Sableye got up, still not down yet. Now, its defensive tanking nature had gone, and was now creating copies of itself at a furious rate. As more and more copies emerged, Flygon tried using Fire Blast to stop the spawning, but a Mean Look stopped it once again, and now there were eight copies of Sableye on the battlefield. The real one could be any one of them, but even if Temperance were to get lucky and attack the real one with Dragon Claw, it could simply Baton Pass to an illusion to avoid the attack.
Flygon Dragon Clawed a random illusion, but it just disappeared in a puff of smoke, and another one took its place at the other end of the arena. Temperance, however, had seen one of the Sableye's eyes glow yellow for Double Team, and directed Flygon for a Dragon Claw on that image. Sure enough, it disappeared, but Flygon immediately shot a humongous Fire Blast that enveloped all the images.
When the dust cleared, there was only one Sableye left, weak and alone. Flygon's claws glowed blue again, and there would be only one outcome.
They had gone on to Lance.
On Seafoam, the Dead were about to enter the caves where Articuno, the last legendary bird, presumably lay in rest until it felt the need to rise from its slumber. Then, an order came. Now was not yet the time. The timing for this had to be exactly right.
Lance presumably lay in wait at the end of the passage, dragon carvings adorning the walls. Temperance touched them, making out the various Pokemon depicted, including Gyarados, Dragonite and Kingdra. To Temperance's knowledge, the wall had not been updated for the Hoenn region, meaning that his Flygon, at least, would be a unique dragon in the upcoming fight. To his surprise, however, Temperance felt power in the carvings of the dragons on the wall, much like the PokeStones he had seen at the various cities earlier. This corridor also seemed wider and longer than the previous ones.
Temperance and Lillette, hand in hand, walked down the ornately decorated passageway. The weaknesses of Dragons were few and far between, but Ice was the most obvious one, and one that the pair planned to utilise. Temperance, however, fancied a Gyarados vs. Gyarados battle between him and Lance, a battle that would truly test his skills against the recognised best trainer in Kanto. Gyarados and Lapras were the natural choices against such a formidable team and trainer. Feeling the warmth and softness of Lillette's hand against one of his hands, and the strange sensation of the carved wall on the other, Temperance knew that haste was needed. Who knew what the Dead were up to outside – no outside communication was allowed when engaging in battle with the Elite Four.
The passageway ended, finally. What awaited them was an empty arena, but then Lance appeared, seemingly by magic, at his trainer's box, ready for battle. The final member of the Elite Four, as well as the mightiest, had arrived, cloak shimmering in the dim light of the arena. No special decorations for the arena this time – a plain earth floor, with small bodies of water at random locations. In short, a standard battling arena. Temperance took in the importance of this battle, for it stood for everything that they had fought for.
"Let the battle begin!"
Gyarados and Lapras against Gyarados and Aerodactyl. The rock-headed Pokemon was not a dragon per se, but it could be considered as one, according to mythology and appearance – it being similar to Charizard in this regard. Temperance noted its famous and almost legendary speed, second to very few in the world. Before he could examine it further, however, Lance's Gyarados sent an Earthquake towards the pair's two Pokemon, the force of the Ground-based skill shaking the arena even from the trainer's box.
"Gyarados, Earthquake!"
Temperance's own Gyarados responded with his own Earthquake, the two forces meeting each other head-on. At first, Temperance thought that neither could overcome the other, but then Lance's Aerodactyl flew down at blinding speeds and pounded the ground in its own Earthquake attack, adding force to the Earthquake on its side. Temperance's force was overcome, and the Earthquake edged towards his Gyarados, who was forced to take to the skies in its minimal flying abilities in order to avoid the critical attack. Meanwhile, Lillette's Lapras, underwater to avoid the Earthquake, rose and shot an Ice Beam at Aerodactyl, who dodged it with ease. The next Ice Beam was towards Gyarados, who dived into the water, causing the Ice Beam to freeze a random part of the arena wall.
Next thing Temperance knew, Gyarados was streaking towards Lapras in the water. While Gyarados' long length caused it to be slower than most Water Pokemon, Lapras was meant for transport, not agility, and so there was no chance of outrunning the Gyarados. Lillette ordered Lapras to get on land, and Temperance appreciated Misty's help in allowing Lapras to move as well as battle on previously impassable territory. Surfing out of the water, Lapras went high enough to reach Aerodactyl and Temperance' own Gyarados dived into the water, water level considerably lower, for a Crunch on Lance's Gyarados. Lapras dived off the Surf, the force of the water going for Aerodactyl, and then tried to headbutt Aerodactyl's body.
The two attacks on Lance occurred simultaneously. Both of them failed in spectacular fashion.
Gyarados felt his Crunch attack torn away with the force of the current, and as a whirlpool started to form in the water, rising up to the ceiling, Gyarados was thrown out of the water, unable to take the force of Lance's Twister attack. Aerodactyl, with a casual flick of its head, met Lapras' head with its own. There was no contest – Lapras felt as if she had struck a brick wall, and fell from her elevated position. Aerodactyl than flew at full speed, faster than the crashing water from the Surf, faster than Lapras' falling body, and followed the attack with a Wing Attack. Lapras was similarly thrown onto the arena floor, as Lance' two Pokemon, unharmed, regrouped for the second wave of attack.
"Gyarados, Taunt!"
Lance's Gyarados, who was in the process of Dragon Dancing, went into a frenzy, and went for its opposite number in a Wrap attack. Temperance commanded his own Gyarados to do the same, and then the two Gyarados were in a thrashing mess, each unable to get a clear advantage over the other. Meanwhile Lapras was still peppering Aerodactyl with Ice Beams, but they were more focused on the Gyarados show. Lillette and Lance both held back, knowing that an attack on the thrashing pair would be far too risky. Aerodactyl thus went for Lapras instead, streaking from 50 feet down to ground level in another Wing Attack. Lapras, stranded in the middle of nowhere, could not get below water to dodge the attack. Just as Aerodactyl dodged another Ice Beam from Lapras, and went for the kill, Lance's Gyarados was thrown off Temperance's, and got thrown between Aerodactyl and Lapras, the former just managing to pull up in time to prevent a friendly hit.
Lillette looked at Temperance in amazement. His Gyarados was stronger than Lance's? Is he really that strong to be the champion of Kanto? I thought playing a dual battle format would have upset the rhythm of the Elite Four, used to playing 1v1… But it seems like he can do this on his own without me…
Zapdos opened its eyes. Moltres, on the other end of Kanto, did the same. Spreading their majestic wings, made of some combination of feathers and lightning and fire respectively, they headed to Seafoam. A mysterious force was calling them.