Chapter No. 30: Cynthia vs Austin
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Ace Squad.
A name that was associated with power, money, and social stature in the pokémon world. As far as the administration was concerned, there were two levels of Ace trainers—Group A and Group B. Group A was the upper class, with every single member being a winner of the Indigo League at one point or another. Group B consisted of trainers who had come up to the Top-4 in the League conferences and multiple times at that. Usually, they were handpicked by the Elite Four, in hopes of polishing them into a gem, and also, to make sure that such talent didn't go to waste, or worse, get incriminated into the malicious forces trying to creep up now and then. However, there existed a special team—a mixture of Group A and Group B Aces, one that answered to Lance and only to Lance himself.
The Ryoto Brigade.
A team of exactly eighteen Ace trainers, each of them specializing in at least, a single type of pokémon, to cover all eighteen types of pokémon out there. The Ryoto Brigade was created to aid the Champion alone in defending the security of the Kanto and Johto regions.
A brigade that had been mercilessly slaughtered in less than ten seconds, by a not-quite-a-legendary pokémon known as Mewtwo.
A brigade that was now only limited to the stack of papers on his deck. Lance mused silently.
After the events of SS. Anne, Lance had created the next generation of the Ryoto Brigade almost overnight, ready to challenge the uprising threat that was Team Rocket. While it was true that Mewtwo alone had been able to defeat them without batting an eye, it also should be taken into account that the brigade (and Lance himself) were battling an entity they had no idea about. The next time it happened, he would ensure that Mewtwo got a taste of his own medicine.
He owed Charizard that much.
Strangely enough, Team Rocket hadn't behaved as he had expected. Executive Pierce had managed to get away, as had the other Executives. From the official report, it seemed like Executive Proton had been… exterminated on the cruise's deck, though not much was clear about the rest of them. A certain Executive Cassidy and Butch had lost her right arm while battling Lorelei, but that was all he knew about it. It seemed, that with the intervention of the mythical Dragonite, Team Rocket had decided to step back and watch for a while before trying another attempt at taking over the League. Even Mewtwo… Lance thought with disdain, had yet to make another presence in public.
He sent another glance at the ring on his right hand, the tetrahedral stone on it glowing brightly, even though it might never be used, ever again, as far as Lance himself was concerned.
I will avenge you, my friend.
His thoughts turned toward the newest addition to his team. The Hydreigon. Mewtwo had, in a grand display of his magnanimity, Lance thought with a snarl, gifted him the dark dragon as a replacement for his Charizard. Team Rocket's pokémon or not, the Hydreigon was damn powerful, though untrained, and was currently being trained by the rest of Lance's team so that it could turn out to be a fitting battler in the future.
A proper addition to his team of dragons.
The phone on his desk rang loudly, as he held up the receiver, only to ask. "Have they arrived yet?"
"Yes, sir."
Lance paused for a moment. "Good. Please send them in."
He pushed his chair a little backward, trying to get himself a little more comfortable. He would need all of his patients to get through the meeting—a meeting on which a lot of things were dependent.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." He replied, in a loud, clear tone.
The door opened as the two foremost researchers of the Kanto region stepped in, and Lance himself stood up in acknowledgment. After all, in the current scheme of things, he needed to have these two working alongside him, not against his machinations.
He stared squarely at the faces of the two men who now stood in front of him.
Samuel Oak, and Bill Montgomery.
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Fortunately, Austin hadn't had to face the problem of surfing on Squirtle. The strenuous exercise all morning had made both of them quite hungry, and despite his attempts to the contrary, Cynthia had taken it upon herself to prepare the lunch, claiming that he had prepared the breakfast and hence it was her prerogative to make lunch. Knowing a lost battle when he saw one, the transmigrated trainer had agreed and let her do as she did.
The Sinnoh girl had been teleporting all over the place, preparing what was sure to be a succulent and appetizing meal. Then again, considering the number of ingredients he had gotten for the occasion, he shouldn't have been that surprised in the first place.
"Mmmm… that was delicious," Austin claimed about the bacon. The morsels melted in his mouth when he tried them. "Seriously, if you ever get tired of being Champion, you should open a restaurant."
Cynthia chortled at that. "I'm glad you liked it, Austin." She glanced at Milotic, Krabby, and Squirtle who were still in the waters. "Though I must say that it wouldn't be possible without those extra additions you brought in." She paused. "Must have cost a hefty amount."
Austin shrugged. "I'll manage. Besides, you deserve it." He never noticed her going stiff all sudden as he made his comment. "I'm just happy because you are."
Cynthia beamed at him. "Thank you, Austin. It means a lot to me."
Austin just grinned.
" Austin, so did you go talk to your friends?"
In response, Austin just nodded lying.
Even after all the time he had gotten to himself, he knew it wasn't his friend's fault. He could have also tried better but still, he wasn't ready to face his friends and tell them that Raticate had passed away
Maybe it was cowardly of him but he wanted to have all his emotions sorted out before he talks to them.
"That is one odd Nincada you have there, Austin." Cynthia pointed at the twerking Nincada who was trying to impress her Garchomp.
"Either way, I like the way they are." Austin defended.
"Yes, yes. Take their side why don't you," Cynthia barked. "You attract all kinds of oddities."
Austin just shrugged.
" So how did you meet your starter ?"
" The funny thing is that I was supposed to get a normal starter but a family friend gave me my Gible ."
She paused, wondering if she should tell him or not. Taking a decision, she continued, "You probably do not know, but to gain the allegiance of a pseudo-legendary is significant."
"What does that mean?" Austin asked, not even bothering to hide his ignorance on the subject.
Cynthia's lips twisted into something that was almost but not quite a smile. "It means- whenever a pseudo-legendary pokémon bonds with a trainer, it is almost always…" she paused, "—a fated event. Not a matter of chance."
Austin listened to her words before his countenance shifted to a frown. "I disagree."
Cynthia arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"I disagree. Pseudo-legendaries are powerful and can become strong enough to stand against legendaries. A friend told me that once upon a time." Austin paused, as his tone became more nostalgic than anything else while remembering his favorite events from the anime. Pikachu taking out Regiice, Sceptile taking out Darkrai, etc.
"I can agree with that, having seen the King's power, Steven's Metagross, or even your Garchomp in action. Pseudo-legendaries are damn powerful, and I would love to have one on my team." He looked squarely at her. "However, I do not agree that it is a fated event, while the rest is a matter of chance with other pokémon."
"But-"
"I'm sorry, Cynthia." Austin went on. "Believing in the sentiment you told me, would mean that my meeting Charmeleon back at Route 24 was a matter of chance as well. It wasn't or maybe it was but I like to believe that it wasn't a preplanned or fated event. The same is true for every of my pokémon. All of my pokémon are special, in their way, pseudo-legendary or not."
Cynthia had a searching expression on her face.
"If you say so."
"Yeah," Austin murmured.
The Sinnoh Champion parted her lips but then paused, before making a decision. "You should know though… that not everyone will share that sentiment of yours."
Austin arched an eyebrow.
"The league," Cynthia added.
"…"
"Believe it or not, for most people in high-up positions, especially the Elites, being a pseudo-legendary trainer means something. It will make them notice you as they noticed me, or Steven, or anyone out there that has ever tamed and gotten the pseudo-legendary's allegiance."
"Notice?"
Cynthia suppressed an urge to yell out in frustration. "Austin… when I met you back then on the cruise, it was because of well, two things. The first was your battling style—it was eerily similar to my own, and the other, well because of your unique Charmander who could do such powerful dragon-type moves."
"Really?!"
Cynthia suppressed her emotions. "Yes."
"And not because you wanted to be my friend?"
It wasn't a question, just a confirmation.
"I am your friend." Cynthia reached forward to hold his hand. "I truly am, but back then, I was… interested in you because of that."
Austin didn't say anything but in his mind it made sense.
Why would the Champion of Sinnoh take an interest in some no-name trainer?
"Come now, surely you aren't that naïve to believe that people don't have any private intentions apart from just getting acquainted?"
Austin nodded. He understood it clearly.
" You better believe that, Austin. Everyone of significance that has ever demonstrated any interest in you, must have had some personal interests and intentions behind making their acquaintance, at least at the beginning. Me, Steven, or even Bill Montgomery—everyone always acts out of their expectations, and rarely out of altruism. It's only natural."
"I guess," Austin murmured. "I just… never mind." He looked up at her. "What about you? You also have a pseudo-legendary."
"Yeah, and I was the heir of an old clan, who started with a shiny Gible. That attracts a lot of attention."
"Like?"
Cynthia paused, wondering what to say. "Put it like this. You remember I told you about the Wataru clan?"
"From where Lance is."
"Yes, well, I had a professor who tutored me in private before I set out on my journey. He was a descendant of the Wataru clan, and it was he who gave me my shiny Gible. He only asked me to keep a promise that I have never faltered, even now."
"What was that?" Austin asked, before realizing that he had perhaps overstepped his boundaries.
Cynthia, it seemed had deduced his thoughts from his facial expression. "It's okay, I don't mind. He told me never to tame another dragon in my life as a trainer."
"Huh? Why would he tell you to do such a thing?"
Cynthia frowned. "Honestly? I do not know, but he did, and I followed that rule. I never regretted it. Garchomp and I are made for each other, and she's the only dragon I need on my team."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Cynthia's face had the quintessential nostalgic expression.
"We traveled all around Sinnoh, catching several pokémon. Within three months of my journey, I already had fifteen pokémon in my team- Meditite, Jellicent, Spiritomb, Espeon, Heracross, Pupitar, Riolu, Solrock, Staravia, Roselia, Shellos, Snover, Rhydon and a Togetic. Apart from my Gible that is, who had evolved into a Gabite." She recited out from memory.
"And here I thought that Gary was overzealous, and me, plain lucky for having caught so many pokémon."
"Sorry to break it to you, but you aren't the biggest freak in town." Cynthia quipped.
"Welḷ… that's a first." Austin chortled.
"It's true." Cynthia continued. "Most trainers catch a majority of their pokémon in the first couple of months, and the number dwindles from there onwards. I only caught some four or five pokémon in my subsequent years, as I realized that it was more important to train my existing team than get more."
"I guess the same will happen to me," Austin muttered. He was slowly seeing the problems arising out of handling a large team. He had already had a large enough team, and if he managed to train them well, they would be able to bring him victory in subsequent challenges to come.
"It should." Cynthia agreed. "Though there are some morons you will find on your journey, trainers who capture a relatively decent amount of pokémon, win the badges but lose at the conferences because they have spent their entire time poking their noses into matters they have no business with, instead of training and evolving their pokémon. Then, they just start afresh with a new region, hoping to catch newer pokémon, and repeat the entire thing."
Austin's sweat dropped as he heard Cynthia essentially dissing what Ash had done in the anime.
"Let me guess, they lose again."
Cynthia arched her eyebrow. "What else did you expect?"
" Though there are some morons you will find on your journey, trainers who capture a relatively decent amount of pokémon, win the badges but lose at the conferences because they have spent their entire time poking their noses into matters they have no business with, instead of training and evolving their pokémon. Then, they just start afresh with a new region, hoping to catch newer pokémon, and repeat the entire thing."
Austin's sweat dropped as he heard Cynthia dissing what Ash did in the anime.
"Let me guess, they lose again"
Cynthia arched her eyebrow. "What else did you expect?"
"But… but what about the pokémon they caught earlier? What about them?"
She shrugged. "Sitting in the corals, perhaps. Waiting for their trainer to come back and train them sometime, I suppose. Pathetic, I tell you."
"I don't think that I'd like to follow that route."
"Good. As long you stay sensible, you always have a chance of winning a league conference." The blonde-haired girl laughed. "The Sinnoh league holds its annual conference in December, every year, so I had around sixteen months before my first try. That got me a lot of time to prepare for."
"That didn't mean I did pokémon training and nothing else. There was a lot about Unown research and visiting places, though I'll admit, I never got to see any legendaries as you do. I'm insanely jealous."
Austin scoffed.
"I had finished acquiring all my badges by the first ten months. The rest of the time, I spent on Mt. Coronet. It is a wonderful place for training."
"Tell me about the Sinnoh conference." He asked while making it seem like he was ignorant of what it was.
Even though he knew many things about Pokémon like the back of his hand, it didn't mean that he still didn't enjoy talking about it with a friend.
"It's not called Sinnoh Conference, dummy." Cynthia chortled, much to his chagrin. "It is called Lily of the Valley Conference, hosted every year on Lily of the Valley Island."
"Oh."
"You'd be surprised by the starting rounds of the Conference. For one, you need to register yourself as fast as possible, since they take only two hundred and fifty-six participants every year. The rest, they have to wait for the next year."
"Isn't that unfair?" Austin scoffed.
"Not really. You get a four-day duration to come up and put your names in, and the dates for registration are announced months prior. If you still cannot make it to the registration in time, the blame's on you."
"I guess," Austin mumbled.
"The eliminations are a group of four matches, winning it will bring you to the Top 32. You'd need to fight one battle every day for four days consistently, so you better keep your pokémon arranged in teams and in the peak of health for that. There are some trainers… you'd find, who only keep a tiny team of six or seven perhaps, and train them to their best. However, if even one of their pokémon gets a fatal injury, they run the risk of getting eliminated in the next match. That is why it is always better to have a large team, for insurance if nothing else."
Austin had to agree. She had a point. Besides, his thoughts paralleled hers on the subject.
"The best strategy, I think, is to take around seven to eight pokémon at a time, train them rigorously, and then rotate them with the next batch. It helps to have multiple team sets to rely on."
"I was working on something like that," Austin admitted.
" And here I thought you were catching dangerous pokémon to impress me." The Sinnoh girl teased.
Austin just mumbled something incomprehensible, causing her to chortle even more.
"Tell me more about your experience at the league." Austin tried, wanting to change the topic.
"Spoilsport," Cynthia muttered playfully. "Well, the talented trainers are those you face from Top-32 onwards. The matches become a six-on-six from there onwards, instead of a three-on-three, right till the finals." She paused. "There was this trainer called Reginald, who was a prankster. He and his ghosts gave me a really hard time in the finals. Also, there was this guy called Reggie"- Austin stiffened—" he gave me a really hard battle in the semi-finals, but then I managed to defeat him. Come to think of it, your team reminds me heavily about his own—large, powerful, heavy hitters."
Crap.
"Just like him?" Austin asked, more to himself than to her.
"Yeah," Cynthia was oblivious to his reaction, lost in her nostalgia. "All of them strong as hell. It took a lot out of Garchomp, but he managed to defeat his Rhyperior and Gyarados."
A Rhyperior and a Gyarados.
Austin repeated in the back of his mind.
"Yeah, and that reminds me, you should start looking for a moonstone for your Munna and Clefairy."
" Because of Evolution."
" Ding, Ding, Ding, correct. You know you're smarter than you look ."
" Hey !"
" Kidding."
"I am waiting to see how you'll do in the Pokémon League, it will certainly catch the eyes of those at the top."
"Do you think that they will… you know, try to get my team from me?" he couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his team getting snatched from him.
"Nothing like that." Cynthia denied. "However, they would get acquainted with you. For some, like Steven for one, you are like an experiment of sorts... I think. For Lance, from what I have heard, you are a significant… entity, no thanks to the interest that Mewtwo has demonstrated in you. The fact that you have also managed to acquire a little legendary interest doesn't help matters."
"That's what you meant about Lance wanting me tied."
"It was metaphoric, but yes."
"And you?"
Cynthia widened her eyes, caught off-guard by the sudden question. "What about me?"
"What about you? Where do you stand?"
"I…" Cynthia tightened her hold on his wrist. "I stand with you."
Somehow, Austin felt that he couldn't have been happier with any other answer.
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The two trainers were walking along the seashore, enjoying the cool evening breeze as it kissed their faces.
Austin was looking at the Pokenet, it was interesting to see the internet in such an outdated form.
" What are you watching?" Cynthia curiously asked.
" Oh, it's this new invention made by the Devon Corporation. They call it the Pokenet. It is essentially a device that helps someone connect to anyone in the world."
" Impressive, maybe I should buy one too."
" I agree, I don't know about you but since I am always on the road. Getting information or news is hard. Even when I come to a city, I don't have time to watch the news or anything with the upcoming gym battles."
" Wow, that is a really useful device."
" I know right."
The duo walked in comfortable silence through the beach.
"I was thinking of burying Raticate in the Lavender Tower." Austin declared, kicking a sandstone on the path, as it fell into the water.
" Hmm ... Lavender tower, the tower that is filled with mysteries that can't be explained by anyone."
" Who created, the lavender tower?" Austin curiously asked.
" That's the thing, no one knows. Some say it is the site where the people of old would sacrifice the blood of the young to calm the Spirits of the Void, some say the tower was created by Mew to seal the connection between the physical world and the astral world. Similarly, there are hundreds of legends created about the origin of the Lavender Tower."
"Right. Who knows, what it would turn out like?" Cynthia rolled her eyes. "You know that there is a saying about Lavender Tower that if you stay in there long enough, you will meet the spirit of the trainer who rules over the tower maybe it would just go for the kill."
"Nah, not so easy. My team would be there. I don't fear anything will happen to me."
Cynthia smiled at his admission of his faith in her but didn't comment.
"Besides, I'm thinking it is time that after we are done with your training, I'll start training them in some of the ways I thought of over the past week. About those weaknesses that need to be addressed." He continued. "Also I need to talk to Bill again, asking if he managed to do something about Charmeleon."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. I called up Bill Montgomery last night, about Charmeleon."
"And?"
"He said that he would file in appropriate documentation to register him as a special kind of shiny pokémon, at least as far as official reports go."
"Unofficially?"
Austin mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?"
"He said that he'd drive some sense into Lance."
Cynthia chortled at that.
"Hey!"
Cynthia held her hands up in surrender. "Don't worry. It's not like every other trainer out there has a Pokedex like yours that would start throwing out concerns for everybody to hear. Besides, you are an honorary associate of the Indigo League, remember?"
Austin nodded.
" Don't worry about Charmeleon. Lance is a little headstrong, I've heard, but he has his heart in the right place."
Austin raised an eyebrow.
"Um… I've heard that as well." She confessed. "From Steven."
Austin let out a breath. At least, he could trust the silver-haired former Champion, if no one else, as far as the Indigo league was concerned.
"Don't be so paranoid." She reached out for his hand. "Everything will work out for the best."
"If you say so," Austin muttered darkly.
The two continued walking, though, for some reason, Cynthia hadn't left his hand.
"Austin?"
"Huh?"
"I… got a notification from the Elite," Cynthia spoke up softly. "I am required to report back soon."
That got a reaction from him. "How soon?"
"Maybe… tomorrow morning."
Austin stopped in his tracks. "But… but this is supposed to be your vacation, right?" He asked impulsively. "What about it? Why are they, you know-?"
"I know." Cynthia frowned a little. "I know I promised you that I'd be there to help you train-"
"Screw that." Austin retorted, much to her surprise. "I'm not talking about the training. I'm talking about you. This is supposed to be a vacation for you, right? Then why are they-?"
Cynthia tried but failed to suppress a smile on her lips. "Thanks, Austin, but either way, this one day is worth a lot to me. I'll cherish it forever."
"Well…" Austin breathed. "That was the plan."
Cynthia chuckled lightly. "Either way, we cannot ignore the fact that it is your birthday."
Austin just shrugged. "Not a bloody big deal."
Since this isn't even my birthday, it's Ash's.
Austin thought as he looked at Cynthia.
"It is for me." The Sinnoh girl countered softly. "And I did think a lot about what to give you as a gift. I wanted it to be special, something to remember me by when you are off on your journey."
"Well, I have your contact number. I guess we could call up and talk sometimes."
"Well, I have your contact number. I guess we could call up and talk sometimes."
Cynthia smiled and walked to the other side of the beach.
Cynthia took out a Pokeball as Garchomp appeared in a red flash.
( ~ Rwrr ~ )
" ~Austin~ if you want your gift then come get it."
Austin looked at Cynthia with disbelief.
' She isn't serious, is she ?'
" Come one, Austin show me the results of the training. All of your Pokémon against my Garchomp."
" You know that today isn't my actual birthday," Austin said as he took a few steps back.
No way was he ready to face off against a champion.
" Come on, Austin. Don't be such a coward. What was the point of training? What was the point of everyone giving it their all? Why did you throw yourself into such hellish training? Just to quit, just to turn away from an obstacle that life has thrown at you. Austin; this is life, it will always try to put you down through some obstacle, you don't have to prove anything to anybody but yourself that you can overcome this obstacle. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it isn't gonna ever happen. Now tell me, are you willing to overcome the obstacle that life has presented you, or are you going to run away like a coward ?"
Austin opened his mouth before closing it as Pikachu and Pidgeot flew down with Pikachu carrying his PokeBall holster belt.
Austin blinked before staring at the calm and cold Cynthia.
" You know, if this champion business doesn't work out then you could become a very good motivational speaker."
" What can I say, I am a woman of many talents."
" Aren't you a little too confident even though you're at a numerical disadvantage?"
" Austin, when you're at my level, you'll understand that numbers don't matter to overwhelming strength."
Austin nodded as his face portrayed an absolutely calm look.
The week of training with Cynthia revealed to Austin that his strategy of using a mask of arrogance to piss off his opponents was a niche that wouldn't work against the truly strong trainer hence he chose to wear a mask of absolute calmness similar to Cynthia's mask during battles.
" Is everyone ready ?"
" Pika !"
" Pidgeot !"
Pikachu exclaimed as he climbed up Austin's shoulder while all of Austin's Pokeballs shook.
Austin could practically see their determination to battle.
Taking out his Pokeball, Austin took a deep breath.
He felt the coldness of the Pokeball against his palm.
Austin knew that in a one-on-one battle, his chances of beating Garchomp were zero but this wasn't a one-on-one... no this was a one-on-twelve. Even then Austin didn't have much confidence in bringing down the Goliath known as Garchomp.
Bringing his PokeBall to his forehead, Austin whispered.
" Let's give it our all."
Throwing his Pokeball, Austin thought.
' Watch over us, Raticate and I'll show you that your family is getting stronger and stronger.'
The PokeBall flashed open as Munna appeared in front of the ready Garchomp.
{ Trick Room }
Telepathically receiving her trainer's command, her eyes glow red and a large light blue rectangle with light blue transparent walls and ceiling appears around the battlefield. Then, the light blue glow fades, and the walls and ceiling become invisible.
Cynthia immediately recognized the move and called out," Sandstorm."
' If you think I am going to go easy on you, think again Austin. I won't use Garchomp's full strength but in terms of strategy I am not going to hold anything back."
{ Reflecting Screen }
Austin telepathically commanded Munna to set up a combo of Light Screen and Reflect while Garchomp moved in a dancing motion causing a Sandstorm to erupt all around the beach.
Cynthia clapped her hands as Garchomp closed her eyes as she waited for her prey to arrive.
Just then a green glow formed behind Garchomp who was instantly alerted.
Garchomp tried to use the 20% evasion provided by its ability, the sand veil to turn around mid-way as she tanked Energy Ball.
Munna's eyes widened as she saw Garchomp tank her energy ball and lunge at her with a Crunch.
With the telepathic connection, Austin knew what Munna was thinking as he quickly gave the command.
{ Energy ball directly into her mouth }
Receiving the telepathic command, Munna instantly formed her Energy ball due to Trick Room as she launched it into Garchomp's mouth which was covered by the dark aura of crunch.
( ~ Boom ~ )
Flinching from the surrounding sandstorm Munna's eyes widened as Garchomp emerged from the smoke with dark energy covering her mouth.
...
Outside of the sandstorm, Austin's eyes widened as he felt the telepathic connection between him and Munna being cut off.
Taking out her Pokeball, Austin pointed it forward as Munna returned with a red flash.
' You did great, Munna.'
Taking out another Pokeball, Austin whispered something to it before throwing it out.
In a flash, Bulbasaur appeared on the battlefield.
" Bulba !"
The Seed Pokemon's cry alerted Cynthia to her opponent's choice and she exclaimed.
" Fly in the sky and use the Flame thrower."
Hearing the commands of her trainer, Garchomp tried to fly away but the walls of the trick room glowed as the sandstorm in front of Garchomp parted with flashes of green as Bulbasaur leech seeds hit Garchomp's body.
Vines grew out of the seeds wrapping around Garchomp's body who immediately flew up.
Garchomp's maw erupted in fire, causing Austin's eyes to widen as he shouted.
" Flying Drain !"
The head of Garchomp's flamethrower hit the sandstorm causing a dust explosion.
Pikachu, Austin, and Cynthia covered their ears as the shockwave caused everyone to fall.
Cynthia looked at the smoke cloud and thought.
' Maybe I went a little too far.'
" Rwrr "
The sound of Garchomp's roars caused Cynthia to look up as she saw Bulbasaur who had used Vine Whip and the explosion to launch himself into the sky, mid-air Bulbasaur performed a Giga Drain as the leech seeds on Garchomp's body glowed with an intense emerald light causing the green orb to fly towards Bulbasaur.
The green orbs entered Bulbasaur's body healing him.
" Dragon Claw! "
" Chemical Warfare!"
A light-green aura forms around each of Garchomp's fins and turns into a claw-like shape. Charging toward the falling Bulbasaur, Garchomp attacked without any remorse but the moment, Garchomp came within range, Bulbasaur released an improved version of Chemical Warfare with the number of powders released being ten times more than before.
( ~ Boom ~ )
From within the Chemical Warfare cloud, something shot out and crashed into the ground.
The dust cleared showing a knocked-out Bulbasaur.
Austin returned to Bulbasaur, there were clear hints of concern in his eyes but during the battlefield, he promised that he will always try to maintain a level of calmness and never let his emotions cloud his judgment.
( ~ Rwrr ~ )
Garchomp stomped on the ground as a purple aura washed over its entire body showing that Bulbasaur's last attack had landed.
Austin narrowed his eyes as he saw that Garchomp was a little drowsy.
Clenching Bulbasaur's Pokeball, Austin whispered.
" Thank you for giving it your all."
Cynthia calmly gazed upon her friend who took out a PokeBall. In a flash of red, Squirtle appeared on the battlefield.
" You know what to do ." Cynthia calmly exclaimed as Garchomp nodded while remembering the strategy that her trainer had devised to counter Water types.
Squirtle meanwhile adjusted his glasses as Austin said," Bubble Mania !"
Squirtle smirked before going back to his shell and began to spin at high speed while releasing a bubble beam.
Cynthia frowned at the confusing turn of events before she calmly said," Rest ."
Garchomp bobbed her head as she went to sleep while Austin frowned, not expecting Cynthia to have Garchomp use rest but it made sense with all the attacks that Garchomp has been tanking.
" Rain Dance !"
Austin chose to not attack Garchomp while it was resting, rather he decided to change the terrain to his favor.
A cumulonimbus of clouds covered the battlefield as drops of rain fell to the ground causing the previously erupted sandstorm to be stopped.
Cynthia wasn't deterred by the stymied sandstorm but she wondered what her opponent was thinking.
He didn't even try to power up rather he manipulated the terrain to his advantage.
Then it hit Cynthia, Austin chose to go with a strategy that will help the Pokemon he would send out later.
It looks like her lessons finally settled in his mind.
A battle can be quick but against an overwhelming foe always go for the strategy that would favor the majority.
Austin knew that he can't defeat Garchomp so he is staking the efforts of all his Pokemon to defeat her.
Cynthia smiled as she realized her friend's play.
He and his Pokemon truly did improve a lot during this week.
" Dragon Rush !"
"Miner's Strategy !"
Garchomp flew towards Squirtle who pulled its head, arms, and legs into its shell and spins like a disc as Garchomp's two appendages on its head glowed light blue. Then, her body was enveloped in a light blue dragon-shaped aura.
While Garchomp charged forward Squirtle used rapid spin to launch the mud that had been formed all around it toward Garchomp but it resulted in the mud being sprayed everywhere.
" Austin, I just got this swimsuit!"
" Sorry, I'll buy you another one."
" Austin, you're a perverted child, telling a lady that you will buy her a pair of underwear."
Cynthia said as she enjoyed Austin's face shifting from calm to flustered.
" I n...never said that ."
Cynthia giggled before her face went to calm and calculated mask when she saw Garchomp miss Dragon Rush along with Squirtle seemingly disappearing.
Squirtle was using the mud as camouflage.
Cynthia snorted,' A good play but it doesn't accomplish anything.'
" Dragon breath ."
Garchomp's maw glowed with draconic energy but right below her feet, the ground glowed.
" Fly !"
Under Cynthia's command, Garchomp jumped into the sky as the ground exploded with Squirtle's shell smash.
Squirtle looked up and fired an ice beam.
Garchomp's dragon breath and Squirtle's ice beam meet in the middle as Draconic energy and Ice energy clash out.
Even though Squirtle's ice beam had been powered by two shell smashes, the level difference between Garchomp and Squirtle was too much.
Austin's eyes widened as he saw Squirtle's ice beam being overpowered by a dragon-type attack.
' Just how powerful is that monster? '
Squirtle struggled to keep up the momentum as he took one step back.
' No, I can't... ' Squirtle thought as a memory flashed in his mind.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
" How can you lose to a fire type? " A trainer outside of the Pokemon center screamed at an injured turtle Pokemon.
The young Squirtle had tears in his eyes as he was being screamed at by his trainer.
The trainer took out a pair of sunglasses and threw them at the young Squirtle who flinched.
A few tears escaped the eyes of the young Squirtle as he gazed upon the sunglasses which were the prize of the first battle he had won for his trainer.
The trainer clicked the button of the PokeBall which flashed blue before returning the young Squirtle.
At night, nurse joy released an extremely hungry Squirtle out of his abandoned Pokeball.
" S...Squirtle !"
Squirtle looked around for his trainer as nurse joy had a melancholic look in her eyes.
" Sq...Sq...Squirtle !"
Chansey looked at nurse joy as if asking her partner if she should disclose to Squirtle about his abandonment.
Nurse Joy knew that she shouldn't gatekeep the information and cause more pain for the Young Squirtle.
Chansey under Joy's commands told Squirtle about its abandonment, tears began to flow down Squirtle's eyes as his mind flashed to the battle earlier today.
He had lost so badly against that Growlithe.
Squirtle wiped out those tears as he knew that shedding tears over the past wouldn't accomplish anything.
" Chansey Chans !"
Squirtle's eyes widened as he heard Chansey's words about him being put up for adoption.
Was that all he was worth?
To be discarded and given away.
Squirtle released a water gun before using it as a distraction to escape.
Nurse Joy and Chansey ran to look for the young Squirtle who had hidden inside the trash can.
Inside the trash can, Squirtle tried to keep his tears in as he gazed upon the black sunglasses he had won for his trainer.
Putting on the sunglasses, Squirtle vowed to himself.
That he will never let a human capture him.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
On the beach of the sulfur island, as Garchomp's dragon breath seemed to be overpowering Squirtle's ice beam, Squirtle glanced back at his trainer who had a look of worry in his eyes.
Squirtle remembered why he choose this human as his trainer who was nothing like Derek.
He is kind-hearted and smart and most of all he treated all of us like family.
Squirtle will be damned if he let himself lose after all the effort his human, partner put up.
Suddenly Squirtle's body was engulfed by blue light.
" No, way !" Austin's eyes widened as he saw Squirtle's body evolving into a bipedal, indigo reptilian Pokémon similar to a turtle. It had brown eyes, a dark blue streak on each cheek, and two sharp teeth protruding from its upper jaw. It has three clawed fingers and pointed toes. On each side of its head are feather-like ears covered in pale blue fur. A brown shell with a pale yellow underside encases its body. A thick, white rim separates the upper and lower halves of the shell.
" Wortortle !"
Squirtle's evolved form wortortle gazed upon Garchomp as his ice beam began to turn more chaotic.
Cynthia's eyes widened as she recognized Wortortle's attack which was overpowered by Garchomp's dragon breath, Blizzard.
" Blazing Hurricane!"
Cynthia's shout caused Garchomp to patiently wait as Blizzard came near it.
" Now !"
Garchomp immediately spun around as guts of wind empowered by Draconic energy circled her.
Opening her maw, Garchomp released a flamethrower into cyclonic winds all around her.
Austin's jaw dropped as he saw the flaming vortex in the sky that melted Wortortle's Blizzard.
" Waterfall !"
Austin called out but Wortortle had other plans its ears glowed with white light before the ground broke apart as a tidal wave covered the sky.
The flaming vortex and tidal wave of Surf met in the middle before wet steam covered the entire beach in a veil of grey and white.
Austin and Cynthia silently waited before the sound of crashing on the ground alerted the two.
( ~Thud~ )
The wet steam veil began to disappear revealing a somewhat injured Garchomp standing over a knocked-out Wartortle.
Austin smiled as he returned Wartortle.
" Pika, Pi !"
Hearing Pikachu's aggressive growls, Austin couldn't help but sigh.
' Of course, he would be frustrated with everyone giving it their all yet still being defeated.'
Placing his hand on Pikachu's head, Austin whispered," I know buddy, I know but we must be patient if we want to win."
Pikachu's ears dropped," Pikachu, Pi !"
Rubbing Pikachu's head, Austin took out a PokeBall before through it out.
In a flash, a seemingly innocuous Nincada appeared somersaulting mid-air before landing.
Cynthia and Austin smiled at Nincada's antics.
" Flash Clone !"
Nincada's wings buzzed as hundreds of Nincada's appeared on the beach charging at Garchomp with an aerial ace.
Cynthia narrowed her eyes as she looked at all the Nincada who were twisting around Garchomp, not attacking, none of them had a shadow consequently Cynthia looked around trying to spot Nincada before she saw the vines of Leech seed glow with bright emerald light causing Garchomp's health to decrease even more but the orbs of emerald light turned towards Garchomp's body consequently Cynthia figured that Nincada must have used aerial ace to hide upon Garchomp's body.
" Garchomp use flamethrower with twisting like a top."
Hearing the commands of her trainer, Garchomp obliged by twisting like a top while releasing a volley of flames that covered her body burning away the leech seeds.
Suddenly a Nincada jumped off Garchomp's body.
" Poison Jab at 70° " Cynthia calmly exclaimed as Garchomp's claw shot out of the flaming twister directly hitting Nincada's abdomen suddenly Garchomp's claw went through Nincada's body which seemed to evaporate into smoke.
'Substitute !'
Cynthia's eyes widened for a second before she calmly glanced at the sky.
' Nincada can't learn to fly then ...'
As soon as Cynthia's eyes turned towards the ground, she calmly exclaimed," Earthquake."
' Gotcha '
" Shadow Sword Strike !"
The ground beneath Garchomp's feet broke apart revealing a Nincada charging at Garchomp with an aerial ace and Night slash combo.
Garchomp was left vulnerable while it was executing Earthquake causing Nincada's attack to land.
( ~ Boom ~ )
( ~ Shake~ )
The entire beach shook with Garchomp's Earthquake.
" Double Team !"
Austin tried to keep this momentum going but Cynthia decided to take this match a little more seriously.
" Sandstorm to Rock Tomb "
" Use Bug Buzz !"
Austin's attempt to disrupt Sandstorm failed as Garchomp's Sandstorm covered the beach with rocks beginning to form mid-air that flew towards high speeds at Nincada who tried to do his best to dodge but it was too much for the little guy.
( ~ Boom ~ )
Hearing the sounds of rocks crashing into one another, Austin's heart skipped a beat.
His breathing became slower for a few seconds before he remembered that this wasn't the SS. Anne.
Thinking that Nincada had been defeated, Austin pulled out the little guy's PokeBall.
" Pika, Pi !"
Pikachu's shout caused Austin to look up as a bright light broke out of the sandstorm.
Suddenly a flash of red shot out of the sandstorm into one of Austin's empty pokeballs.
' Don't Tell me.'
Taking out his Pokedex, Austin looked at his Pokemon registry which showed a Pokemon he didn't have previously.
Shedninja.
' Does that mean ?'
Austin pointed the Pokedex forward as Dexter beeped out.
" Ninjask The Ninja Pokémon. It is said that while Pidgeot moves faster than sound, Ninjask moves faster than light. This is an exaggeration, at least in the latter Pokemon's case; it is more accurate to say Ninjask is much faster than the optic nerve and the brain. This saying recalls another connection between these two Pokemon: because Ninjask is well able to outfly any predator except Pidgeot, it is thought that the Ninjask's high speed developed as a means of evading them, although a Pidgeot who approaches from behind can sometimes take advantage of Ninjask's poor acceleration and sink their talons into one.
Yet if this theory explains the initial development of their speed, it does little to explain the exponential speed boosts that Ninjask gain in mid-flight. As many trainers have learned to their chagrin, a Ninjask which has been allowed to fly for too long becomes all but impossible to hit and will usually defeat six Pokemon with ease. When other Pokemon tries to attack them, they appear to make contact when using special attacks, yet Ninjask continues flying without even a scratch; with physical attacks, the body part used moves through the Ninjask like it was using Double Team. Only techniques with perfect accuracy or Pokemon who have studied its flight patterns can hit Ninjask's astronomical speed. The rest score a direct hit on where the Ninjask was a few seconds ago and can only lose; whenever only one Pokemon can attack, that Pokemon, however weak its techniques, will inevitably be the victor.
The true secret of how modern Ninjask gained their speed can be found in Fuchsia City. The method of breeding they used is known only to the Koga clan, but their motive is transparent: what ninja wouldn't want a Pokemon too quick to be seen?
This Ninjask is Male and the Ability is Speed Boost. Currently, this Ninjask knows Aerial Ace, Baton Pass, Double Team, Dig, Fury Cutter, Harden,
Metal Claw, Mud-Slap, Scratch, Screech, Agility, Absorb, Bug Bite, Double Team, Nightslash, Giga Drain, Substitute, Defog, and Protect. The Age of this Ninjask Four Months."
Austin grinned as he saw something shoot out of the sandstorm while Garchomp followed it with Dragon Claw.
But the speed of Ninjask was greater than Garchomp's as it effortlessly dodged Garchomp's slashes.
" Ninjask, use Flash Clone !"
Ninjask's body blurred for a second as thousands of copies appeared all around Garchomp completely catching Austin and Cynthia off-guard with the number of flash clones.
" Roar ."
Garchomp let a terrifying bellow that caused one of the thousands of Ninjask's turn into a streak of red returning to its PokeBall while replacing itself with a Pokemon whose body is light brown, but the abdomen is gray. It has four protrusions on its underside instead of legs; the top pair is brown, while the lower is gray. There are round protrusions on the side of its head with narrow slits for the eyes. Two lines encircle its abdomen and a white halo floats above its head. On its back is a pair of tattered wings divided into three wingtips. A hole between its wings reveals that its body is completely hollow and dark, as it possesses no internal organs.
Shedninja silently floats on the beach.
Cynthia frowned as she saw Shedninja which was a Pokemon she had faced during her journey those shedninjas at least hovered back and forth in a particular spot but Austin's shedninja just floated there, ominously.
Austin meanwhile pointed his Pokedex at his new Pokemon.
" Shedninja, The Shed Pokémon.
There is no Pokemon that evolves that does not lose some part of itself through the process of evolution. And even species that do not undergo such a dramatic metamorphosis, such as humans and non-evolving Pokemon, often find that they left something important behind in exchange for strength and maturity. In no species, however, is this transformation nearly as painful as in the Nincada, who is split in two; an extremely fast and fairly powerful bug named Ninjask, and a fragile spirit of childhood called Shedinja.
It is said that Shedinja steal spirits, but this is a poor understanding of the personality changes they can create. People who stare into the backs of Shedinja change dramatically, but it is less a loss than a reversion; that part of their personality they lost comes to the forefront. It does not take the form of a Charizard saying Charmander or anything of that sort, but of an idealistic person or Pokemon remembering what they once loved and following their forgotten dreams.
Yet in the world they live in, such idealism and passion are seen as only fit for children. Perhaps this is why so many children come out of nowhere to become Pokemon League Champions. Shedinja may not be much use in a battle, but there is much we can learn from them all the same; they do not steal our spirits, but restore them to their proper form.
This Shedninja is genderless and has the ability of Wonder Guard. Currently, this Shedninja knows Dig, False swipe, Grudge, Harden, Metal Claw, Mud-Slap, Sand attack,
Scratch, Shadow Claw, Confuse Ray, Absorb, Shadow Sneak, Furry Swipes, Nightslash, Giga Drain, Dig, Aerial Ace, and Will-o'-wisp. This Shedninja is 1 minute old."
Austin's sweat dropped as he heard Shedninja's age.
" Umm, Shedninja ." Austin curiously called out but Shedninja just blankly stared forward.
" Buddy, can you hear me ?"
Shedninja still stared forward.
Austin looked at Shedninja curiously as it was one of the Pokemon that greatly intrigued him since he was a child.
Was Shedninja the shell of Nincada?
How does a shell become alive?
Was it even alive?
" Pika, Pi ."Pikachu snapped Austin out of his thoughts as he said," Attack with Will-o'-wisp!"
For a few seconds, Shedninja didn't move before it released a bone-chilling scream that jumps scared everyone on the beach.
Shedninja's body becomes surrounded by light blue fireballs then it launches the fireballs at the Garchomp who tried to dodge the Will-o'-wisp but those ominous flames changed direction hitting Garchomp's body.
" Scorching Sands ."
Cynthia calmly said as she knew if she used an obvious super affected move like flamethrower, Austin would have had Shedninja dodge. But what about a move that Austin had never seen before?
Shedninja's body was hit by the scorching sand but suddenly Garchomp's maw was filled with flames and before Austin could even command anything, the flamethrower spread like crazy over the scorching sands and Shedninja immediately went down.
Austin and Pikachu's jaws dropped as they saw how effortlessly Shedninja went down before Austin felt himself wanting to slap his face.
' Of course, Cynthia knows how to defeat a Shedninja so effortlessly.'
Returning Shedninja, Austin scolds himself on his unprecedented confidence in Wonder Guard.
Taking out another Pokeball, Austin whispered.
" Are you ready buddy ?!"
The Pokeball became hot to the touch as Austin quickly threw it.
Popping out of the Pokeball mid-air, Charmeleon landed on the battlefield from the cloud of smoke, a pair of red eyes gazed upon Garchomp who suddenly felt a burning sensation all around her body. The burn of Will-o'-wisp took effect.
The surrounding temperature increased as ' Drought ' took effect.
" Rocket launcher !"
Charmeleon took a deep breath causing Cynthia's eyes to widen before she calmly said," Fly ."
Charmeleon used a flamethrower to launch himself mid-air causing the sandstorm to explode with a dust explosion.
Mid-air, Charmeleon launched a dragon pulse at the escaping Garchomp who countered by using a dragon rush through the dragon pulse.
Garchomp broke through Charmeleon's dragon pulse as it aimed a Dragon claw at Charmeleon who panicked and tried to launch a Dragon pulse point blank.
Seeing this Austin pursed his lips before an idea formed.
" Draco Meteor."
" What !"
For the first time since the battle, one of Austin's strategies had left her speechless.
Hearing the command of his trainer, Charmeleon's mouth gathered a huge amount of draconic energy.
" Poison Jab."
Garchomp's fin glowed with a purplish aura as it impaled Charmeleon, injecting a huge amount of toxins into his body.
Seeing this, Austin's heart skipped a beat as his chest tightened.
Why was breathing so hard?
The sand all around the beach, the smoothness of Pikachu's fur on his skin, the coldness of his Pokeball aligning his belt, the sound of waves, the fluttering of Cynthia's hair. An extreme amount of information was being dumped into Austin's mind as he was having a panic attack while he remembered a move similar to poison Jab that Raticate tanked.
" Pika, Pi !"
Pikachu's cry caused Cynthia to divert her attention toward the panicking Austin.
' Oh! No."
A look of worry flashed on Cynthia's face as she took a step forward with her hand outstretched but Charmeleon's body was launched into the sand.
The dust cloud swirled around a ball of blueish draconic energy.
Charmeleon's head jerked back as the ball of draconic energy was launched into the sky with Garchomp as the target.
Midway, the orb broke into smaller orbs that converged toward Garchomp.
Charmeleon turned towards his trainer who was sweating heavily while a look of relief adorned his face.
" Should we stop the match ?" Cynthia called out.
" Charm ?!"
Hearing Cynthia's voice, Austin gulped as he saw the look in Charmeleon's eyes.
Taking out a water bottle from the bag near his feet, Austin dumped the entire thing on his head.
Slicking his hair back, Austin took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
" And stop me from winning ?!" Austin's reply caused Charmeleon to look excited at the thought of continuing the match while Cynthia was worried she clenched his hand and nodded.
A small smile formed on her face as she saw the look of excitement in Charmeleon's eyes.
" Dragon Rush ."
From the cloud in the sky, Garchomp covered in Draconic energy shaped like a dragon's head charged at Charmeleon.
" Al-Drago !"
Austin's shouts caused Charmeleon to use Dragon tail to anchor itself at one point while using a flamethrower to spin like a top.
" Now !"
Charmeleon stopped using dragon tail which caused him to be launched at Garchomp at high speeds.
Garchomp using Dragon rush and Charmeleon using Metallic Dragon Claw met in the center as a screeching sound filled the entire beach.
With Charmeleon's momentum, the Metallic Dragon Claw stopped Garchomp's dragon Rush.
Garchomp and Charmeleon's attacks battled it out for dominance but Garchomp's burn acted up causing Garchomp to lose focus for a second and the battle of dominance was won in Charmeleon's favor.
" Dragon Pulse !"
Austin's shout caused Charmeleon to open his mouth to launch a Dragon Pulse at Garchomp but the poisonous toxins made Charmeleon flinch.
" Outrage ."
" No! Charmeleon launch yourself into the air."
Garchomp's eyes glow red and its body is outlined in a red aura. Charmeleon sensing the danger tried to dodge but his feet were caught by Garchomp's fins which slammed Charmeleon into the ground.
( ~ Boom ~ )
But Garchomp didn't stop as her fins slashed at Charmeleon over and over again.
Seeing this Austin felt bile forming in his throat.
He wanted to call off the match but Pikachu stopped him.
" Pikachu, I have to stop this, Charmeleon could get injured."
Pikachu in response pointed forward at the dust cloud where Garchomp was continuously attacking Charmeleon.
Suddenly Garchomp fin backed out as a red eye could be seen from the dust cloud.
The dust cloud parted showing a beaten-up Charmeleon with a red aura covering his entire body.
' Is that outrage ?' Austin and Cynthia's eyes widened as Garchomp and Charmeleon launched themselves into a slugfest.
Unlike the refined Garchomp who had mastered it, Charmeleon's outrage was extremely chaotic as he used his basic instincts to fight against Garchomp who was much deadlier. Even then the battle of the two dragons was an amazing spectacle as everyone on the beach was left in awe.
Teeth met hide.
Fin met claw.
As Draconic energy exploded out of the bodies of the two dragons.
( ~ Boom ~ )
Slamming Charmeleon into the ground, Garchomp looked down upon the tiny dragon who was glaring a dagger at her.
' Maybe next time when you have evolved to your apogee, I face you in battle as an equal.'
Charmeleon only saw a smirk on Garchomp's face as she raised her foot and that was all he saw before darkness took over.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Returning Charmeleon to his PokeBall, Austin couldn't help but sigh.
Even after throwing all of that at Garchomp, she still stood up.
Could he even defeat Garchomp?
Austin looked at the sand beach while contemplating if he should give up or not.
" Pika "
Hearing Pikachu's cry, Austin glanced to his shoulder as Pikachu gave him a determined look.
What was the reason they trained like hell under Cynthia?
Was it to lose?
Was it to just give up?
Pikachu's look made Austin's mind filled with a lot of thoughts as doubt vanished from his eyes.
Taking out a PokeBall that was shaking violently. Austin didn't even need to choose.
Throwing the Pokeball out, Fearow appeared on the battlefield with a prideful screech.
Garchomp snorted at Fearow's screech as she stomped on the beach and released a roar that silence the entire beach.
Austin's sweat dropped at Garchomp's way of asserting dominance.
" Aerial Wing !"
" Garchomp stance 1."
Cynthia calmly said causing Garchomp to lay on the ground on her stop like a crocodile waiting for its prey to come near it.
" Dodge !"
Hearing his trainer's words, Fearow snorted but ultimately obliged by turning towards the sky.
A blueish flame washed over Garchomp's body as the Will-o'-wisp Burn was eating away at her health but suddenly the flames seemed to decrease more and more.
This was stance 1, a move that made everyone believe that that Garchomp is waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack but in actuality, Garchomp was hiding this facade that she was going to attack while she healed herself with Rest.
Pikachu's eyes narrowed before he pointed forward and exclaimed," Pika, Pika !"
Austin glanced at Pikachu before his eyes widened when he saw Garchomp's burns being healed.
" Feather Dance !"
Fearow spreads its wings and both of them glow white. He then shoots glowing white feathers at Garchomp.
Each feather hit Garchomp's body as a white aura radiated from Garchomp for a second indicating the Fearow's Feather Dance had lower Garchomp's attack power.
Garchomps' eyes opened as she rose. Outstretching her fins, Garchomp roared before slamming her fins on the beach erupting a sandstorm all around the beach but the surrounding sandstorm didn't affect Fearow's vision.
" Substituting Flash Clones !"
Hundreds of Fearows appeared in the sky as if it was a flock before each copy of Fearow disappeared from the sky charging into the sandstorm.
Inside the sandstorm, Garchomp silently stood in one place as she waited for her prey to attack her.
Suddenly she found herself surrounded by hundreds of Fearow but there was not a hint of surprise on Garchomp's face as non of these Fearows was the real one.
Fearow's double team vanished the moment they touch Garchomp's body.
Garchomp closed her eyes as she focused on feeling the surrounding sandstorm.
There was something fast moving in the sandstorm.
Come!
Garchomp thought as she twisted her body and with a Dragon claw confronted a fearow's drill run.
The stalemate last only for a second before Garchomp overpowered through and caused Fearow to be slammed into the ground.
The embedded Fearow began to evaporate like a cloud of smoke.
From the back of Garchomp, the sandstorm split open revealing Fearow covered by a spiraling blue aura.
Garchomp quickly tried to twist her body to counterattack but Fearow was faster.
Fearow's sky attacked just before it landed on Garchomp's gut, a reddish aura emitted from Garchomp's eye before a giant smoke cloud covered the beach.
Austin sighed as he looked at the smoke cloud.
' Did Arceus make it so that a giant smoke cloud would appear every time a loss has to be shown?'
The dust cleared revealing a knocked-out Fearow on the ground with Garchomp standing over him in a daze.
Seeing the confused Garchomp, Austin immediately returned Fearow as he glanced at his buddy.
" Ready ."
" Pika !"
Pikachu ran along his trainer's shoulder and with a giant leap, he landed in front of the confused Garchomp.
" Fake out !"
Pikachu closed his eyes as his paws glowed with white energy.
Bringing his paws together, an omnidirectional piercing sound was released making Garchomp flinch.
" Nasty Plot !"
" Garchomp, snap out of it."
While Garchomp shook her head to get rid of her confusion, Pikachu's body was enveloped by a dark type aura and his eyes glowed red for a few seconds.
" Grass Knot !"
Pikachu slammed his paw on the ground as a wave of omnidirectional grass energy moved through the entire beach.
Garchomp was too late to dodge the Grass Knot. Even with taking the full brunt of the attack, Garchomp wasn't that damaged.
" Quick Draw !"
Austin didn't want to give Garchomp a chance to attack as Pikachu combined a quick attack with iron tail to attack Garchomp.
" Iron head ."
( ~ Boom ~ )
Garchomp's iron head and Pikachu's iron tail clashed with one another but Garchomp's bigger body was able to effortlessly handle the force behind Pikachu's attack.
" Outrage ."
" Magnet Rise !"
Cynthia and Austin called out their respective moves as Garchomp's body was engulfed by a red aura while Pikachu hurriedly used Magnet Rise to dodge but unlike many other types of trainers, Cynthia had trained Garchomp in such a way that she could direct all the releasing Draconic energy into fighting against an opponent that tries to dodge it by chasing after it.
A similar game of cat and mouse entailed a menacing Garchomp charging toward the flying Pikachu.
Pikachu tried its best to dodge every close call he had.
Meanwhile, Austin's mind was racing to think of a strategy against that monster.
An idea popped into Austin's head as he exclaimed," Flash !"
Up in the air as Garchomp reached out to Pikachu.
Pikachu released a thunderbolt that illuminated the entire sky as if a second sun had been born for a second.
Garchomp's aura dissipated a little as the outrage and flash left her completely vulnerable as she began to fall.
" Spinning Iron tail !"
Using magnetic rise to spin himself, Pikachu spins at high speeds and attacks Garchomp right on the gut.
The speed of the attack caused Garchomp to crash to the ground.
" Brick Break Barrage !"
Pikachu stopped using Magnetic rise as he used gravity to his advantage but there was a problem.
Garchomp wasn't confused.
" Dragon Pulse "
A beam of a greenish blue shot from Garchomp's mouth towards Pikachu whose eyes widened.
" Volt tackle !"
Pikachu's body was engulfed by a dark cloud as he cried out," Pika, Pika !"
Pikachu's Volt tackle tore through Garchomp's dragon pulse.
" Pika !"
" Pika !"
" Pika !"
...
[ Pikachu's POV ]
I couldn't see anything but I knew I had to move forward.
Colors of black, blue, and green flashed beside me as I suddenly saw my surroundings enveloped by light but a sense of danger alerted me.
I gazed forward only to see red.
" Draco Meteor."
" Discharge !"
Cynthia's calm voice entered Pikachu as Garchomp released the point-blank Draco Meteor at Pikachu who returned with a discharge attack.
( ~ Boom ~ )
The entire beach was covered by smoke.
Austin took a deep breath as the smoke cleared revealing Garchomp standing over a Pikachu who struggled to move before he fainted.
Smiling at his little partner's will, Austin went to pick him up.
" P...pi...ka ."
" Don't worry buddy, you did amazing but leave everything to the rest of us."
Pikachu smiled before closing his eyes.
Placing Pikachu over a beach towel. Austin unclipped his Pokeball.
Closing his eyes, Austin thought of how he should continue the battle.
Opening his eyes which glowed red for a second, Austin threw out a Pokeball.
( ~ Whoosh ~ )
Pidgeot appeared on the battlefield.
" Rock Tomb ."
Garchomp roared, causing giant rocks to protrude from the ground and shoot toward Pidgeot.
" Hurricane of Steel !"
The giant rocks came near Pidgeot who immediately spun as cyclonic winds began to pick up with Pidgeot riding the cyclonic winds with steel wing active.
Rather than destroying the giant rocks, Pidgeot used her wings like bats to redirect the giant rocks toward Garchomp.
Thinking Austin was trying to use the rocks as cover, Cynthia calmly exclaimed.
" Dragon pulse ."
The giant rocks were vaporized from the Draconic attack.
" Tailwind !"
Pidgeot spin around causing the surrounding winds to pick up.
Cynthia narrowed her eyes at Austin's play.
" Heatwave into U-turn !"
Pidgeot screeched with a wave of red washing over the entire beach causing Austin's eyes to narrow as he tried to find it.
Pidgeot meanwhile was engulfed by a greenish aura as she instantly appeared in front of Garchomp, her talons pushed Garchomp back her returned to her Pokeball with Scizor appearing on the battlefield.
" Sword Dance !"
With the tailwind still in effect, Scizor was faster.
Scizor slashed its arms about and multiple light-blue swords circle it. The swords stop and point toward Scizor, ending first, before disappearing. A yellow aura then goes upwards along its body, boosting Scizor's attack power.
" Sandstorm."
Cynthia exclaimed as she knew with tailwind, hitting Austin's Pokemon was not an option so she increased her chances of evasion when an attack was to be launched but Austin's next move left Cynthia speechless.
" Baton Pass !"
Scizor raised its hands into the air as orbs of white energy left Scizor's body as he went back into its Poké Ball with Butterfree appearing on the battlefield.
Riding the tailwind, Butterfree flew towards a place his trainer had instructed him.
Cynthia gazed at the fast winds near Austin's side of the battlefield.
' It will last for a few seconds at most. Let's try to defend for that duration.'
" Chemical Warfare !"
Butterfree cried out as a giant release of poisons was released with the winds of tailwind causing them to spread faster throughout the beach.
" You know what to do !" Austin called out with Butterfree nodding as he began to perform Quiver dance.
Seeing the copious amounts of poisons, Cynthia calmly exclaimed," Flaming Hurricane ."
Butterfree's chemical Warfare was sucked into a fire tornado.
With the poisons eliminated, Cynthia looked at Butterfree who raised his antenna as orbs of white energy left his body.
Immediately Butterfree returned to his Pokeball him being replaced by Clefairy.
The orbs of white entered Clefairy's body.
Cynthia's eyes widened as she realized that Austin had Butterfree use baton pass to transfer all the power buffs towards Clefairy increasing his chances of winning against a dragon with a powered-up Clefairy.
" Strategy 9 ."
Garchomp disappeared from the sandstorm as she appeared with aerial ace in front of the smiling Clefairy with a Poison Jab.
Garchomp thrust forward but a few barriers of protection and a light screen appeared in front of Garchomp's attack stopping her dead in her tracks.
Unlike the games, Light screen and protect don't disappear after 5 turns rather they have to be destroyed or used, for them to disappear.
3 of Munna's barriers had been destroyed throughout the battle but the remaining 6 barriers were still there protecting Clefairy from Garchomp's high-speed Poison Jab.
" Misty Terrain !"
Clefairy glowed a pinkish-purple color before releasing a pink mist from his mouth that covered the entire beach in a layer of pink mist.
Garchomp's flinched due to the surrounding fairy aura as she could feel herself getting weaker.
" Flamethrower ."
Garchomp's mouth erupted in flames as she released a wave of flames toward Clefairy who smiled.
" Stored Power !"
Austin screamed causing Clefairy to close his eyes as his body erupted in a pink aura.
With the increased buffs from Swords Dance and Quiver Dance converting into psychic energy inside Clefairy's body.
Clefairy couldn't help but grit his teeth in pain as he channeled all that psychic energy into a moonblast.
With Psychic Terrain taking away all the pain, Clefairy successfully turned the tremendous amount of psychic energy into fairy-type energy.
Garchomp's wave of flames met Clefairy's moon blast, moon blast overtook Garchomp's flames.
If viewed from above, Clefairy's moon blast looked like a beam of dark pink.
Garchomp eyes widened as she saw the extremely fast giant beam of Dark pink before she smiled.
This was indeed a fun battle.
( ~ Boom ~ )
A shockwave and dust covered the entire beach.
( ~ Cough ~ )
( ~ Cough ~ )
Austin coughed, he waved his hands to depart the surrounding dust which slowly parted revealing a standing Garchomp.
Austin's jaw dropped.
She is still standing after all of that.
Garchomp smirked before she fell.
( ~ Thud ~ )
Garchomp was knocked out.
Austin blinked a few times.
Did I just win?
Austin thought before he pinched himself to make that he wasn't dreaming.
( ~ Giggle ~ )
" It's not a dream, Austin you won," Cynthia said as she moved closer to dazed Austin.
" And I have to say that was a beautiful use of strategy."
Cynthia said before her smile vanished when she saw her friend look down at the ground.
" What's wrong ?"
" I... It's nothing."
" Austin, can you please tell me what's wrong ?"
" ... "
( ~ Sigh ~ )
" Ok, then I'll respect your boundaries."
Austin in response whispered," I didn't win."
" Huh, what was that ?"
Cynthia said before her eyes widened," Austin, what are you talking about? You won this match."
" No, I didn't. You didn't use any power-up moves, you had many opportunities throughout the battle to defeat my strategy. You could have used roar to destroy my entire strategy, you didn't use any items or anything."
A frustrated Cynthia rubbed her eyes together before it finally her.
Her friend was in self-doubt.
For anyone suffering from PTSD, their worst enemy is themself. Even the smallest mistake is blown out of proportion.
Yeah, she had also gone through a similar phase after she lost her parents.
Cynthia placed her hands on Austin's face and forcefully made him look at her.
" Austin; You won fair and square."
" But..."
" ( ~ Sigh ~ ) You damn idiot, every one of your pokemon laid their trust in you to win and now you're just disrespecting everyone's efforts."
" No, No, I didn't..."
" Austin, I know you didn't mean that. You're just doubting yourself, you're being too hard on yourself. You remember Harrison right."
Austin nodded as Cynthia continued," He asked me for a battle during the after-party."
Austin's eyes widened as Cynthia asked," Can you tell how many moves it took me to defeat him ?"
" ... "
" 1 "
" ... Wow ."
" And you defeated the same pokemon that wiped out the floor with Harrison."
" But."
" Yes, I didn't go all out but I battled you on a level that I thought you would be after all that training, and guess what you surpassed the level I was expecting you to be at. Austin; you have gotten stronger and I know for a fact that you will only continue to grow stronger and stronger. I am sure that Raticate would have been happy seeing her family get so much stronger."
A tear flowed down Austin's face which Cynthia wiped with a thumb.
" Now don't give me that Tauros shit that you didn't win."
( ~ Sniff ~ )
Austin wiped his tears as he said," Y..yeah."
" Now let's get everyone healed up, I still have to give you your present."
" Yeah."
Austin picked up Pikachu while Cynthia returned Garchomp as she glanced at her friend staring at her.
" Like what you see," Cynthia asked with a teasing smirk causing me to turn away with a blush.
" I didn't expect you to curse."
" Now, now Austin I can't always be the sophisticated champion of Sinnoh."
" So do you ever curse on the battlefield?"
" That is a really good question that I am not going to answer."
" Hey, come on now I am curious."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
[ At Dusk ]
Austin and Cynthia had left everyone to rest as they enjoyed the peaceful stroll through the beautiful landscape of Sulpha Island.
" And currently my grandma is working on discovering the secrets of the machine ruins."
Austin nodded while his mind was racing.
' Machina ruins isn't that the place where Arceus and the Jewel of Life movie took place.'
" Austin, will you listen to what I have to say ?"
Hearing the seriousness in Cynthia's tone, Austin nodded.
" You need help."
" W..what ?!"
" Austin, I know you feel like you don't need help but I am worried about my friend. You have been showing more and more symptoms of PTSD."
" ... " Austin opened his mouth but no words seemed to come out.
" Austin, why did apologize for what was essentially my decision? I choose to spend my vacation with you. Why did you think that didn't deserve to win ?"
" ... "
" Austin, I gave you Munna so that your health doesn't deteriorate due to your nightmares but for everything else, you need to go into therapy. I know personally that you don't think you need help but you do, so as a friend I ask of you, can you please just think about going to therapy ?"
" I'll... think about it."
Cynthia smiled and she pinched his cheek with a finger. "Good, and then… there's this." She pulled out what seemed to be a tear-drop-shaped glass ornament, just like the one she always wore on the front of her shirt. Said ornament was black, crystalline, and had a chain tied to it, to be worn around the neck.
' Isn't that ?!'
"This is for you."
"Matching ornaments, eh?" Austin quipped while he looked in disbelief at the item in front of him.
She rolled her eyes. "It's more than that. This ornament… contains a wing feather given freely by Cresselia, one of the legendary lunar duo of Sinnoh. It keeps away nightmares from harming your sleep."
Austin gazed at the crystalline artifact in his fingers. "A legendary's… wing feather?"
"Yeah," Cynthia confirmed. "My grandmother gave me a pair to help with my nightmares when I was little. I have one with me," she touched the ornament on her neck, "and now you have the other. Munna can't always be with you all the time."
"But… shouldn't you be" Austin stopped his question midway, at her gaze, "all right. I accept it. Thanks." He looked away at a distance, as a sight caught his attention.
"Cynthia?"
"Huh?"
"Look at that."
The two of them looked towards their right, staring in surprise as hundreds of Wingull and Swablu, flew together in the sky. It was a beautiful sight as the light moved passed each pokemon in such an intricate manner that one could only look at it in awe. []][][][][][]]][[]][][[][]
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