Chapter 5 – Cascade
Misty threw out her first Pokeball, releasing her Golduck. The blue duck Pokemon immediately jumped into the pool, submerging itself. Arthur simply smiled and released his first Pokemon. Misty frowned at the electric type facing one of her favourite Pokemon. The Magneton hovered just above the water, awaiting its trainers command.
"You think that just using an electric type will be enough to defeat me?" Misty called out.
"No you're too good to allow for a single type advantage, but in this case, I think that Spark will get the job done." Still frowning, Misty called out for a water pulse attack. Golduck, still under the slightly disturbed water, launched the sphere of water at a blistering speed. Arthur however, seemed to expect that type of attack strategy and directed his partner away from the attack. The magnet Pokemon seemed to be trying to search under the waves for its opponent.
"Golduck keep the attacks coming from under the surface!" Misty said. Arthur was still smiling at that. It was almost as if he was expecting exactly this type of battle… Misty's eyes suddenly widened.
"Golduck wait!" she shouted but it was too late. At some point, Arthur knew that the duck would need to come close to the surface. And thanks to Magneton's electromagnetism, the champion knew that dodging attacks would not use up too much energy. So instead he bid his time, until now.
"Do it Spark."
"Acknowledged. Discharging now!" Spark sent out his powerful discharge attack, electrifying everything around him. The sparks danced across the water, and the water type arched its back, hissing in pain as the electricity coursed through its body.
"Use disable!" Misty cried out. The jewel on Golduck's head began glowing slightly and the water type glared at its electrical opponent. Spark didn't back down but its electrical onslaught was abruptly halted. Staying at the surface, the Golduck caught its breath. Arthur could tell that it having a hard time at the moment. That attack nearly did it in. Misty seemed to see the same thing as she sent it in, throwing attack after attack towards Spark.
"Spark, take only one of those water pulse attacks. Their a bit weaker now, and pump up the magnetism around yourself. Then prep your mirror shot!" Magnetic waves coursed out from the steel type, binding the three Magnemite-like bodies closer together.
Misty's Pokemon sent another water pulse towards the magnet pokemon, this time finally scoring a hit. The attack was not nearly as effective however. Misty frowned. The electric type barely even moved when the sphere of water broke across it.
"You appear confused Misty" Arthur said from the other side of the pool.
"That attack should have done more damage than it did."
"Normally you would be right. You weren't kidding about your all out water offensive. However, Magneton are kept together by a magnetic force that is so powerful, moisture between the bodies is evaporated out. So by increasing its magnetic output, that water pulse attack of yours was evaporating before it even connected. And now to finish this battle, Spark let's go!"
The magnets released, and the brilliant metal body of Spark blinded the Golduck, forcing the water type back into the edge of the pool where it smacked its head. Floating on the surface, Misty grimaced as she returned her knocked out Pokemon. Turns out Arthur reminded her of Red more than she liked. Her frustration was already building as she could tell that Arthur was two steps ahead of her in the battle.
Misty released her second Pokemon, one to counter Arthur's electric type. Her Quagsire looked somewhat foolish, but underneath that vacant stare was some serious power. Arthur was still smirking as he switched out his Magneton and replaced it with a Vaporeon. Misty immediately forgot about the battle as she inspected the water type. Arthur it seemed knew what he was doing. His Vaporeon looked brilliant.
"I wouldn't take too much time to admire Delphin here" Arthur stated with a wink. Misty blushed and brought herself back to task. Vaporeon typically only had one ability. And seeing how Arthur battled, Misty assumed it was the water absorb ability. This meant that neither side would be able to use water type attacks.
"You've prevented me from using water type attacks perhaps, but that doesn't mean I can't still use earthquake."
"Feel free. But you're going to find that it will be somewhat more difficult to defeat Delphin than you imagined. Acid armour!" The bubble jet Pokemon went clear for a few seconds as it raised its defenses. Misty frowned further. This match was getting increasingly difficult. How Arthur was so far ahead of her was beyond her comprehension.
"Use earthquake" Misty called. Her water fish complied and the ground began shaking. Misty widened her stance to stay on her feet, and noticed Arthur doing the same. Waves rocked back and forth in the pool, water spilling over the sides. The Vaporeon however, looked completely unfazed. This sequence repeated itself once more as Arthur prevented his Pokemon from taking too much damage. Misty was at a loss as to how to proceed. If she used water pulse, Arthur would make sure that his Pokemon absorbed the attack and healed itself. Rain dance then was rendered useless to her in this battle. And because she didn't know what type of attack strategy Arthur would be using, she was in a holding pattern.
Suddenly Arthur was on the offensive. Delphin was strong and becoming invisible in the water had caused problems for Quagsire as she was unable to follow the movements and properly avoid any attacks. Beams of frozen light kept hitting her Pokemon and there was little she could do to stop it. Even Quagsire's earthquakes were becoming less potent as Vaporeon used the pool and water to absorb the force.
Before long, Misty was down another Pokemon. Her frustration was mounting higher and higher as she was at a loss as to what to do to bring Arthur down. Her next Pokemon Lapras at least gave her a fighting chance to change the way this battle played out.
Her Staryu's attacks were completely ineffective against the opposing Pikachu's speed. The tiny electric mouse simply ran or jumped from pad to pad on the pools surface, evading all of the attacks Misty sent its way. And somehow, it still hadn't tired out.
Things would be different when Red faced her Starmie. The evolved form of her Pokemon, this one's attacks were far harder hitting. And so the second battle began. Red was still employing the same strategy of waiting to strike. Well two could play at that game. Under the water, her sea star waited patiently for its trainers command. The mouse finally stopped moving, according to some unseen signal from its trainer. Now was the time to strike.
Arthur surprised Misty once more, keeping the gym leader more on her toes than she was keeping her challenger. If she wasn't sure why he had become champion before their battle, she understood all too clearly now. Arthur had sent out his starter, Typhlosion into battle against the water type Lapras. Here was Misty's chance to start to turn the tide of this battle.
"You're sending a fire type into battle against a water type?" Misty asked as her Lapras inhaled. Arthur smirked, an expression mirrored in his Pokemon.
"Type match-ups can be extremely advantageous, but they aren't everything in battle." Lapras launched a water pulse towards the volcano Pokemon. Blaze dodged easily enough. Frowning Misty realized what Arthur's intention was. Force Lapras to keep missing while landing only somewhat effective attacks.
"Use sing Lapras!" The transport Pokemon began calling out a tune which caused even Misty and Arthur to become drowsy.
"Blaze under the waves" Arthur commanded. That was a different tactic than ever witnessed by Misty before. A fire type swimming under the water?
"Big mistake Arthur. Sound travels better under water! Lapras use sing under the waves!" The water type submerged itself and once more began singing. Arthur was still smiling however. It was close to a minute before the Lapras rose once more above the waves, bringing with it a very wet and happy Typhlosion. Misty looked stunned as she grasped what Arthur and his Pokemon had done. Lapras craned its neck around only to face a withering torrent of fire. The water type cried out in pain as the super-heated attack dealt its damage. The large water type began shaking this way and that trying to throw Blaze off its back. The fire type however, had other ideas and held on. Misty didn't even know what to say. There was no way that Lapras would be able to get a clear shot even on its broad back. The fire type would simply move out of the way. And because of its large size, Lapras wouldn't be able to compensate fast enough.
"End it Blaze." The words were quiet but forceful and seemed to impact both Misty and Lapras. Blaze once more let loose a flamethrower and jumped down. Misty recalled her fainted Pokemon, now truly scared of Arthur. He batted with such confidence and power, she would never be able to match up. That didn't mean however that she would give up. Her most powerful friend was up next.
Starmie jumped into the water as it was released from its Pokeball. Arthur watched carefully before withdrawing Blaze from the battle. He seemed to take his time before sending Spark back out once more. Misty closed her eyes and drew one deep breath before beginning her attack once more.
This battle was much faster and far more intense than those preceeding it. Even Arthur, who had appeared calm and collected the entire time, was now battling with more narrowed eyes. Spark was dancing across the waves, avoiding attacks and sending more than its fair share down. Starmie's recover move however was causing Arthur some problems it seemed to Misty. The self-healing was causing Arthur to rethink how he attacked. Spark was not yet strong enough to take down Starmie in one shot.
"Here's the battle I knew you were capable of Misty. I'm impressed."
"Don't tell me you're surprised…" Misty replied.
"Not in the slightest. But now I think it's time we stepped this up to another level all together. Spark, electrify the entire field."
"Command acknowledged." The steel/electric type moved to the centre of the pool and starting increasing its magnetic field once more. Misty winced as the magnetic waves pounded her senses, pain flaring in her ears. She watched as the magnet Pokemon lowered itself into the pool, wisps of steam hissing up into the air as the water evaporated around the Magneton.
"Starmie use water pulse!" Misty watched as the spheres of water were launched towards her opponent. What she wasn't ready for was the arcs of electricity which rendered the attack useless as the burst the orbs of water before they could connect. Lightning raced throughout the pool as Magneton continued its discharge attack. Misty could only watch as her oldest friend was struck again and again by the bolts. Water was an excellent conductor, so the attacks ran around continuously striking. It wasn't long before finally her Pokemon could take no more and fainted. Arthur called off the attacks and order Spark to bring the water type out of the electrified pool as quickly as possible.
It was a few minutes later that Arthur and Misty were facing one another at the side of the pool. People were still on their feet in the audience, having witnessed a rather impressive battle. One in which Arthur employed some strategies that Misty had never seen before. Mostly the ones where his Pokemon who were not swimmers entered the water as well.
"That was something else. I haven't had a challenger push me to the limits like that in some time."
"Thank you. That's quite the compliment coming from you" Arthur replied.
"So where will you travel next?" the red head asked.
"I'm thinking I'll make my way to Lavender town. There are some things I've been curious about and I believe one of the people who may have some answers will be found there."
"Well good luck with that. Will I see you again?"
"I'm sure you will. I'm still curious about Red. And I have a feeling that you seem to know more about him than any other person I've met to date." With that comment, Arthur turned and left the gym. Misty stared after the young champion, once more thinking back to three years ago.
Red's Pikachu was too much for her Starmie as well. The sea star had finally fainted, but not before almost taking down the electric type as well. Misty walked over to her challenger.
"That was an impressive battle. You're quite the trainer." The challenger simply nodded his thanks as he accepted the cascade badge. "Are you travelling alone?" The question caused Red to look up and into Misty's bright blue eyes.
"Not really." His Pikachu hopped up onto Red's shoulder and Misty understood what he meant.
"Well I know you've got your Pokemon, but I guess I was just wondering if you wanted any other company on your journey." Misty's voice trailed off near to the end of her statement, more out of embarrassment than anything else.
"Thank you for the offer Misty, truly. But for now, I'm doing pretty good." Misty looked down and so was startled when a hand touched her chin and brought her face back up. "But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't welcome some company in the near future." At that, the young red head smiled and watched as her challenger walked towards the exit.
It was at this moment that Misty finally realized why both Red and Arthur seemed to alike. Both were strong and quiet with their confidence. Their personalities were enigmatic and drew people towards them, like load-stones of power. But most of all, it was their caring attributes, about people and Pokemon. Their uncompromising ways. Arthur's ideals about the world were so similar to Red's, it was no wonder why legends sought the two trainers out. And in the process, Misty realized, the two trainers she had met both were turned into legends by those surrounding them. Made out to be more than simply human by society. Yet that is exactly what they were. Human. It just took the small moments, those personal one-offs to see it.
So this chapter takes Misty's point of view rather than Arthur's for the gym battle. I hope you all enjoyed this rendition and slight departure from my usual take on the story. As Arthur makes his way through Kanto, we see more and more of what people's perceptions are of the young man. It is insights like this that I'm hoping to use to allow people to get a greater sense of the character. Let me know what you think!
Also, I am still taking submissions for a team for a Platinum run-through. So if you have any Pokemon that you'd like to see within a story, please let me know!