Chapter 7 – Marsh

"Ra, I would speak to you please." The comment was said softly, but the young man knew the legend had heard. Arthur and Blaze both waited patiently in a clearing away from any paths or trails or eyes that would see the titan. Both trainer and Pokemon looked up as a pressure and golden hued light pressed against their senses.

"I hear you child. What do you require?" the deep voice said, reverberating through Arthur's skull. The immense power that came from the legend still left Arthur awed.

"I wanted to simply tell you, I'm committed." The legend lowered itself down to Arthur's height. There seemed to be a twinkle coming from Ra's brilliant blue eyes.

"This was expected. But I am glad to hear it none the less." Arthur nodded.

"What do you need of us?" Blaze asked. Ra turned his head to regard the other fire type.

"Whatever you deem needed." The answer was simple but Arthur felt that there was something more.

"You don't know of what needs to be done?" the champion inquired.

"I know Argyra is worried. One of the trio has gone missing" Ra replied.

"Do you know who?" The legend shook its head.

"That's not good. So where do we begin restoring balance?" Blaze quested.

"You have already begun the process. Until we can find the missing legends, we are unable to assist them. This is what both Argyra and I are doing."

"Let us know what we can do to help." Ra nodded.

"Where do you travel next?" Arthur looked to his long-time partner in Blaze.

"Saffron. We have some unfinished business with Sabrina."

The trip to Saffron took next to no time at all it seemed, thanks to Ra flying Arthur there. While travelling at such heights should have normally frozen the young man, Ra's eternal heat kept the champion warm the entire trip. The legend did have to let Arthur off outside the city however, as they did not need other trainers noticing one of the most powerful Pokemon in the regions.

The young champion made his way back into the city in the centre of the Kanto region. The sign welcoming people quoted as a 'shining big city'. Arthur made his way to the south end of the city, where the largest Pokemon centre was. He was attempting to keep some anonymity while visiting. In these bigger cities it was much easier. Lowering his hat, he made his way forward.

It was later that evening, and Arthur found himself among the towering skyscrapers reaching up into the sky. The downtown core of Saffron was extremely commercial, its business landscape dominated by the Silph company. The large headquarters were found here, but their products were found throughout all the regions.

The champion was staring up near the top of the building. If you looked close, you could just barely make out where the repairs had been made after Red had taken on Team Rocket here three years ago. The stains of time had not yet weathered the material as much as the cement surrounding. The crowd walked around him, not paying attention to arguably the most famous person from Johto since Lance. Of course, most people were more preoccupied with their own lives rather than what was happening around them. As he stood there contemplating the trials that both Red and he had faced, and familiar presence came up beside him.

"I should have helped him when he stormed that building. But I was too blind to the threat that the organization posed. That and I was too involved in honing my power. I never cared about the outside world before I met him."

"It would seem Red had that effect on many people in this region" Arthur said to the young gym leader beside him.

"You're not wrong. He was an exceptional person. I'm sure you've heard that you remind many of him?" Arthur nodded. "You both care far more than any other people I have ever met. The selflessness that you show the world is singularly different than all of society" Sabrina noted.

"And here I thought we would be talking about the lighter side of life here" Arthur joked. Sabrina smiled at his small attempt at humour. While she wasn't able to read minds, she could tell that there was something important riding upon the young champions mind.

"Then tell me, what did bring you back? Were you hoping to challenge me finally?"

"Challenge you? I was hoping to charm you" Arthur replied with a wink. "Tell me, is it working?" Sabrina laughed once more.

"Your confidence precedes you, champion." At that Arthur laughed a booming sound that seemed to fill the surrounding area with a little bit more life.

Champion and gym leader spent the evening together. They visited a smaller restaurant in a side alley which was known mostly to locals. The food was delicious as was the wine. It had been a long time since Arthur had simply been able to enjoy a night out. And Sabrina, who normally was quite reserved and not at all loquacious, was the perfect company. She was still somewhat withdrawn and quiet, but her intelligence was formidable. The two talked about many different issues surrounding the various regions. But it was also the first time Arthur had not worried about finding more out about the legends. Sabrina just seemed to know what was on the champions mind, and stayed away from those topics which were sure to close off the young man.

Finally it was time for the joint to close, and the two trainers finally left. Back out on the darkened street, Arthur and Sabrina walked back to the gym leader's residence. The gym stood alone, a rather nondescript building. Arthur stared up at it, a faint smile across his face.

"Would you like to come in?" the gym leader asked. There was a trace of longing in her voice as she asked, something Arthur almost missed. However, there was also a tone of challenge, which the champion knew she would never completely be able to keep out when talking to him.

"I think tonight, I will pass. We're both going to need our sleep."

"What makes you think I won't get any sleep with you around?" the young woman asked.

"Because…" Arthur's voice trailed off as he wrapped an arm around Sabrina's waist and pulled her close. His other hand was place gently on her jaw as he pulled her face into his, kissing her softly. The psychic seemed to melt into the champions travel hardened body and she pulled in closer into the kiss.

The next morning Arthur was back at the gym, this time accompanied by all of his Pokemon. He knew Sabrina would be a challenge. In fact, probably one of the biggest challenges he'd faced so far. Thus his team was well rested and ready.

The doors hissed open and the balmy outside weather was turned into a cooler atmosphere inside. Arthur made his way through the main foyer stopping briefly to talk to Stan. Then he was on through the hallway towards the main gym. Having been here before, Arthur already knew where to go. As he entered, he noticed only a few people had gathered to watch this match. That in itself was interesting as this would probably be a match to see. Almost as high profile and good as when he went up against the Elite Four.

"Welcome Arthur. Or should I say, champion?" Sabrina asked as she regarded him. What no one noticed is that for once, her eyes were not cold and distant, but rather warm, and there was the faintest hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"Arthur will do" the champion replied with a smile. He took his place at the other side of the plain battlefield. The tan surface was perfectly flat, and the walls a bare maroon. Sabrina for her part, sat in an ornate chair, almost a throne. As Arthur took his spot however, Sabrina stepped down, standing across from her challenger. The people who watched the psychic masters battles frequently, audibly inhaled. This was something that she never did.

"You know, I've never told you this, but three years ago I had a vision of you coming here to challenge me. And even though I don't overly enjoy battling, I will battle you. Are you ready? Because I know my psychic types are."

"I was born ready for this." However, the information that she had seen Arthur in a vision three years prior had unsettled him. Was there something more to that? Why would the future for Sabrina, show him, a boy who, at the time, was a complete nobody still living in the shadow of his father's death in New Bark town?

Now however, was not the time to begin contemplating such things. No, now it was time to battle. Sabrina's dark blue, almost purple eyes, locked onto Arthur's blue/grey ones as she brought out her first Pokemon. The ref explained that this would be a three on three match, which made Arthur's choices extremely important. The light faded away and an Espeon stood, poised. It was sleek and the picture of beauty. Arthur was impressed. That meant little in how he approached this battle however.

To start, he would need speed. The young champion wasn't sure what attacks might be headed his way, so he went with his speediest Pokemon available.

"Syrio, you're up!" Arthur yelled as he released his Scyther. The mantis came out of the Pokeball in a fighter's stance, ready to go. The ref yelled begin, and the opposing Espeon was moving. Arthur had heard rumours that Sabrina fought using telekinesis with her Pokemon, but there was no real substance to it. Now he was seeing it first-hand. And was impressed. By not having to issue commands to her Pokemon, and give away what they were about to do, she maintained the upper hand. No one would be able to effectively counter her.

"Hey boss, they aren't talking to one another…" Syrio said in a somewhat concerned tone. This battle was definitely going to stretch the limits of Arthur's bond with his team.

"Don't worry about what they are or aren't saying. Sabrina uses ESP to communicate with her Pokemon. So we're not going to know what their strategy is."

"So we're just going to ignore it?"

"Pretty much!" Syrio shook his head, but grinned none the less.

"Alright then let's do this thing!" The Espeon fired a shadow ball towards Syrio, but he began his swords dance at Arthur's command and avoided the attack. The sun Pokemon began watching Syrio closed as the bug type slowly closed the distance. A sudden psychic attack sent the mantis back a step or two, but that was when things all changed.

"Up the ante Syrio! Fury cutter!" He was a blur across the field. Neither Sabrina nor her Espeon could track the bug as it struck for the first time. The second blow came from the back, even stronger. Sabrina frowned. A physical bug type attack like that would be extremely effective against her psychic types. And that blinding speed was going to be next to impossible to match. Arthur knew what he was doing. Another shadow ball was sent at the green mantis as it closed once more, but the attack was rendered useless as Syrio slashed it in two. Syrio continued his dance around Espeon, darting in and slashing. Even as Sabrina tried to extract her Pokemon out of the situation, the mantis was there, preventing any type of escape. And it didn't seem to be tiring either.

After three more strikes, Espeon finally fell to the ground unconscious. Its body was a crisscrossing pattern of scratches and cuts from the Scyther's scythes. Sabrina recalled her partner. The gym was silent. Arthur had only called a few commands but it was enough. The psychic was impressed. Apparently this champion was made of sterner stuff than most of the challengers who came in here. However, this battle was just beginning.

Sabrina sent out her next Pokemon, a Mr. Mime. Arthur frowned slightly. Mr. Mime was an interesting choice. Not the best attacker, but if he guessed the strategy right, then Sabrina would be setting up some serious defenses. The champion looked to his partner currently on the field. Syrio was breathing heavily. While it didn't outwardly appear like it, the psychic assaults upon his bug had taken their toll. The mantis wouldn't be near as fast in this battle if Arthur didn't give him a break.

"Syrio come on back." The words were spoken quietly as the arena was near silent. Even the gym underlings watching were quiet. Though, that wasn't anything new, as Sabrina almost never spoke during her battles. Arthur grabbed his next Pokemon, and sent the ball out. Tusk appeared, stamping at his readiness to battle. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at the choice. Arthur was playing a risk here, something she wasn't sure about. There must be something else that she wasn't aware of about the mammoth that Arthur intended on using to his advantage.

Mr. Mime began going through some motions to create a light screen barrier. Arthur watched without comment. Tusk looked on as well through narrowed eyes. As the barrier went up, Tusk still hadn't moved. Arthur was staring across the field at the gym leader. Her gaze met his and he smiled. He pointed at the psychic type Pokemon and Sabrina watched as the massive ice type began moving towards her mime. It started out somewhat slow, but the distance was closed quickly enough. What no one saw coming was the change in attack. Sabrina thought the mammoth was using take down, but instead, at the last second, the tusks became sheathed in ice and slammed into her friend. The mime went down hard and was thrown back some feet.

"Don't stop Tusk" Arthur said, and the ice type complied, moving in once more. Mr. Mime scrambled to recover, getting out of the way of another ice fang attack. The tusks crashed down to where the psychic type had been just seconds before. Sabrina was frowning trying to come up with a strategy to defeat the ancient entity. Tusk wasn't all that fast, but his bulk was proving to be just a bit too much for Mr. Mime to handle. Its psychic attack didn't seem to be having any effect whatsoever, and mimic was next to useless in this instance. The defenses on the Mamoswine were simply too high for Mr. Mime's paltry attack. Arthur continued to press the attack, allowing for sheer strength to overpower his opponent. Sabrina clenched her teeth as her second Pokemon went down. Now it was all up to her most powerful ally.

"So this is it, eh Sabrina?" Arthur asked.

"My vision wasn't just of you challenging me Arthur. I foresaw your defeat as well. Alakazam here will help me achieve that goal" was the gym leader's quiet response. Arthur smiled once more.

"I think you'll find that more difficult than you imagined. Blaze here doesn't need me to communicate to him at all. We think as one now. So what do you say? Our first Pokemon verses one another?"

"If you think that your Typhlosion can handle our psychic bond."

"What do you think buddy?" Arthur asked his partner standing beside him. In response Blaze let loose a flamethrower, searing the air in front of the fire type.

The battle began slowly. Both Pokemon stood facing one another for a time, before launching into their attacks. Alakazam lifted Blaze up into the air and threw him back. Ready for this, Blaze landed lightly on his feet and surged forward closing the gap between him and his opponent in a fraction of a second.

"You're fast!" the psi Pokemon exclaimed.

"You haven't seen anything yet" Blaze growled back. At this close range, there was no way he could miss his flamethrower. The fire erupted from Blaze's maw, engulfing Alakazam. However, the rippling light screen played between the flames and the psychic for just long enough for Alakazam to use its psychic attack to deflect the worst of the attack. Blaze jumped away before he could be damaged in return. Changing tactics, he curled into a ball as he was hit once more with the mind shattering psychic hit. The force started him rolling, creating a momentum that Blaze turned to his advantage.

Through all of this, both Arthur and Sabrina were quiet. It was completely unnerving for those watching now, as the only noise came from the two Pokemon battling it out. It was as if nothing else existed for the two trainers but each other. Sabrina was unable to pull her eyes away from the deep grey/blue ones across from her, and she came to a realization. Visions were not always true. She could not see flawlessly into the future. Instead what she saw was the reigning champion and his closest partner at a level unmatched by anyone she had ever met. Even Red and his Pikachu three years ago were not there. Arthur possessed something more.

Blaze continued his rolling, crashing into Alakazam. Sabrina telepathically ordered her Pokemon to use reflect. The makeshift barrier was useful in absorbing some of the impact, but Blaze was only getting stronger. The next pass shattered the barrier once more, and knocked the psychic type down. Even the psychic attack was no longer able to stop Blaze. Arthur smiled through it all, looking just shy of smug. Blaze popped up from his attack right before connecting one last time. Alakazam looked up as the red flames enwreathed it.

"Your power… It far exceeds anything I saw. You were able to completely smash my psychic link with my Pokemon. I confer upon you this badge. And I thank you for the amazing battle."

"I thought you said you didn't enjoy battling?" Arthur said with a smirk.

There are only two people who I have ever had the desire to battle against. You and Red. And you were by far the more amazing one Sabrina told the champion telepathically. Arthur looked up and locked eyes with the raven haired gym leader. Grabbing her hand he kissed it lightly, before turning and exiting the gym. Sabrina smiled as she grabbed the kissed hand with her other, and let the few tears fall from her eyes.

A bit of intrigue with Sabrina. For some reason her character has always appealed to me, thus my reason for giving her a bigger role in my stories. Does this go anywhere though? I wonder...
The next few gyms are close together so you'll be getting a fair amount of battle scenes in at the moment. I will endeavor fill in the spaces with more back story. Please to let me know your thoughts however.

One last thing, I am still looking for Platinum submissions. Please message me with your suggestions!