Chapter 17 – Facing the Unknown
"You are seeking answers to questions I had thought long dead in this generation" Carolina said to her granddaughter. The champion of the Sinnoh region simply stared at the older women waiting for an explanation. "Why are you seeking the answers for the beginning?"
"Because I think they may have implications on the future of our region. Something is amiss these days if you haven't noticed. More people are on edge and there is something stirring." The professor looked around her garden. Every so often she took time off from her research to tend the delicate plant life in the yard surrounding the house. From lilies or roses, the garden seemed to contain a plethora of flowers. All immaculately tended to.
"There is much we do not know about the beginning, however I do know that there was more than just three Pokemon there."
"What do you mean?" Cynthia asked.
"There was another power present, something which acted much like a balancing of the scales for the powers which lead to the creation of our world" Carolina replied.
"So there is another god-like Pokemon out there?"
"I have no evidence to prove my theory and nor am I looking for any. This is a dangerous path Cynthia. Even for a champion. Why are you pursuing such thoughts?" Cynthia could not bring herself to tell her grandmother of the young man who would change the world. The young man from another region who had already acquired the power of legendary Pokemon. Something only one other trainer she knew of had done. And if he was capable of that, then what else could he do? She wanted to believe in the young champion, but she had her doubts that he would be enough, even with legendries at his command.
Long ago as the regions were just forming, a bubbling of molten mantle under the Earth's crust pushed up the land above. The resulting mountain formation became the dividing feature between Kanto and Johto. But that wasn't all it was famous for. Only a few select trainers were allowed to come to this area due to the strength and ferocity of the wild Pokemon who called the mountain slopes and interior home.
It had been just over a year ago when the young man had come here. The nurse and ranger looked up when he entered the station, silence overwhelming them. Everyone thought he was lost, wandering alone, on some unknown mission. No one knew why he had left, only that he had.
Arthur looked up at the looming mountain. The magnitude of nature's power was in raw evidence here. The scale was massive and humbling. Yet there was a presence here, something which bespoke of power. Arthur breathed in the crisp mountain air, a hint of snow brushing across his nostrils. Another scent, this one of steaming hot cocoa, also was present.
The young champion was spending some time at the station at the foot of mount Silver before beginning his climb. Normally he wouldn't be interested in summiting the mountain. Climbing the ranges had never quite appealed to him like exploring the depths of the ocean had. However, there was something drawing him to the mountain. Whatever was up there, it was waiting for him. Deep blue eyes lowered from the cloud obscured summit, to his team of Pokemon lounging around in the late summer grasses. Wild Pokemon tended to stay a little ways away from the stations clearing, only because of respect for those who lived there. The local nurse had been living in the area for close to 15 years, while the ranger had been working here for around 18. Both welcomed the champion with open arms and began assembling the gear he needed.
Legends swirled around this place, but if the inhabitants took any notice, they did not show it. Arthur watched Nurse Joy bring out some food for his team. They would need all their strength if they were to summit this mountain. Wild Pokemon were strong here.
"You're thinking of leaving pretty soon there aren't you?" The ranger asked Arthur. The young man said nothing, simply nodding the affirmative. "You know, little over a year ago, I spotted something in the mountains. I don't know what drew you here sir, but that something was awful powerful."
"Are you talking about a Pokemon or trainer?" Arthur asked quietly. He locked eyes with the ranger, whose green eyes were twinkling.
"Hard to say. We don't get many who wander through here, but those who do, well… They're all worth taking note of." Arthur's gaze returned once more to his team arrayed out in the clearing. It would seem that power had a way of drawing in more power.
There is one more who would seek you out. Argyra was flying Arthur out from the Whirl Islands. Her massive wingspan seemed to engulf and hug the horizon, but the feeling of flight was something that Arthur could never get enough of.
"Who is seeking me out?" Arthur asked within his mind. While the legend probably could have heard its new trainer, the young champion knew that Argyra was residing within his mind as well.
Her name is Pavati. She is one of the ones whom you met on your journey already.
"Pavati?"
A legend young one.
Argyra flew through the night whilst Arthur slept on her back. The young man never once felt cold, a problem he assumed that the legend took care of. The flight was graceful and before he knew it, the two were making their way across the lands of Johto and Kanto. It took a majority of the day to reach their destination, but when they did, Arthur was surprised to see an old companion there, waiting.
A blue down jacket was thrown on over the other layers, while lined cargo pants covered Arthur's legs. Blaze and Tusk were out and ready to begin climbing to the summit of the mountain. A daunting task, but something they were well prepared for. Together the small group set out.
"Do you think those two will meet?" the nurse asked once Arthur was out of earshot.
"No doubt about it. I almost want to go with him. That battle is going to be the stuff of legends."
Wild Pokemon could be heard, but thus far, none were seen. Arthur was slow in progressing up the mountain. The air would get thinner and thinner as they moved up the slopes. His pack was a normal weight for what he was used to, and Tusk was carrying the other supplies. Still, there was no need to push things. Days passed as the champion and his Pokemon climbed the mountain. More than once as he made his way up, Arthur was forced to use one of his partners to help him out of a situation with wild Pokemon. The ranger wasn't kidding when he said they were strong. The battles here were true battles.
Finally, after four days of climbing, Arthur came upon the summit. The storm he had seen coming in the day before was upon them, and snow was wiping around. There was a small gap however, where nothing seemed to be falling. The young champion made his way towards clearer weather. It was here that they finally met.
Snow crunched under foot, and Arthur looked up at the true summit of the mountain. Another man was already standing there, wearing similar clothing to Arthur. Long black hair hung loose around the man's face and blew wildly in the wind. The two stood facing each other, silence overcoming the scene. It was surreal almost. The two presences collided and all at once, Arthur and Red knew what was to follow. A small yellow rodent hoped up on Red's shoulder and looked over at Arthur. Dark red eyes met the deep blue/grey ones, and both nodded.
The Pikachu leapt down and stood before its trainer, sparks dancing off the red cheek pouches. Arthur unlimbered Tusk and patted his mammoth making sure he was ready for battle. Tusk snorted, causing Arthur to smile. The young man patted his partner and stood aside. Neither trainer made a move to attack, or call a command. This would be sheer will power and training.
Pikachu made the first move. Its speed was blinding, something faster than Arthur had ever witnessed before. The yellow tail was glowing white, then a steel grey colour, indicating an iron tail attack. Tusk was ready though, and melted back into the snowstorm. The vicious iron tail swept through the area where the ice type should have been, but it missed.
"Where...?" The small Pokemon said before the earth began shaking with such power that both Red and Arthur were forced to one knee. The two were still watching one another, but kept glancing at their respective Pokemon. Pikachu was strong, of that Arthur could tell without issue. However, with the missed attack and the super effective earthquake, the electric type was barely able to stand. To emphasize the blatant power Tusk had just shown, he followed up with an ancient power attack. The rock slammed into the electric mouse, sending it flying back towards Red.
Red frowned as he knelt down to pick up his old friend. Arthur could tell that at least a few bones were broken, but nothing that the electric type wouldn't be able to recover from. Pulling out a Pokeball, Red sent out his next Pokemon, a Blastoise. The massive turtle was taller than both trainers, its shell as solid as steel. Its smile was cold as it searched around for Tusk who was using the snow storm to its advantage, avoiding the two launchers protruding out of the water types shell. Arthur was frowning. There was no way Tusk would be able to handle any of the attacks coming from Blastoise. Red's turtle was far too powerful, so the current champion returned his mammoth.
Spark was sent out next. The steel type was sparking immediately, but was stunned by the quick change in direction from the water type. Blastoise roared as he gathered up internal energy and released a vicious focus blast attack. Spark quickly launched a flash cannon to counter the attack. What Arthur wasn't expecting was the sheer power behind Blastoise's attack. The focus blast blew through the steel type counter forcing Arthur to dive out of the way. Turning around, Arthur watched the rocky peak behind him shatter. Spark for his part had used his attack to twist out of the way and avoid the attack.
Electricity arced out and lanced through Blastoise. The massive reptile cringed and fell slightly glaring at Spark. The steel type tried melting back into the snow to avoid the next attack, but Blastoise was enraged. The internal energy was storing back up and the launchers blasted out another orange sphere of energy. This time Spark wasn't able to avoid the attack and was sent spinning over the edge of the mountain.
"Spark!" Arthur finally yelled the fear for his Pokemon overcoming all other worries. Skidding to the edge he looked down, only to see the electric type sparking with electricity rising back up, anger in its eyes.
"Odd, this wasn't supposed to happen. Now it is my turn!" Electricity once more lanced out and lanced through the water type. The limbs began twitching and Red looked out quickly recalling the large turtle. Frowning, the older legend looked out across the summit. Arthur looked over at his steel type who was drooping and exhausted, thus he too recalled his Pokemon.
The two legends stared at one another before sending out their next Pokemon. Red sent out his Charizard, the giant dragon-like Pokemon roaring its arrival. The heat washed over the summit creating steam throughout the area. Luck was on Arthur's side as he sent out Delphin. The fire type and water type stared at one another before commencing their battle. Red did not seemed worried about the lack of type advantage, seeming to trust in his lizard's sheer strength. Winds picked up and the ground was torn apart as the Charizard attacked with air slashes all over the place. Delphin was defiant under the withering barrage of cutting air.
Countering, the bubble jet Pokemon gathered together the melted snow and created something of a water shield between himself and the offending flyer. Charizard roared and loosed flames at the water type, sending billowing steam into the air. Delphin responded by launched a surf attack, the wave of water reaching up into the sky to hit the flame Pokemon. The attack knocked the fire type out of the sky, but not out of the battle. Red lashed a hand out, his Charizard responding with a dragon pulse.
Delphin countered with ice beam. Arthur was thankful that he got the TM for his water type, as aurora beam would not have cut it to defend against this dragon attack. As it was, the ice beam barely deflected things. Delphin looked back at his trainer quickly, Arthur nodded and pointed to a spot much closer to the much larger fire type. Looking close, Delphin could see that the heat pouring off the Charizard was creating a pool of water underneath it. Using quick attack, the water type closed the distance and was able to use an in close surf attack with seemed to take the Charizard out. What Arthur wasn't expecting was the quick counter of air slash which opened a rather nasty gash in Delphin's side causing him to collapse. Both Arthur and Red were slow to react to the draw.
Goddamn this is intense. Who the hell is going to be able to go up next? Arthur thought as he felt sweat trickle down his back. Red seemed to be calculating and pushing just as hard, having just lost his third Pokemon. Unfortunately for Arthur, he was also down two. There was no way either Spark or Delphin would be able to continue after their battles. Things were getting far too intense, but there was no backing down now.
Red stared deep into Arthur's eyes as he brought out a Venusaur. Arthur knew what he meant by that look. That there was no way either of them would be allowed to back down. This battle was to become something akin to a legend. A myth in which the only two who knew of it would be Red and Arthur. It was here, Arthur realized, that they both found what is was to be that which everyone thought these two trainers were.
Blaze went in against the Venusaur. The giant seed Pokemon was large enough to carry possibly all of Arthur's team on its back. But what it seemed to lack in speed, it made up for in powerful and vicious attacks. Blaze spent a majority of his time dodging sludge bombs and frenzy plants. Arthur was frowning, as every time Blaze made to use flamethrower, he was stopped. Obviously Red had raised his Venusaur to counter fire types especially well.
"Blaze return!" Arthur called out, the red beam of light from the Pokeball bringing his partner back to him. Red was grinning, knowing that he had done exactly what Arthur would have in his place. Alright then, let's see what you make of this! Hand flashing out, Syrio appeared on the battlefield. The mantis shivered somewhat at the frigid air, but was focused on his task. The field was snaked through now with roots, creating treacherous footing if one wasn't careful. Syrio cocked his head slightly then began flashing through the roots, cutting them apart and drifting closer to the grass type. Venusaur roared as it sent forth another sludge bomb, but the attack was too slow to even come close to the Scyther making short work on the plants.
The bladed Pokemon finally made it to striking distance, launching itself across the short distance and landing a wing attack before bounding off. Blue powder was blowing in the wind, but thankfully, the mantis had jumped away from the sleep powder, avoiding the status condition. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief as the ground shuddered upon the grass type collapsing. Red wasted no time however in replacing his fallen comrade with the next, this time a Lapras. Arthur cringed. Sryio was at a serious disadvantage here, so the younger champion recalled the bug type and paused. This opponent had the advantage against every one of his Pokemon left. Frowning, Arthur elected for power.
Tusk trumpeted his arrival once more. The battle began quickly, ground shaking and rocks tumbling down as an earthquake once more battered the already damaged summit. Red's Lapras however, was no slouch. Absorbing the attack, it countered with a deluge of water, the attack striking true at Tusk, seriously damaging the enormous mammoth.
"Are you all right?" Arthur shouted over the wind to his partner.
"I'll be fine" was the grunted reply. Stepping forward once more, Tusk hammered the part ice type with another earthquake. This time the young champion noticed both Red and Lapras cringe in pain. Finally he was getting through. The attack strategy remained the same though, with another salt water spray dousing Tusk who slipped and fell to his side. This time Arthur could tell his Pokemon was in dire straits. Red held up a hand stopping the next attack as Arthur ran forward.
"I'm fine…" Tusk could barely speak he was breathing so heavily. Trying to stand once more, the ice type fell back to his knees.
"You're not. Come on, I can't have you dying on me buddy."
"I'm not going to. But that pretty boy thing over there needs to go down."
"And it will. But let Lucky handle this now alright?"
"He won't be able to fly in this… Ugh…" The deep tremble that was Tusk's voice waivered in pain. Arthur put his hand on his friend's furry forehead.
"You've done enough. Take a break okay?" Arthur returned the mammoth and cringed once more. Red may be down to his last two Pokemon, but he was slowly whittling down Arthur's friends too. Both sides were close to defeat.
"Lucky I need your help!" Arthur called out, sending out his fairy. Lucky winced at the hailstones still falling and attempted to find the path of least resistance in the wind. It wasn't easy and then there were the blizzards to contend with. It took less than a minute for Lucky to get fed up and use ancient power.
The avian began glowing yellow, giving the opposing Lapras Lucky's location. What the water type wasn't ready for was the boulders which had been knocked loose thanks to Tusk's earthquake, crashing into its side. Screaming in pain, Red was forced to finally return his Lapras. Now the legendary trainer was down to his last Pokemon. Arthur watched and waited to see who would be brought out next.
A massive shadow appeared through the snowstorm. Arthur was squinting into the wind and snow, finally able to ignore the pelting hail. Something Lucky couldn't attest to, as he was still wincing at the ice shards smacking his wings. Red was obscured behind whatever he had released, so Arthur pulled out Dex to see if the piece of tech could tell him what the hell he was up against.
"Snorlax, the sleeping Pokemon. What sounds like its cry may actually be its snores or the rumblings of its hungry belly."
"Shit…" Arthur mumbled. Snorlax wasn't good news. And if Red had one, there was no way this was going to be an easy fight. At some unseen command, Snorlax began its attack, sending out another blizzard. This time, the attack hit home and sent Lucky sprawling into the snow, ice crusting on the flyers wings. Shaking himself, Lucky leapt back into the air, wobbling somewhat more in the high winds. He closed the gap and attacked once more with ancient power. The attack helped boost Lucky's stats, which elated the younger champion, however, that fact seemed not to faze Red one bit. Pointing once more, Snorlax got to land a rather devastating giga impact at close range.
Lucky was slammed back with such force that Arthur wouldn't be surprised to find every bone broken in his friend. Tears froze on the young man's face as he ran through the snow to check on his friend. Arthur could barely hear Lucky's breathing through the wind, but the young man could tell that it was causing his partner pain and it was so extremely laboured that Arthur was amazed that he was breathing at all. Looking over, the Snorlax was breathing heavily as well, but that was probably more from the overpowered attack than from exhaustion.
"Arceus buddy, that was some risk" Arthur said as he grabbed Lucky's Pokeball.
"Just make sure he goes down" the flying type replied.
"You got it." Arthur returned Lucky and stared at the still reeling normal type. He was only down to two Pokemon. Syrio was sent back out to battle.
"Seriously, what the fuck is that?" The mantis asked.
"A Snorlax with some seriously powerful attacks so be careful."
"Don't you know that's my middle name?" Syrio said with an attempt at a wing, launching himself forward. Scythes were a blur as they laced slashes across the broad stomach. The massive Pokemon growled in pain, swatting at Syrio. The bug type was too fast though, and evaded the clumsy strikes. Arthur watched Red make a slashing motion through the air. Snorlax immediately stopped its attempts to batter down the green blur and instead started gathering together shadow energy and attacking with shadow ball.
Syrio switched into swords dance to evade the ghost type attack, using the technique Arthur had taught him so many months ago. The hail was making things more difficult, as the icy conditions created treacherous footing. Syrio was careful, but his evasion took him outside of his striking zone. Squinting, the bug attempted to dance closer to land another strike against the massive opponent. What he wasn't ready for was the ledge to give out by a closely placed shadow ball. Falling to one knee, Syrio cried out as Snorlax once more used giga impact. The attack landed with devastating force again, and a sickening crunch. Syrio's carapace was cracked and the bug hit the snow and wasn't moving.
Arthur was frozen with horror before managing to return his fallen warrior. He hoped to hell his friend wasn't too badly injured. Red certainly wasn't playing around. Both trainers were down to one Poekmon each now. The two stared at one another. Arthur could feel Red's presence over the battle, something of his will in each of his Pokemon. They fought with a zeal Arthur and his team could barely match. This wasn't a battle Arthur planned on losing however.
His final Pokemon was also his first. Together, Blaze and Arthur had conquered Team Rocket, fought the Elite Four and become Champions. There was nothing that could stand in their way. Not even Red.
"Finally…" The word was so faint, Arthur didn't realize where it had come from. The voice was quiet but deep, something which seemed to carry and make people listen.
"I'm sorry?" Arthur called back.
"I've been waiting for a trainer like you. Someone who is one with their Pokemon."
"What do you mean, someone who is one?"
"I can feel your bond. You and your Typhlosion are as one. A single soul, a bond forged by going through the toughest challenges life throws at you. I have been waiting for a long time to meet another trainer who could finally show me that there is still hope out there."
"You're a legend though. I don't understand. You became a hope to everyone three years ago!"
"I was only that which people made me into. My search was for understanding, not for balance."
"Understanding of what?"
"Of everything. Now, show me what power you truly have!" Blaze roared at that and ignited his flames. The hail and snow surrounding the fire type was melting in a good three foot radius around him. Arthur could feel his friend's heat as the wind blew it back over him.
"You asked for it. Blaze?" Blue eyes looked back into Arthur's. "Eruption." The mountain top seemed to open up once more and molten fire erupted out, engulfing the normal type. Arthur knew that its ability would decrease the amount of damage taken, but it would still hurt. Darkened skin was left all over the heavy Pokemon. Blaze frowned as Red ordered a shadow ball attack. The fire type deftly evaded the attacks, keeping its distance from the normal Pokemon.
Luck was not on his side however, as suddenly Snorlax rushed forward and used crunch. The attack staggered Blaze who managed to get out of the sleeping Pokemon's jaws. The two Pokemon began exchanging attacks in a flurry of activity. Shadow balls were obliterated by flamethrowers, while earthquakes were softened by the somewhat liquefied ground.
Minutes later, both Pokemon were panting and having trouble breathing. Blaze was beginning to wonder if this was the battle he finally lost. He risked a glance back at Arthur who was seemingly so calm and collected. Looking past his opponent to Red, Blaze saw the same look. Both trainers were exerting their will on this battle. Something Blaze had never before experienced. Sure, he had fought alongside Arthur since the beginning, but this was different. This was power beyond anything the fire type had felt before.
Arthur was feeling for his partner. The rest of his team was done. They couldn't possibly battle. It came down to Blaze and him. Their bond versus Red's. Arthur looked at his friend and felt overwhelmed with emotion. There was no way they could lose this battle.
"Blaze." Once again, the volcano Pokemon looked back. "It's time to finish this. All of our training comes down to this moment. Everything we've been through brought us to this point. Now it's just you and me, just like when we first started off. So let's do this." Something clicked in for Blaze. Fire spread throughout his limbs and heat washed over everything, melting all the ice and snow in the area. Power unlike anything he had experienced before was coursing through his veins, and now Arthur was telling him to unleash it. He could feel his friend's presence with him. Constricting the fire sacs at the back of his mouth, Blaze unleashed a torrent of flames.
And so we finally come upon the battle of legends. Sorry this has taken so long to go up, but I've had some personal matters to attend to lately and subsequently haven't been around much!This battle was pretty tense for me. None of my Pokemon actually fainted, but close enough to that I almost lost the entire game (which is what happens in a Nuzlocke), so this is why you see Arthur's team 'faint'. That damn Snorlax at the end!
Hope you've enjoyed the battle, and I do hope that it met the epic scale that it deserves. Below you will find my team, levels and move set as such as it was when I face Red. Please leave a review and also, let me know which Platinum Pokemon you enjoy the most!
Blaze (Typhlosion) - level 76, Modest nature, Ability: Blaze
Moves: Earthquake, Swift, Eruption, Flamethrower
Lucky (Togekiss) - level 74, Bashful nature, Ability: Serene Grace
Moves: Yawn, Fly, Extrasensory, AncientPower
Delphin (Vaporeon) - level 74, Careful nature, Ability: Water Absorb
Moves: Ice Beam, Acid Armor, Surf, Shadow Ball
Syrio (Scyther) - level 75, Timid nature, Ability: Technician
Moves: Wing Attack, Fury Cutter, Night Slash, Swords Dance
Spark (Magneton) - level 75, Gentle nature, Ability: Magnet Pull
Moves: Magnet Bomb, Thunderbolt, Screech, Flash Cannon
Tusk (Mamoswine) - level 78, Brave nature, Ability: Snow Cloak
Moves: AncientPower, Rock Climb, Ice Fang, Earthquake