Pokemon Adventures: Where Legends Cross

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon Adventures/Special.

On this chapter we return to Black and N as they push as they take on the Pokemon League! Cheer for them, I mean both of them! :) And keep an eye of the other Dex Holders, 'cause you never know just when another one will pop out! Though admittedly, at this point, only two more need to show up to make fifteen...

Began writing on June 13th, 2011. Currently drafting Chapter 34, the second-to-last chapter of the first arc. Then I'll move onto the second... although the pace will be much, much slower by that time.

Chapter 18. Vs. Elite Four (Part 1): To Pass and to Protect

- The next dawn, Victory Road Exit -

AS he exited the dark cavern, Black momentarily shielded his eyes from the glare of the morning sun as he looked up in awe at the great building towering in front of him; after nine years of wanting to come here, the place somehow maneged to look even grander than Castelia City in its fullest glory.

"The Pokemon League," Black breathed in wonder. He was here; at last, after almost a decade of waiting and training, after all his crazy adventures with White - wonder where she'd be now? -, he was here, together with his Pokemon.

"Greetings... you must be Black from Nuvema Town, aren't you?" Black looked up at the unfamiliar voice to see someone walking out of the building entrance: a tall, thin woman dressed in purple and black, her small spectacles half-covering her brown eyes and a strange black flower-shaped ornament worn around her neck. Having done researches on all the Elite Four as well, Black had no problem recognizing her.

"I am," said Black, matching the woman's somewhat mystic (and blank) gaze evenly. "And you must be Shauntal of the Elite Four. But aren't you supposed to be greeting me inside the building?"

"I believe you are aware of the circumstances that make that an impossibility," spoke Shauntal quietly, already turning her back toward the Pokemon League building. "Follow me, Black... our challenger. I shall explain all within my chamber."

- The Pokemon League, Chamber of Spook -

The path up to Shauntal's chamber was a strange one, involving rides up a bunch of ghostly apparitions that resembled Jellicents and Chandelures. However, it was nowhere near as surprising as the sight which greeted Black once he and Shauntal made it all the way up.

The darkly lit room was much larger than he had thought, easily three times the size of a normal stadium, filled with ghastly lamps and black-painted walls that gave the entire chamber a dungeon's appearance. At a corner was what was obviously Shauntal's study (Black was aware of her occupation as a writer), a somewhat disorganized place with books and papers littered all over the floor.

At the center of the platform stood two figures, one a familiar short, thin imp-like man dressed in a fancy black suit (#1), and the other a burly dark-skinned man with yellow hair and wearing a white judo uniform. He was also bandaging his own arm, as if he had cut it during battle.

"Ah! So you made it here after all," spoke Grimsley as he walked forward to greet Shauntal and a confused Black. "Good, 's about time. Even Marshal here got floored. And all his Pokemon - save his Archeops, fine - were weak against Fighting, too."

"Shut up," Marshal muttered as he studied Black with curious eyes. "Hmm. Good eyes. They're fighting ones. Willful, like Cheren had said."

Those words were enough to enlighten Black as to why they were all here.

"N's already here," he said grimly.

"Indeed, several hours ago," confirmed Shauntal as she walked over to join her fellow Elite Four members. "By the looks of it he should be battling Caitlyn right now... though I will give her credit for being one of our strongest, I fear that this man's story will not end until the Champion stands before him..."

"Tell me about it," grumbled a soft female voice from behind Black. Looking back in surprise, Black saw - to his chagrin - a young woman (#2) with VERY long blond hair that spread out below her waist, wearing what appeared to be a pink nightgown complete with frilly laces and a large Russian hat coming up the lift and onto the platform.

"I'm sorry; I was blindsided by his Zoroark," said Caitlin, a sad look in her sleepy blue eyes. "It's up to Alder's hands now."

- The Champion's Hall -

"Escavalier, use X-Scissor!"

"Zoroark, Flamethrower!" N commanded, despite knowing that in his exhausted condition the Evil Fox Pokemon would not be able to move fast enough to land the attack. He felt a familiar pang in his heart as the Bug-type attack connected to Zoroark with a powerful slash, bringing him to the ground with a pained hiss that died down as he collapsed in defeat.

"Zoroark..." N murmured apologetically as he walked over to his fallen partner.

While he had managed to barrel through the Elite Four without help from Zekrom, the stunt had exhausted the rest of his team badly. As a result, after the first three minutes of the battle Alder had knocked out four of his Pokemon with his leading Accelgor. Through a miracle - which N called a show of bonds - Zoroark had managed to defeat the Shell Out Pokemon with a well-aimed Night Daze, only to run into Alder's second runner, the Escavalier.

I tried, Zoroark muttered wearily as N helped his old friend up, supporting him out of the match floor where the rest of his beaten friends waited.

"You will be avenged," N told them softly before turning to face Alder, who was watching him from behind the stalwart Escavalier with a grim expression.

"I can see why you're revered as King," said the Champion quietly. "The bond and trust you've built between you and your Pokemon is astounding... and you still have one Pokemon left to show me. Come now, young Trainer. Show me the wrath of the deity that Ghetsis has so much boasted over."

"And I can see why they call you the Champion," returned N as he glanced back at his fallen Pokemon. "You are indeed the strongest human in Unova. But,"

Slowly pulling the Dark Stone out of his pocket he added: "... But, you are still but a human."

The black orb flared to life, leaving his hands as it floated up in the air and discharging multitudes of thunderbolts... not unlike the first time they've met.

"I will show you a power that is beyond human," whispered N as the great black shape again took place among the chaotic discharge.

"A power... that shall help me achieve my ideals!"

- Chamber of Spook -

A sound of rumbling thunder reached Black's ears from somewhere below, causing him to look down at the floor in surprise.

"It's begun," Marshal spoke from beside him, grimly following his gaze down to where his master would be fighting N.

"Indeed," said Caitlin as she drifted away from Black to stand on the challenged side of the stadium. "Whoever may emerge victorious , Black, he shall be your eventual opponent. Is it not?"

"That's right," confirmed Black. Suddenly, something inside his bag began throbbing. Quickly opening it up and rummaging through his belongings, Black drew in a surprised breath as he pulled out the Light Stone, which was glowing with a white-hot liight in his hand as he held it up.

"So the old myths repeat themselves," murmured Shauntal with an approving nod. "Two heroes have risen to challenge each other to shape the world with truth and ideal... one has already passed the first test. Can the other boast the same?"

Black tensed in anticipation as the Elite Four gathered together around Caitlin, facing him from the other side of the stadium. The final gate to pass before he could meet N once again.

"That having been said - fancily, if I do say so myself," said Grimsley with a lazy shrug. "Neither you nor we are in any condition for a proper battle here, are we? You must be impatient to carry on and descend to save the geezer, and we still haven't recovered properly from our last battle."

"So... what are you saying we should do?" Black asked with narrowed eyes, unsure of where the dark man was leading at.

"I'm saying that it would do us all good to do this match simplified," replied Grimsley brightly, looking extremely proud of himself. "Since Auntie's room here is large enough for all of us, a four-on-four would suit us nicely; each of us will send out one of our Pokemon, while you send out four of yours. How's that? Brilliant, yes?"

If he was disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm in the others, he didn't show it.

"Does that mean," said Black slowly, trying to figure out what the suggestion would mean to him. "That you won't fight me with your full strength?"

"Can you fight us with your full strength?" The Dark-type Elite Four countered. "When you have an even bigger challenge up ahead?"

Black couldn't argue with that.

"It's an idea," Shauntal acknowledged, twirling a Poke Ball experimentally in her hand. "It'll certainly save us precious time, and when you manage to beat us - assuming that you succeed - we can recover quickly and join you to stop Team Plasma."

"I don't like it, but..." muttered Marshal as he glanced worriedly below the floor again. The sound of thunder was now rumbling more frequently, beginning to get on everyones' nerves.

"What do you say, Black?" Asked Caitlin, a thin smile forming on her face as the anticipation of battle took over her again. "I assure you, battling us in this faschion won't ease your challenge in any way."

"I'll be holding onto that," said Black with a grin, having made up his mind already. "I'll take the new challenge gladly. Show'em what we've got! Poka, War, Tula, Sharp!"

"Go, Scrafty!" "Come out, Golurk." "Let's do this, Sawk!" "I choose you, Reuniclus!" (#3)

Taking a step back to make room for his Emboar, Braviary, Galvantula and Bisharp, Black chased away all other thoughts from his brain as he finally faced off against the Elite Four and their Pokemon. Beyond this stage awaited N, and he would pull through this challenge to reach him.

"Now that we've begun, what are we waiting for?" Remarked Grimsley calmly. "Scrafty, use Brick Break on the Bisharp!"

"Poka, intercept with Flame Charge! Tula, Sharp, cover!" Black shouted in a quick succession, noticing Shauntal and Caitlin giving silent commands to their Pokemon with signs. With a mighty bellow Poka shot forward with his legs on fire, blocking the Scrafty's path as Sharp dodged out of the Hoodlum Pokemon's way. At Black's signal the Bisharp immediately leaped at Golurk with a flurry of Night Slash attack, causing it to raise its bulky arms to defend itself instead of slamming them onto the ground to use Earthquake like it had probably intended. Reuniclus swiftly launched a devastating Thunder at Poka, but Tula quickly jumped in between and absorbed the Electric attack before scuttling at the Multiplying Pokemon with a challenging chitter.

"Sawk, use Stone Edge!" Marshal yelled.

"War, use Whirlwind from above!" Black countered immediately, knowing that having the Braviary fly into a Stone Edge would be suicidal. With an acknowleding caw War began rapidly flapping his mighty wings from where he hovered high above the battle, creating a miniature twister that threw the Sawk off his feet before it could slam its rock-covered body into Tula.

"Well, well..." spoke Grimsley with an intrigued smile as he looked over how the match was turning out. "It looks like we've all gotten ourselves into a tight end, won't you agree?"

"For once," grunted Marshal with a fierce grin, his arms crossed and looking impressed. "Good reflexes, and with quick thinking too. Master and Cheren certainly weren't exaggerating."

"If circumstances weren't so dire, the inspiration that strikes me right now could've made a good story," remarked Shauntal with a thin smile. "And the battle has gone on for only thirty seconds, too. Ah, how this thrills me so!"

"I'm with you, Auntie," said Caitlin with a childish giggle. Looking at their challenger she added: "Are you ready, Black? We're going all out now; don't expect to keep the little edge you've just created!"

"Come on then, show me all you've got!" Black cried out, the thrill of battle starting to engulf him as well. "Me and my Pokemon have waited too long for this day to fall here. Let's go!"

- Route 9, nearing Tubeline Bridge -

"Honestly, no, I don't get it," Saturn grumbled as he walked beside Jupiter, a whole battalion of Team Galactic grunts marching behind them like a well-trained army they were. "Why would Cyrus order us to make meaningless attacks on towns, make false alliances with other criminals, destroy woods and pollute rivers when we have nothing to gain from it? What have we achieved? And, above all, why the hell would he communicate with only you and Charon from the Torn World?"

"Must you know everything?" Jupiter asked him teasingly, only to turn serious as the nerd glared daggers at her. With an exasperated sigh she continued: "I told you before, it's pure coincidence that I'm the first person he managed to contact. The connection keeps fading in and out, you know. And as for what we're gaining... well, that's not meant for too many ears."

"Not even mine?" Growled Saturn angrily.

"Oh, do stop whining," Jupiter snapped back. "I'll explain everything when we reach Opelucid, happy now? See, we just need to cross the Tubeline Bridge over there and we'll reach it. Okay?" As she spoke she pointed ahead to the large bridge that rose out of the road to greet them, although it wasn't as magnificent as the Skyarrow Bridge.

"Fine. I can wait till the place is turned to ruins," grmbled Saturn as he took out his bionicular and stared at the base of the bridge still far away. "Ah... how interesting. Here, take a look."

Receiving the bionicular from Saturn with a blink, Jupiter put them to her own eyes to see what had caused her colleague's eyes to glisten in a mad frenzy.

"Hmm... I see what you mean."

- Tubeline Bridge, Western End -

"They're coming," said Ruby as he looked back at Emerald and Diamond, who both nodded grimly.

"Me and Pearl and Platina... our whole region suffered so much because of them," said Diamond quietly as he stared up at the faraway gray line advancing toward the bridge. "I'll never let them cross this bridge... but shouldn't you be heading for the Pokemon League? Isn't time, er, short?"

"And what, leave you here to get mobbed?" Snorted Emerald in disdain. Dia looked as if he'd protest, but the shorter boy cut him off. "No, don't give me any of that time crap. However much of a dimwitted ass you may be, Dia, I'm never gonna leave a friend again... I've learned that lesson four years ago."

"So had I," added Ruby, looking at Em and Dia with something akin to pride. They have only travelled together for days, yet all of them had emerged changed from it. "We're friends with a same purpose, Dia. As long as I'm concerned, we're all in this together."

Diamond nodded at him with watery eyes, wiping them quickly before refocusing his eyes on the approaching Team Galactic. Following the younger Dex Holder's gaze, Ruby saw that they were now close enough to see individual faces; Saturn, whom he had fought before, was in the lead, walking beside a woman that matched Dia's description of Jupiter, followed by a Tangrowth and a Skuntank.

"Hm, what's this?" Sneered the woman as soon as they came within hearing range, her evil eyes scalding Diamond as he stood in front of his two seniors. "Have our bumbling mass of meat found himself sidekicks and decided to act a hero?"

"Shut your snake trap, b**ch!" Roared Emerald, even making Ruby flinch with his ugly use of words - where the heck did he learn to speak like that? "I get sick and tired of the snide attitude you show when you've got a lotta heads behind you. Let's see if you can still talk that trash after I chuck you all down the sewers below!"

"You're not the only one who's impatient of big words, gnome," spat Saturn disdainfully, taking out two Poke Balls and releasing his Toxicroak and Kadabra. "That's why I'm not gonna say this twice: Move."

After looking and nodding at each other, the three Dex Holders made their reply as one:

"Tru, Tung, Don, Moo, Bro! Wall off the gate!"

"Zuzu, Mimi, Staro! Cover Dia!"

"Sceptile, Dusknoir, Snorlax, Mr. Mime, Mienshao! Let's get'em!"

With bright flashes the small army of Pokemon appeared by their Trainers' side, competely sealing the bridge behind them with their sheer bulk against the incoming wave of Team Galactic.

"I won't let you pass!" Diamond cried out for all of them.

Holy crap, finally got that one through. Let's go!

#1. In the recent storyline of B/W arc Black already meets Grimsley in Route 4, so I deliberately made this part ambiguous to not reveal if Black recognized the guy at this point in the story.

#2. I would say 'young' is an understatement, since Caitlin in Generation 4 was 14 in the games: two years older than Platina. I can't fathom the time-scales in this storyline, so... and besides, in the games Cynthia is seventeen...

#3. As you've noticed, I refrained the Elite Four from sending out their highest-levelled Pokemon according to the games.

So, Black finally begins his fight with the Elite Four! Eh, that's gonna be finished in the next chapter, too. Chapter 19 is gonna be pretty damn long, so better tighten your seat belts, eh? :) And wish luck for our brave three Dex Holders defending the bridge, 'cause the nexy time they show up it's gonna be Chapter 20. And just in case you haven't noticed, Emerald's new Pokemon is a Mienshao... don't ask why! I always thought Emerald deserved a Fighting-type. To be honest, at first I considered a Hitmonlee 'cause Crystal has a Hitmonchan, and, er, you know, he really looks up to her.

Pikachu127, I understand if the timeline is screwing you up. So was I :( Blue and Silver are, how should I call it, sworn siblings. They've been acting like one ever since they escaped the Mask of Ice together, which is pretty good enough for the fans. In addition, the fact that they aren't blood-related are often used by Chosen fans to support their relationship. Again. I'm keeping neutral on this point. And Red and Yellow? Hah, you think I'll be bringing my favorite two Dex Holders (though some others are really close behind) so early on, and so easily? XD Don't worry, they'll show up when it's time. And I have a hunch you'll be surprised when they DO show up :)

Cryostylz, all of the characters you've mentioned will at least pop in a little in the second arc of this story. I've been trying to be fair in showing characters, though most of them won't really contribute much to the story. Though I might want to make an exception to some of them... ;)

Anyway, that's all for today. Moving on to Chapter 19, where we show up many different points of view. Until then, R&R!

Writing completed on June 18th, 2011. This is Yowl of Time, out.