Here's Chapter Six, in honor of Veteran's Day!
Infernape was pretty pleased with his team. After passing both the Wall of Ice and Corruption Cave, who wouldn't be? Both Abomasnow and Drapion had shown great mastery over their combos, and if he wasn't mistaken, Mt. Dynamo should really boost up their power.
"Infernape, hold it!" Luxray called from behind him.
"What is it, Luxray?" he asked, turning back towards his best friend.
"We should probably take a break. Mt. Dynamo isn't exactly something that sounds easy." Luxray said.
"Luxray, I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to delay. Team Majesta is counting on us." Staraptor pointed out.
"No, he has a point. Mt. Dynamo is not something you would like to deal with. It is only meant for the strongest Pokemon, and we will need to be at full strength if we want to get through it." Machamp said. Everyone else was surprised. Machamp was always eager for a battle, prepared or unprepared. It wasn't normal for him to be agreeing with Luxray whenever he called for breaks.
"Whatever. My feet aren't exactly up to their best shape, anyway." Drapion said. Abomasnow hadn't said anything, but he nodded in agreement, for he was also a bit worn out.
:They picked a clearing to eat berries, which was enough to keep Team Valor's strength up, despite their small size.
"Hey, Machamp, what has been going in your head lately? You seem to be a little on edge ever since we started going to Mt. Dynamo." Infernape asked.
"It's nothing. I'm just a bit excited. I haven't been to Mt. Dynamo in such a long time. I used to live there as a child before I joined Team Valor, after all." Machamp said. Seeing the surprised looks on everyone else's faces, he sighed. "I haven't really told you about my past, have I?"
"No, it's fine. Besides, you would make for a good guide, after all." Drapion said.
"It's been twelve years since I've been there. Things may have changed drastically, I hope." Machamp said.
" 'You hope'? Why?" Staraptor said.
"Yeah, is there something going on at Mt. Dynamo?" Abomasnow asked.
"Maybe, but it's been twelve years. With any luck, Mt. Dynamo should have gotten better over the years." Machamp said, trying to convince himself as well as everyone else.
They moved on and got to Mt. Dynamo in minutes. Once there, Machamp felt old childhood memories resurface, childhood memories that were even older than the ones he shared with Team Valor.
He was broken out of his reverie by three voices.
"Mega Kick!" one voice called.
"Mega Punch!" another one yelled.
"Rapid Spin!" a third voice shouted.
Team Valor quickly reacted, and jumped away from the spot where they were standing, therefore causing the attacks to miss and creating a huge cloud of dust. The three voices spoke from the dust.
"Get out! You will not harm Mt. Dynamo!" the first voice growled.
"If you will not leave, then we will resort to using brute force!" the second voice added.
"I can assure you, if we attack, you will feel the pain even weeks from now!" the third voice threatened.
"Good. If we attack, you will feel the pain for months on end." Drapion replied.
"First of all, why don't you show yourselves? We should at least know who we're dealing with!" Staraptor shouted.
There was a short silence, and then three Pokemon stepped from the dust.
"I am Hitmonlee!" the first one declared, making a dramatic kicking pose.
"I am Hitmonchan!" the second one shouted, punching the air like a champion.
"And I am Hitmontop!" the third said, standing on his head.
"Together we are…the Hitmon Brothers!" they yelled.
Machamp's eyes widened, seemingly in realization, and started guffawing. "Oh, boy, you guys are still on that?" he laughed.
"Hey, why are you laughing and acting like you know us, strange Pokemon who bears a striking resemblance to our old friend Machop?" Hitmonlee asked.
"Guys, that's because I used to be Machop! I just evolved into Machamp! It's great to see you, Tyrogue Brothers!" Machamp said, walking up to them and holding three hands out.
"What? You're Machop? It can't be! Machop left years ago!" Hitmonchan argued.
"Then why don't you test me? Hitmontop, throw about eight rocks at me. I will crush them all in two seconds!" Machamp claimed. Hitmontop threw ten rocks instead of eight, but Machamp still used only one Focus Blast to destroy them all. It took him 1.5 seconds.
"It's true! Only Machop could destroy that many rocks with Focus Blast!" Hitmontop said.
Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan still weren't convinced. "Oh, yeah? Machop could fight us without breaking a sweat when we were still Tyrogue, even with if we fought three-on-one! Let's see what he could do now! Mega Kick!" Hitmonlee shouted.
"Mega Punch!" Hitmonchan yelled.
Hitmontop sighed and attacked as well. "Gyro Ball!"
"Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch!" Machamp commanded, using his replacement move for Karate Chop. He jumped to dodge the Mega Punch and Kick that were flying at him from both sides, and came down with the Cross Chop on Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, hitting them hard. The resulting dust messed up Hitmontop's Gyro Ball because he couldn't see, giving Machamp the opportunity to hit with Dynamic Punch.
"Wow. That was interesting to watch." Luxray commented, watching with the rest of Team Valor from their seats.
All three Hitmon brothers were down, and got up with difficulty. "Convinced now?" Machamp said smugly.
"Heh-heh, there's doubt about it; you're Machop evolved into Machamp." Hitmonchan said with a grin.
"It's good to see you, but you and your friends couldn't have come at a worse time." Hitmonlee said.
"Metagross is still around, and he's just as strong as ever. We have been in hiding ever since you and Meditite left. Even though we are the strongest here, even we can't take on Metagross three-on-one." Hitmontop explained sadly.
"Don't worry about it. We can easily beat whoever this Metagross is." Infernape said confidently, walking up to them.
"Oh, yeah? And who are you?" Hitmonlee asked.
"I am Infernape. Behind me are Luxray, Drapion, Staraptor, and Abomasnow. It seems that you already know Machamp. The six of us make up one of the Kingdom of Laxos's top fighting forces- Team Valor." Infernape said.
"T-team Valor? The team who is supposedly made up of the most powerful Pokemon in Laxos?" Hitmonchan asked incredulously.
"That's right." Luxray confirmed.
"This is amazing! I never thought that our old friend Machamp would be part of that team! Can I have your autographs later?" Hitmontop asked.
"Okay." Staraptor answered. Everyone was unaware of the approaching danger hurtling at them from the sky.
"Meteor Mash!" a voice rumbled. Upon hearing this, everyone scattered. The Pokemon using the powerful attack created a crater with a twenty-foot long diameter. When the dust cleared, the former Mt. Dynamo residents' eyes widened. It was Metagross himself.
"WHO DARES DEFY THE GREAT METAGROSS!" the huge Pokemon roared.
"Everyone, I'll take care of this guy. Metagross was the main reason my parents died, as well as Medicham's." Machamp growled. Seeing the confused looks on the Hitmon Brothers' faces, he explained. "Medicham is Meditite's evolved form. You didn't really think she stayed the same after all these years, do you?"
"Oh, so you still like her?" Hitmonlee teased. Machamp blushed and ignored them, moving into Metagross's sight, while Luxray and Staraptor dragged the Hitmon brothers aside and explained the situation. They spoke of the romances that Team Valor had with Team Majesta, how Team Majesta was kidnapped by the Kingdom of Zarton, and how Team Valor were now on a rescue mission to save them. They finished just in time to watch the beginning of the battle between Machamp and Metagross.
"Metagross! I'm going to get revenge for what you did to Medicham's parents and my own!" Machamp declared.
"Oh, please! It's not like you have a chance! Zen Headbutt!" Metagross called. He bathed his shiny dome in psychic energy and flew forward with his dome facing forward.
"Revenge!" Machamp said. He moved out of the way so that the Zen Headbutt would just graze his fingers enough to feel a sting, but it was enough to get Revenge's power doubled. He struck with the powerful fist, causing significant but not quite super effective damage to Metagross, due to the Steel and Psychic type combination.
"Meteor Mash! Hammer Arm!" Metagross yelled. One of his arms became like a meteor, while the other was grew similar to a hammer.
"Cross Chop!" Machamp commanded. It took both of his arms to block the initial Meteor Mash, but there was no way he could have blocked the Hammer Arm, which was boosted by the Meteor Mash's secondary effect of raising attack. The attack was strong enough to send Machamp flying.
Machamp got up with a lot of difficulty. As he had suspected, Metagross was as overwhelming as ever. However, he would not give up, for the sake of Medicham and himself. He had no choice- he decided to try out a new combination "Dynamic Punch into Focus Blast!" He powered up all four of his hands with Dynamic Punch, and then used all four of them to charge up Focus Blast. The more hands you used to charge up Focus Blast, the more powerful it would be. With all four hands charged up with Dynamic Punch, the attack would be strong enough to knock out a battalion of Pokemon.
Metagross wouldn't give in that easily, however. "Hyper Beam!" He charged up the attack and fired just as Machamp fired his blast. It was actually more like a beam. Metagross's resistance was futile. The powerful blast split right through the Hyper Beam and gave Metagross a direct hit. It was surprising to everyone else when Metagross struggled to his feet. Machamp got ready to battle, despite his weariness. Then he was relieved when Metagross smashed his head against a rock wall and knocked itself out.
"Yes!" Abomasnow said.
"He won't be getting up for a while. We should leave while we still have the chance." Luxray suggested.
"Wait! We would like to help you!" Hitmonchan said.
"In that case, then do me a favor. Go to the Kingdom of Laxos, into the royal city. Once there, present the guards in front of the gate with my seal. Say that you are here to pledge your allegiance to Laxos. King Lucario and Queen Lopunny could use some help." Machamp said, handing a copy of his seal to them.
"What? Why can't we go with you?" Hitmontop asked.
"While I hate to say it, you would be a liability to us. The Kingdom of Laxos needs your help a lot more than we do." Infernape said.
"Also, you should bring Metagross back to the kingdom for questioning. I have a few Sleep Seeds you can use to knock him out every time he stirs. We have a lot more. Use them well." Luxray said.
"Thank you. We will do our best." Hitmonlee said. They picked up Metagross and began to move down the mountain with him above their heads, but still moving at a surprisingly quick speed. Team Valor watched them go, and continued their trek to the Kingdom of Zarton, the Forest of Clouds being their next destination.
Elsewhere, a Beedrill spying nearby informed Dusknoir of what happened, and he sputtered in outrage. "I can assure you, Team Valor. You will rue the day you even decided to come after your beloveds!" he roared.
The Forest of Clouds is next. There, Staraptor will face a huge trial. Will he be able to overcome an old rival-turned-traitor?
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