Disclaimer: First, an apology is in order for the extra-long time between uploads. This time I have an excuse, though—I've been incredibly busy. You wouldn't believe the half of it—joining organizations left and right, conjugating Latin verbs, writing and co-producing a screenplay, starting a new fan fiction (this would be a good time for Percy Jackson and the Olympians fans to cheer), filling out a beta reader profile, and eating about four full-size pizzas in a very short space of time. And when all that was done, crashed unexpectedly, my Internet went down and I got a dreadful cold… shall I go on?!? But in any case, I'm back, still owning nothing but Maecenas, Mycroft and this excellent if regrettably sporadic tournament story. Get ready for the epic conclusion of the practice battles: Third Charms!
A vast expanse of blue sky shone blindingly over the ocean as a lone Wailord floated through the cerulean waves at a relaxed pace, bound for Pokѐtopia. On the colossal whale Pokémon's back—which was bleached a lighter shade of turquoise from weeks in the sun—were two figures: an Absol, which was curled up asleep, the sun gleaming sharply off of the wicked scythe protruding from its forehead, and a seventeen-year-old Trainer, Rhea Abucayan.
Rhea, a fairly short girl with shoulder-length brown hair contained in an ashy gray beret decorated with the Philippine sun and stars, was sprawled on the back of her Wailord lazily, listening to the very same tropical-style song that Xavier was at that moment using to coordinate his Milotic's attacks so successfully in his battle against Alex.
Her mood of peaceful detachment was not destined to last much longer, however, for as the Pokѐtopia skyline drifted majestically into view on the horizon the Float Whale Pokemon blasted a celebratory jet of water spray into the air, completely dousing its Trainer in the process.
"Aaaargh, Kasal! Oh hey, we're here!" Rhea sputtered. Brushing the saltwater off of her deeply tanned arms, she jumped up and ran lightly across the Pokemon's back, maintaining her balance with the ease of a professional runner, and shook her Absol awake. The Pokemon instantly jumped to its feet and looked around at the boundless expanse of water surrounding them.
Kasal the Wailord gave a bellowing grunt that translated roughly from the cetacean as "The claws, Espada! Not the claws!" Looking sheepish, the Absol retracted its claws and sat down again, its bladed tail swishing back and forth like an ominous pendulum as it watched more of Pokѐtopia Island gradually coming into view.
"It's impressive, isn't it?" said Rhea, after a few seconds of cleaning the salt water off of her silver-framed glasses. "This tournament should be something else, all right."
The Absol nodded, its rusty red eyes already glimmering at the thought of more battles to be won.
A few more minutes of steady swimming brought Kasal up to the glittering waterfront of Pokѐtopia. It docked at the gateway, and within a second Rhea and her Absol had eagerly jumped ashore. Rhea recalled her Wailord to its Pokѐball—it still amazed her how a Pokemon that massive could fit into a sphere not much larger than a softball—and turned to observe the vast city of Pokѐtopia expanding before her.
Not wasting a moment, she dashed off towards Main Street, her feet clattering against the cement at speeds that would have impressed a Crobat and a confident smile spread across her face. She could only imagine the fantastic battles that must have been taking place throughout the city at that very moment.
***
"Blaze, use Flare Blitz and then go straight into a Close Combat, let's go!" Alessandra Cesarini shouted to her Infernape, the light freckles on her face scrunched into a galaxy of concentration.
With a wild screech, the Pokemon took a running start into a somersaulting leap in midair, crackling orange flames surrounding its body as it headed straight for Markus' Empoleon.
Markus, however, had seen his girlfriend's move coming. "Counter with an Aqua Jet right away! Don't let it get a chance to move!"
The duel between the two Pokemon had been raging with brutal intensity for no small amount of time. Sizzling impact craters dotted the makeshift arena where they had collided recently, the grass looked like a stampeding Rhydon had hit it, and all of the spectators had moved back several feet to be on the safe side. Both the Infernape and the Empoleon were looking heavily winded, and were coated in minor scratches and debris. Despite having a type advantage, the Empoleon looked distinctly the worse of the two—its trident-shaped crown was dented and tarnished, and its tightly packed coat of dark blue, waterproof feathers was ruffled into disorder.
However, it was still far from submission. At Markus' command, the powerful Water-type squawked out what sounded like a valiant battle cry and flung itself into the air at its opponent, a raging torrent of water streaming out behind it. The Aqua Jet met Blaze's Flare Blitz in midair with a deafeningly loud crack, and clouds of steam filled the air with a sibilant hiss as the flames were suddenly extinguished.
"And for the moment it's too close to call…man, I can't see anything!…but I think we can all agree that that was quite a collision," Kane broke in again.
"Alex has done an amazing job so far counteracting her Infernape's weakness to Water—helped, of course, by several super-effective Fighting moves—but Markus has never been far behind. These two are incredibly well-matched; you just can't deny it. Okay, now the mist is starting to clear…wait a…what was that?!?"
Visibility began to patchily return, and the Trainers present gasped as they watched the scene playing out before them: Alex's Infernape had somehow recovered from the Aqua Jet almost instantly and was currently delivering a flurry of chops, kicks, and swipes to its opponent too rapidly for anyone to see anything but a violent blur of motion and flying sparks amid huge clouds of dust kicked up by the struggle. Blaze had somehow managed to pull off a full-scale Close Combat.
With an incredible backward flip the Infernape delivered the final blow and somersaulted out of the fray, landing in front of its Trainer with a look of pleased exhaustion spread across its features. Markus' Empoleon struggled to its feet, breathing heavily.
"I'm amazed it could take all that and still be standing!" Maecenas muttered, visibly impressed. "That thing's gotta be as tough as nails to withstand an attack like that Close Combat. Still, it won't be able to keep it up for much longer, and I'll bet Markus knows that too. It's now or never…"
Nick Brooks, who had recently drifted over from the contestants' village to watch the battle, nodded in assent. "I'm just stunned that they're in this situation at all—it really should be the other way around. Alex and that Infernape of hers are incredible! I suppose she had Flare Blitz cancel out the Aqua Jet on purpose, so Blaze could attack Markus' Empoleon with no risk of being damaged. That's some incredible prediction at work there!"
"I suppose it's because she and Markus know each other so well—they each have an instinctive knowledge of what the other's going to do," Megan mused. "It'd make them one wicked tag team…"
She was cut off by another screech from the Empoleon as it snapped back to attention, its injuries forgotten for the moment. Markus wasted no time to give it a command: "Hydro Cannon, NOW!"
An ominous blue light glowed deep in the Penguin Pokemon's eyes, and it leaned forward, spreading its wings, and blasted an incredible jet of high-pressure water spray from its mouth—the same attack Kane's Empoleon had used against Destructor the previous night. The attack ripped into the ground at full force, sending chunks of earth flying into the air, and raced along the field towards Infernape, seemingly unforeseen and unstoppable.
That, at least, was the way it had appeared, but Alessandra Cesarini clearly had other plans. "Okay, just like we practiced!" she called crisply to her Pokemon, betraying no sign of stress even at such a tense moment.
None of the Trainers present were ever to forget what happened. Blaze whipped forwards into a blur of motion and jumped onto the Hydro Cannon, running on water against the current and moving even faster in the opposite direction than the attack had been racing towards it mere moments before. Alex jumped nimbly out of the way as the water raced past her, drenching the spot her Pokemon had just left, and on the other end of the field Blaze surfed across the final few feet of the attack and slammed a Mach Punch into the Empoleon's side.
The Pokemon was thrown into the air by the force of the impact, seemingly in slow motion, and crumpled instantly, slumping to the ground totally spent. Blaze crossed its arms and swished its tail, looking smug, and the flames on its head burned yet dazzlingly brighter. For a moment no sound could be heard but the rush of the wind through whatever of the grass hadn't been obliterated by the battle.
The scene was an exact mirror of when Markus' Honchkrow had unexpectedly defeated Alex's Togekiss some twenty minutes before. The crowd gasped and began to applaud, Kane was at a loss for words (making in all a grand total of twice in his entire life), and this time it was Markus' turn for outraged disbelief. "What…aaargh…I…how! HOW?"
"You're so cute when you stutter," Alex grinned. "Blaze and I did some extra training to develop that little move. It's too bad you never saw our match against Crasher Wake back in Pastoria City, or you would've known about it…not that I'm not grateful!"
Markus swallowed nervously. "All right, so we're even. You're ready for the tiebreaker?"
Alex's grin deepened. "You bet."
"And they're off!" Kane's shout echoed over the plain for the third time as the final pair of combatants appeared.
***
After the flashes of light had dissipated, for a few seconds none of the spectators could see anything but two furrows racing furiously through the grass towards the center of the battlefield. Then the two Pokemon leaped into the air simultaneously and crashed into each other, both being knocked back into a clearing by the impact.
On Alex's side was a dark blue quadruped covered in a fine coat of fur, with lovely indigo eyes and flowing ears and tail. Around it sparkled a cloud of ice crystals, which refracted the sunlight into miniature rainbows. Opposite crouched a fluffy, rusty-colored creature, similarly built, that seemed to have leaves sprouting from its body. The shiny Glaceon and Leafeon, though adorable, both had feline game faces on and were growling fiercely at one another.
"Oh, great," Markus muttered, noticing that he was at a disadvantage yet again. "Well, we aren't going to let that stop us, are we, Leaf?"
His Pokemon gave a rippling, keening cry that exuded sheer confidence. The sunlight sparkled brilliantly off of its immaculate fur, and it struck a battle pose.
"It's really interesting how their teams are like matching halves," said Sevvy thoughtfully, scribbling notes on a small notebook she'd produced from her bag. "First a 'light' Flying-type and a 'dark' one, then two fully-evolved Sinnoh starters, one Fire and one Water, and now this—a Leafeon and a Glaceon, and they're both shiny. No wonder this is so close…"
"Opposites attract, I suppose," Selphy commented. "No wonder they're soul mates."
"Quite a rare treat to see not one, but two Shiny Pokemon battling each other!" Kane bellowed. "Not to mention, of course, that this will decide the outcome of the battle between Alex and Markus! We're still waiting for the first move to be made…"
"Iron Tail!" Markus shouted, rendering Kane's comment obsolete. The Trainer's tunnel vision was evident to all present. His fists were clenched, and a determined light sparked in his eyes.
Leaf jumped into the air, its tail hardening from plant matter into polished metal. Somersaulting in midair, it flung itself at the Glaceon, which watched its approach calmly, much as Blaze had before. A sudden look of panic shot across Markus' face as he realized what was coming. "Dodge!" he choked out, even as Snow the Glaceon blasted a stream of ice vapor from its mouth to meet its opponent in midair. Leaf had seen it coming, however. Just before the Icy Wind would have connected, it twisted to the side, skidding to the ground a few yards off. Within seconds, it had pounced on its opponent, and the two were rolling on the ground in a maelstrom of flying fur, furious yowls rending the air.
"All right, Leaf! Get in there and give it all you got!" shouted an excited Markus, looking more upbeat than he had in a while. The crowd's cheering amplified as individual members of the audience began taking sides and rooting for one or the other of the fiercely battling Pokemon, a new burst of sound erupting whenever one seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Kane joined in, shouting, "And it's advantage Leafeon! Glaceon! Leafeon! Glaceon!..."
Across the battlefield, Alex frowned. Markus' confidence had not been lost on her, and she was keenly aware that only quick action would prevent the momentum slipping away from her side. "Ice Beam!" she commanded, having to shout to make herself heard over the ongoing catfight and the cheering crowd.
A shrieking crash of ice rent the air, and Leaf was flung backwards twenty feet by a relentlessly powerful beam of frigid indigo ice crystals, the beam burning a frigid scorch mark into the grass as its trajectory continued. The Pokemon toppled over and regained its footing with difficulty, panting. Markus winced at his last competitor's state--large patches of its fur were encased in slick, clear ice, and its breath formed clouds of frost.
"Oh, and Snow breaks away with one mightily impressive Ice Beam! With that kind of power behind a type advantage, Leaf is going to be hard-pressed to recover…aargh! Sun's in my eyes."
Noting what Kane had said, Markus glanced over his shoulder towards where the sun was just beginning to sink from its noonday position. An idea came to him and he frowned for a moment, lost in thought. Soon, however, the familiar gleam of inspiration entered his eyes.
Calling his Pokemon over with a wave of his hand, Markus muttered a few quick instructions to it, then straightened to face his opponent. "All right, Alex, that was your last lucky shot. This battle is all mine from here on out!"
He snapped his fingers crisply, galvanizing Leaf into action. The shiny Leafeon bounded around the perimeter of the stadium, constantly staying just out of the reach of its opponent.
Alex, however, was hardly going to let Markus get away with his plan completely unopposed. "Snow, trap it with a Blizzard!"
Her Glaceon's eyes glowed a sparkling cerulean, and it crouched, summoning a snowstorm out of thin air. A blast of snow and ice crystals raced across the stadium, frosting the grass and buffeting the spectators—Maecenas was exceedingly grateful for his ski cap and waterproof shirt, and was glad Mycroft hadn't been there to get his suit drenched yet again.
Ironically, the Blizzard's intended target was nearly the only one who escaped it. Leaf scampered away as quickly as it could, wind tearing at its fur, and screeched to a halt mere inches out of range. Markus nodded approvingly and brushed the snow out of his hair.
"All right, now keep it going!" he shouted. Leaf whirled and rushed towards its opponent, a cloak of sparkling, prismatic light beginning to surround it.
Alex, a look of understanding crossing her face, turned to her Glaceon and nodded. Understanding her command perfectly, the Ice-type began a Hail attack. Slate-gray clouds manifested themselves in the previously sunny sky, and a chill wind blew through the arena.
The hailstorm kicked in fully at precisely the right moment. As Leaf approached and jumped into the air to launch a full-power SolarBeam, chunks of ice began pelting the ground.
With those critical last amounts of solar energy not collected, the SolarBeam's power was reduced considerably. Searing yellow beams of energy blasted from Leaf's mouth for a direct hit on Snow, but the Pokemon shook them off with little effort.
"And—ow!—what would have been a devast—ow—devastating attack from Leaf there was—aargh!—completely thwarted by the hail—oh for—does anyone have an umbrella, darn it?!?" said Kane, abbreviated no small amount by the weather pelting down on him. With a sigh, he unsheathed his sword and started using it to bat away the incoming hailstones, even slicing a few in half in midair.
"Ha! How do you like that?" Alex taunted, grinning as her Glaceon began pursuing Leaf around the arena. "We stopped you in your tracks!"
However, Markus was grinning as well. "Just fine, really," he said breezily. "Y'see, the SolarBeam was actually a distraction. The real object of gathering all of that sun power was to—ow--use Synthesis and heal from the Ice Beam you hit us with earlier, and we accomplished that before the hailstorm started. Not that—ow!—we aren't grateful for whatever damage the SolarBeam was able to deal, too!"
Alex gritted her teeth in frustration. "It doesn't matter if you healed or not. We'll knock you right back down again!"
"All right, now Dig!" The commanding shout came from both Trainers at once. Alex and Markus looked at each other in surprise, but their Pokemon had already leapt into action. Soil flew as Leaf and Snow rapidly clawed themselves into the ground, disappearing in seconds and leaving only two huge, conical mounds of upturned earth like gigantic anthills. The hailstorm continued, now only affecting the humans remaining above ground.
Kane was in his element, slashing and dodging so quickly and accurately that hardly a hailstone got near him. His wildly flailing sword had caused the spectators to back up further, although with both Pokemon underground it made little difference how well they could see the field. Suddenly remembering his commentary, he continued without a pause in the swordplay: "Both Leafeon and Glaceon have burrowed underground, and it looks like we're into the final stage of the battle! It's gonna be epic, folks, and of course, the catch is we can only guess at what'll be happening until they surface! Both Trainers' skill will be tested in the extreme here. So come on, Alex!...oh, right. No favoritism. Well, Go Markus too."
"Sunny Day!" Markus shouted, a split second before his girlfriend's call of "Ice Beam!"
The spectators sighed in relief as the clouds broke up and the sunlight intensified, bathing them all in golden warmth. Kane sheathed his sword with regret.
Somewhere below ground, meanwhile, the trademark screech of an Ice Beam launch sounded, echoing up through the tunnels. Markus frowned, unable to tell if the attack had connected with his Leafeon or not.
"More impressive prediction at work there," Maecenas commented, leaning forward to get a better look at the battlefield. "Of course, he knew he'd have to get rid of the Hail eventually, but I'm sure that put a dent in the Ice Beam as well."
"That's if the Ice Beam hit at all," Selphy pointed out. "It's impossible to tell, really…"
Back in the arena, it appeared that the two Pokemon had met underground and were battling without waiting for a command. A flurry of leaves flew out of one of the tunnels, followed by an equal number of Ice Shards that intercepted them in midair and knocked them to the ground. Various cries and snarls reverberated in the waiting air, sometimes the Glaceon's high, thin voice, and sometimes in the Leafeon's furry trill.
Markus was thinking hard again, rubbing his chin and pulling at his scarf nervously. Then all at once he straightened and called two words as loud as he could, two words that hung in the still air.
"Last Resort!"
In a flash of blinding light the ground exploded, sending huge plates of earth whizzing dangerously through the air. Both Pokemon were flung into the air with the explosion and tossed to the ground.
"Oh, what a shot! What a shot! Absolutely definitive move from Markus there. Glaceon's going to be hard-pressed to…WHOA!"
Kane had, it was clear, been wrong. A Blizzard attack more titanic than anyone could ever remember burst from the Glaceon, snow and icy winds howling. Leafeon stood in the attack's path like a Stantler in the headlights, rooted to the spot.
"Protect!" Markus screamed in desperation. Milliseconds before the Blizzard engulfed Leafeon, a turquoise sphere of energy surrounded the Verdant Pokemon, shielding it from the ice storm. Markus breathed a sigh of relief, but remained tense. From his vantage point he could see that his Pokemon was looking severely damaged by the fight, and he knew it couldn't hold on much longer. His chances of victory were slim…
And then the unthinkable happened.
Its paws moving blindingly fast, Leaf began to run inside the Protect like a hamster in a wheel, soon gaining enough momentum to begin moving forward against the Blizzard. Leaf's speed grew steadily, and in seconds it had crashed into its opponent, sending it flying.
Snow got to its feet unsteadily, shook its head, and fainted.
***
Kane was beyond commentary. "OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY…"
Markus cheered in exhilaration, and his Leafeon jumped into his arms. "Yes! We did it!"
Alex's angry expression lasted for only a few seconds before giving way to a grin. "I was not expecting that! Well, great job, Markus. And don't think you stand a chance of beating me again!" The two shook hands and then embraced.
Sevvy, her face lit up in excitement, released her Granbull, and the two ran over to Alex and Markus, both smelling the interview of the century in the making.
Back among the spectators, Maecenas shook his head in disbelief. "Man, that was…that was something else. This is the big leagues, all right! Talk about epic!"
"Talk about epic, indeed." Maecenas turned to find Megan Rayme standing behind him, her eyes sparkling.
"It's kind of a shame not to be out there battling myself, though," she continued. "It's getting a bit late to start a battle today, but would you be interested in a practice battle with yours truly tomorrow at, say, ten?"
Maecenas went red in the face. "Wow. Well, if you want to…I mean, you're such a great Trainer—I'm not sure if I'd stand a chance. But I'd be happy to try!"
"All right, then! Be there!" Megan dashed off, her ponytail bouncing as she ran.
Maecenas blinked a few times, then held out his Torterra's Pokѐball. "I hope you're ready for this," he muttered.
The spectators began to disperse, calling congratulations to Markus as they went. As one battle reached its conclusion, however, others were just beginning to heat up across the length and breadth of Pokѐtopia.
Well, Alex vs. Markus has finally reached its epic conclusion! Since it was my first battle, I tried to give it a suitably fantastic ending. Hope it didn't disappoint!
Seeing as I want the finale to the practice battle trilogy to be as amazing as possible, I've decided to go all "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and split it into a sub-trilogy. Thus "Third Charms"—each of chapters 8-10 is a third of the finale (although the title has a few other meanings, as well). This was the conclusion of Part One, and you can expect Alex vs. Xavier to be up next!
I want to apologize again for making you all wait so long for the new chapter. Hopefully as Christmas vacation approaches I'll have a bit more time to write. Hopefully you'll forgive me?
Next up, a few very important pieces of news: I'm now offering my beta-reading services to the FanFiction community and you old Pokѐtopia lags in particular. If you'd like me to edit one of your stories, feel free to PM and I'll get right on it!
Also, this marks the publication of my second story: Jason Williams and the Olympians: The Rising Stars, an original Percy Jackson fan fiction. Percy Jackson stories can be neglected when they're new, so I'm especially anxious for you to read it and let me know what you think (even if you don't know the series)! It's been really fun to work on thus far, and I'm experimenting with something of a different writing style (first-person perspective, for one thing).
And now the credits:
-Rhea—gamings-reminiscence
-Alex and Markus—Legendary Fairy
-Kane—KK the Prophet
-Maecenas—Yours Truly
-Selphy—DevoTheMadCashCow
-Sevvy—kyuuketsuki fang
-Megan—Fire Drastar
Well, that's it for now! Merry Christmas ahead of time, be sure to check out Jason Williams, and see you all for Part 2 of Third Charms!
Maecenas out.
P.S. Out of curiosity, what was the best meal you've ever eaten, restaurant or otherwise? You don't need to specify the location, just what all the food served was. I'll reveal mine next chapter.