Author's Note: And then comes the third round . . . and a cliffhanger. This and the next chapter are pretty much the major climax of the story, I guess. I was never too proficient at finding the highest climax part of the novels and such. Anyway, onto one of the last chapters.
Light's Adventures
Chapter 37: The Third Round - The Scream
Light woke up slowly. If it wasn't for him going to sleep so early, he was sure he would have been tired today. For some reason, he had woken up in the middle of the night twice. Everything had been silent and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for a nagging feeling of someone else there, which gave him the creeps. Light had only been able to go back to sleep when he had used Psychic to check the whole area. He had never just woken up for reason before and he was sure there had been some reason why he had last night, but he couldn't figure it out.
Light looked up and was astonished to see Nick already up, eating breakfast. Light could tell that his trainer was tired in his constant yawning, but he could also tell that Nick had been awake for a while in the way he was moving around so quickly. Maybe anxiousness was finally getting to him, but Light had a strange feeling that it was the same reason he had awoken last night.
Light closely watched as everyone awoke, but they all seemed to be fine, not affected by anything like him and Nick. As Light started to eat breakfast, he put his nagging thoughts at the back of his mind and concentrated on today, as he would probably be battling. If Nick would have just been diligent enough to find out who he was battling, they would be able to plan so much easier for the battle, giving them a higher chance of winning.
After breakfast, they all met up outside the Pokemon Center, Nick's parents having stayed at an inn since they weren't trainers. Light and Cream walked behind Nick as they went to the stadium. Cream had been strangely silent so far and had kept right beside him. She was actually staying closer than usual, their pelts constantly in contact, but Light decided he would ask her later, as she appeared to be deep in thought at the moment.
Taking their cues from the staff, they started down the tunnel when the match was about to begin. Light shook off the shock faster this time as they entered the arena. Somehow, there seemed to be more people here than before, which Light thought would end in a headache from the screaming and shouting.
Light gasped as he looked at the battling area. The arena was completely flat and fixed, as though there hadn't been a rampaging Tyranitar destroying it the day before. There had to be some trick they did to the arena, because it wasn't exactly easy to fix earth and drain all the water and such.
Nick stopped waving suddenly and looked across the arena. Light looked also and saw that there competitor was there, standing still and silent, not even looking at the crowd. The glare he gave Nick was unmistakable even from the other side of the arena. His mood immediately affected Nick and the others, besides Cream who seemed to still be in thought. Light was just about to ask her what was wrong, when the announcer came on.
"Good morning, and welcome to the annual Pokemon Indigo League Tournament. Today we have finally come down to the exciting semi-finals. These matches will tell us who will be moving on to the finals. On my right is the traveler, Damien Rain." The cheers were quieter as he just stepped onto the green podium. "To my left is the trainer from Twinleaf Village, Nick Davis." This time, Nick more calmly stepped onto his podium, most of his excitement having left from Damien's look.
Light took the time the podiums were rising to finally speak to Cream. "Is something wrong?" Light asked in a low voice.
Cream looked down at her feet. "Umm, I'll tell you later, okay?" she said quietly.
Light was confused, but simply replied, "Okay." Cream nuzzled his side before she went back to thinking.
"And now for the exciting first match of the semi-finals. This match will be a three on three single battle. Substitutions are allowed on both sides. The first trainer to knock out his or her opponent's Pokemon will be the winner and move on to the finals," the announcer said. After the annoying pause, he continued, "Now, trainers, release your first Pokemon!"
"Let's go, Red," Nick said. Red jumped onto the field, letting a small plume of fire come out of her mouth for dramatic effect.
Damien didn't say a word as he threw a Pokeball. After the flash of red, an Arcanine stood there, looking regal and yet imposing at the same time with its large size and yet golden pelt. It looked at Nick and Red with the same look Damien had given them. It glanced over and looked at Light and Cream. Light was astonished to see that it was the Arcanine that had been in the cages with him. The Arcanine looked astonished, also, but soon the nasty look returned. Now Light was really confused, as he had helped this Arcanine and yet it was still glaring at him.
Unlike last time, Nick didn't say anything to Damien, just as Damien stayed silent himself. The announcer hesitantly cleared his throat, the noise vibrating over the speakers, before continuing, "Well, Nick has chosen his powerful Vulpix, while Damien has brought out his golden Arcanine. It seems that these Pokemon will be fighting fire with fire. It seems our trainers are ready, so let the match start!"
"Red, use Energy Ball," Nick ordered. Damien stayed silent, though his Arcanine got ready to fight.
Red opened her mouth and prepared her most recently learned move. Light thought the move would have been more effective for Patch to learn, but Nick had decided for Red to learn it, who didn't object to learning a new powerful move. A glowing, green sphere was formed at Red's mouth. Red shot the sphere off will a tilt of her head. The sphere went straight for Arcanine, and hit nothing. Right before contact, Arcanine had vanished from sight.
Red cringed as Arcanine suddenly appeared right in front of her. Arcanine's tail suddenly started to glow white and grew stiffer. Arcanine swung at Red and smacked her away, creating a small crater in the ground from the blow. If Red hadn't cringed backwards, the blow would have done much more damage.
"Amazing! Damien's Arcanine has used its Extremespeed to not only dodge the Energy Ball, but also to close the distance between it and Vulpix. Now it has shown its strength by its powerful Iron Tail! With both speed and strength going to Arcanine, how will Vulpix favor?" the announcer said.
You need to use super effective attacks, Light told Nick.
Nick's small nod told him that he heard. "Red, use Dig!" Nick shouted.
Red hurriedly got up and started to dig underground. Arcanine simply moved to the middle of the arena as he waited for Red to come back up from the ground. Red suddenly came up under Arcanine and rammed him the stomach. Arcanine winced slightly, but quickly recovered and suddenly bit Red. Red was suddenly shocked as Arcanine shook her a few times. He finally tossed her a few feet away. Red laid limply for a little before slowly getting up.
"Well, Nick has now gone with the Ground type moves to defeat Arcanine, but this doesn't seem to be working either. I don't think Vulpix will try that again after the shocking Thunder Fang Arcanine used. What will Nick try next?" the announcer said. Light was starting to angry from the comments he kept coming up with.
"Red, use Extrasensory," Nick ordered.
Red crouched down and heat seemed to come off her as she prepared to attack. Her six tails fanned out behind her and her eyes changed colors to a dark purple. The air seemed to simmer for a second before Arcanine was lifted slightly off the ground, the same dark purple color surrounding him. It let out a cry as Red started to painfully stretch Arcanine painfully.
"Well, Vulpix now shows its psychic abilities off with Extrasensory. While Arcanine uses its physical prowess to attack, Vulpix is showing a just as strong mental prowess. It looks like Arcanine is in a tight spot," the announcer commented.
Light thought Red had the match won when Arcanine suddenly roared and seemed to break its psychic bonds with just physical force only. Before he even hit the ground, the Arcanine had disappeared, utilizing its Extremespeed again.
Red stood panting, still getting over using Extrasensory, when Arcanine appeared behind her. Arcanine stood in an aggressive stance, but didn't attack Red. Then light realized he was attacking, just using Overheat. Light was dumbfounded, knowing Arcanine would know full well that Red had the Flash Fire ability to boost her attack power.
Light winced as the heat started to increase around the arena. By now, Red had realized Arcanine was there and had jumped away to put some distance between them. The heat continued to increase. Light covered Cream pulled her back from the arena to the side wall, trying to keep the heat back. Finally, Arcanine stopped the attack, his sides heaving from the effort. Light knew Overheat lowered the user's ability to damage others, so why did it use the ineffective attack?
"And Arcanine shows its impressive power with its Overheat attack. But was that a smart move with Vulpix's Flash Fire ability? Will this turn the match towards Nick?" the announcer asked.
"Red, use Extrasensory one more time," Nick ordered. He was seating heavily up on the podium, having been closer to the fight.
Red crouched down to use the move, but Arcanine once again disappeared. Red was thrown through the air as it rammed into her. She was still air born, when Arcanine used his Iron Tail and whacked Red, ramming her into the podium. The referee waved the green flag for Damien's victory.
"And Vulpix is defeated. With those powerful attacks, who will Nick use next to counter Damien's Arcanine?" the announcer said.
"Red return," Nick murmured as he returned his fainted Pokemon. He stared at Red's Pokeball for a second before shouting, "Come on out, Blaze."
Light was startled at Nick's decision. Wouldn't Azul do better as a Water type Pokemon? Light asked.
No, Blaze can handle this, Nick thought. His face was set and Light knew he wouldn't be able to change his mind.
Blaze stepped onto the arena and faced Arcanine, completely unfazed by its glare.
"Well, folks, Nick has chosen to go with another Fire type Pokemon instead of his Milotic. Will his Flareon fare better than his Vulpix, or will this end with another defeat?" the announcer said.
"Blaze, Double Team," Nick ordered.
Blaze split into eight copies all around Arcanine. The Arcanine glanced around before suddenly sending off bursts of heat again. Light once again covered Cream and pulled her back, the heat even closer this time. Soon, seven of the Flareon disappeared, leaving only the real Blaze left behind it. Without needing to be told, Blaze shot underground through the hole Red had used, allowing him to get underground before Arcanine attacked. Arcanine stood still, his sides really heaving now from another Overheat attack.
"Flareon's Double Team has seemed ineffective as Arcanine has already singled Flareon out. However, Flareon has now gone underground. How will Arcanine attack, now?" the announcer commented.
Blaze suddenly emerged under Arcanine and rammed him with a powerful Dig attack. That's when Light realized Blaze had provoked Arcanine into using Overheat to power his attacks up. Arcanine got up slowly, starting to get exhausted.
"And Flareon hits Arcanine with a powerful Dig. It seems that Flareon has this match pretty much wrapped up. Will Arcanine somehow make a comeback?" the announcer asked.
"Finish it off with Double Dig," Nick commanded. Light snickered at Nick's name combination of Double Team and Dig.
Blaze once again split into different Flareon before each one went underground. The Arcanine jumped as one come above the ground to attack, just to have it flicker out with contact. Light knew Arcanine must be pretty much finished if he was getting that jumpy. Three more copies came up, Arcanine swiping at them, revealing their true forms. In quick succession, the rest came up to attack, Arcanine attacking each one until it was overwhelmed and the real Blaze was able to land a blow, knocking out the tired Arcanine. The referee waved Nick's red flag this time.
"And that's it for Arcanine. It seems that Nick's Flareon has pulled him through this one, but will Damien come out with another power packing Pokemon?" the announcer said.
Damien silently returned Arcanine and threw another Pokeball. A purple, spiky backed Pokemon appeared, a wicked grin on its face. It seemed to float slightly off the ground. Nick hurriedly pulled out his Pokedex. "Gengar, a Ghost type Pokemon," Nick murmured, though his voice still carried out through the speakers.
"Well, Damien pulls out a Ghost type Pokemon. What will his strategy be this time?" the announcer said.
"Blaze, use Flamethrower," Nick ordered.
Blaze opened his mouth and shot a torrent of flames toward the Pokemon. The Pokemon just seemed to melt into the ground as it dodged. The flames hit nothing but air. There was a shadow on the ground where Gengar had been, but there was no other evidence of Gengar having even been there.
Light gasped as the shadow moved. It started to slowly approach Blaze in quick, short, jerky movements in a zigzag motion. Blaze stepped back hesitantly as it came closer, unsure of what to do. Blaze jumped back as Gengar suddenly came out of the ground. It put its hands together and shot a beam of dark circles that Light recognized as a Dark Pulse at Blaze. Completely unprepared, Blaze was thrown back.
"Incredible! Gengar traveled through the ground and suddenly attacked. With this incredible power, how will Flareon fare?" the announcer said.
"Blaze, Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.
Blaze charged at Gengar, his body slowly becoming surrounded in flames sprouting from his mouth. Gengar tried to slip into the ground, but was too slow and was hit, floating high into the air instead of normally being thrown back.
"Remarkable! Nick's Flareon has used Flame Wheel, a move not normally being able to be learned by Flareon! It seems Nick's Flareon is full of surprises as well," the announcer said.
Gengar lowered down to the ground, some distance from Blaze. Gengar once again started to lower into the ground, but stopped before its eyes went underground. It simply stayed that way a little, making Light uneasy. Suddenly, Light noticed a shadow going from Gengar to Blaze. Before he could get a warning out, Gengar's arm appeared and rammed Blaze in the stomach. Blaze fell to the ground, winded.
"And Gengar comes back with Shadow Punch. That appears to have put Flareon a little off," the announcer commented.
Gengar slowly rose from the ground and put its hands together, getting ready to use an attack, when Nick shouted, "Blaze, Double Team!"
Blaze got quickly up and began to spread into nine Flareon. Gengar looked around, slightly put off, before raising its hands into the air. A dark, shadowy ball formed above each one. Throwing its arms, the spheres fell at two of the Flareon, making them disappear.
"Blaze, use Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.
Gengar slipped into the ground as the remaining seven Flareon started to speed forward. The Flareon stopped, no target left to hit. Light could see that Gengar had once again left a weird shadow on the ground.
Attack the shadow! Light quickly told Nick, remembering its Shadow Punch.
"Use Flamethrower on the shadow!" Nick yelled.
The Flareon shot flames at the shadow. As the real Blaze's flames hit the shadow, there was an explosion, sending up dust around it and the Flareon. The dust, combined with small chips of rocks thrown up, was enough to remove the final copies of Blaze. When the dust cleared, Gengar was once again above the ground. It was showing signs of weakening, but it still looked ready to battle.
"Spectacular! Gengar went underground, but Nick reacted quickly and has damaged Gengar while underground, though Flareon has lost its other Double Team copies. Will Nick's Flareon defeat Gengar will its fiery attacks?" the announcer said.
"Blaze, finish this up with Flame Wheel," Nick ordered.
Blaze once again became enshrouded in flames as he charged toward Gengar. However, the enlarging grin on its face sent shivers down Light's back. Gengar spread its arms wide and caught Blaze in a tight hug, even with the flames still around Blaze. It seemed to be damaged heavily, but it was still grinning evilly.
"And Gengar catches Flareon up in a tight grip. What does it plan to do now? And will Flareon be able to escape from this new predicament?" the announcer asked.
The Gengar started to rise into the air. Blaze squirmed wildly, but the Gengar had too tight of a hold, and his head was turned away, preventing him from attacking. When they were about three feet into the air, Gengar stopped. Light wondered what it was doing as it just paused there, hanging in the air with Blaze wriggling in its grip. Then Gengar started to glow, ever so slowly. A white light started to shine from him, slowly covering his whole body.
"Oh, my, it appears that Gengar is going to use Explosion!" the announcer cried.
Having heard what the move did, Light took the warning to heart and threw up Protect. It was just in time as Gengar was fully enveloped in light. A massive explosion burst from where Gengar had been ruining the area around it. Several rocks bounced off Light's shield with little pings. A few were actually rather large, showing the massive power of the move.
The dust cleared slowly. Gengar was lying on the ground it had previously on floating above, while Blaze was several feet away. Both Pokemon were lying in a giant crater created from the blast. Both had also fainted in the blast of energy. The referee, confused on what to do, hesitantly waved both flags.
"Outstanding! Gengar used Explosion and took down Nick's Flareon with it. And with that, both trainers are now down to one fresh Pokemon apiece," the announcer commented.
"Return, Blaze," Nick said, returning Blaze into his Pokeball in a flash of red. Damien silently did the same. "Go on out, Light," Nick said, already relaxing. Light shook himself and nuzzled Cream comfortingly before slowly stepping onto the ruined field.
Damien suddenly smiled, though it wasn't a nice one. "Finally," he shouted, throwing another Pokeball. A large, winged creature appeared in the flash of red. Light remembered seeing another one of these blue skinned giants when he had come back into Kanto from Sinnoh. It was certainly just as menacing, if not more, as the other with its roar it gave as it came out. Light could see how powerful it was from his side of the field.
Nick quickly pulled out his Pokedex and started to read, "Salamence, a Dragon and Flying type Pokemon with the ability Intimidate."
Light knew that he wouldn't do well if that power packer could fly on top of it. This was definitely going to be a tough battle. In fact, Light wasn't too sure he would be able to overpower the beast. Light shook the thought off, knowing it was the effects of its Intimidate. However, he did know he would have to come up with a great strategy in order to win.
"Nick goes with his powerful Umbreon, but Damien brings out his finisher, Salamence, and speaks for the first time. Nick's Umbreon may be resourceful, but can it take down Damien's strongest Pokemon?" the announcer said.
"It's time," Damien said. "Salamence, use Hyper Beam!"
Light smirked. This would give him a perfect chance to attack while it recovered. Light focused and brought up his strongest Protect, knowing Hyper Beam would be hard to stop. The Salamence pulled its head back and started to charge its attack. A small, white sphere of energy formed at its mouth, more energy being pulled into it from the air. Light noticed that its head was slightly tilted, but he didn't let his guard down.
Suddenly, in a quick, whip like motion, Salamence threw its head forward. A loud cracking could be heard from the movement as it formed the energy into a beam. However, for some reason, everything seemed to slow for Light as the beam approached. Light watched as it got closer to his protective shield.
Light let down his shield as the attack from the highly experienced Pokemon missed the non-moving target by a couple feet. Light was still considering this, completely shocked as the beam slowly went back him, when it happened.
Light's thoughts completely froze as he heard a blood, curdling scream, right before an explosion.