The Legend of Leen
Chapter 3: The Giant
"Char-Char, Ember!"
"Ha! You're still trying the same useless strategy! You'll never get even close to the Pokémon League that way!"
"Just you watch. We've been practicing."
"Hmph. Geodude, Rock Throw."
"Good job, Char-Char! Way to go!"
"Dodged it. A little quicker."
"Char-Char, Ember!"
"Geodude, Tackle!"
"Char-Char, Ember!"
"All-out attack won't—wha!? Geodude!?"
"You did it! Alright, Char-Char! Now, this isn't over yet! Get ready for Onix!"
"You might be able to win against a Rock Type with a lower level. But Onix is much stronger, as you've learned from your previous losses."
"I know. We're ready this time, Brock. I'm getting that Badge, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"No? Onix, Bind!"
"Grr . . . Char-Char, hang on!"
The match continued in earnest, often slowed by Onix's Bind. But slowly, the young Charmander whittled his opponent's defenses down as well. It was a neck-in-neck fight. Soon, both Pokémon were using the last of their strength.
"Char-Char, he's weakened! You've GOT to hang in there! You've GOT to!"
"Onix, Bind again! Finish it!"
"Nooooo!"
"Chaaar!"
"Keep binding, Onix!"
"Char-Char, try to wiggle free! Come on, buddy, you can do it!"
"Finish it!"
"Char-Char, I know you can do it, we've come so far! You're strong! You're strong! I believe in you!"
"Char! Man! Der!"
"Great! Now give it the most powerful Ember you've got!"
A critical hit. Now the Charamander has gained an advantage.
"Onix, Bind it again and don't let it get away this time! It's time to end this!"
"Hah! Yes! Good jump! You can do it Char-Char! Ember! Finish it off!"
"Ha. Another strong hit. I'll admit, this has been a great fight. You've come even closer than last time. But we're through here. Onix, Bind!"
"Jump, now!"
"Chaaar!"
"Now, Ember!"
"Chaaaaaaaaaar!"
"Pour everything you've got into it!"
"Wha—!? Onix, no!"
"Grooooar . . . ."
"Fine, finish it with Bide."
"Groooooar!"
"No . . . .please . . . . We've come so far."
"Chaaaar! Man . . . der . . . ."
"He's still standing, he's still standing! Char-Char, you're still standing! Haha! We've got this! One more Ember! Win! This! Fight!"
"Charmandeeeeer!"
"O-onix!"
"Groooa . . . ."
Onix fainted.
"YYYEEEEEEEESSSS! Weeee did iiiiiiit!"
Shelly awoke in the middle of the night to a rustling noise across the hall. She slipped out of bed, smoothed her hair with her fingers and tiptoed over to Ben's room. Silently turning the knob and pushing the door ajar, she stopped and listened. The rustling stopped for a moment.
There was the sound of something soft scooting along the floor, and then bed springs bouncing and a scraping of wood. Shelly frowned and pushed the door open further.
"Couldn't sleep," Ben said, and then . . . "Oh, hey, Shelly, I thought you were Grandpa."
He was holding a small, wooden frame with a photograph of the four of them taken a few years ago: Ben, Shelly, and their parents. Shelly was holding a baby Nidorino, a present from her father on her birthday.
Shelly swallowed.
"What was all that noise?" she asked after pressing her leaking emotions somewhere deep inside her gut.
Ben stared at the wall for a long time.
Finally, he said, "Will you promise not to tell Grandpa something?"
"No," Shelly didn't even hesitate.
"Well . . . then never mind."
His cheeks turned beet red.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it."
"Ben, tell me. Maybe I can help—"
She was walking over to sit next to him, but she stopped when her foot bumped something under the bed. She reached down to pull it out.
"No, don't look under there!"
"Ben, move, let me see what's under here."
"Shelly!"
"Get out of the w—oh, you can't be serious."
Shelly had managed to lift up the covers and see what Ben had stuffed beneath his bed: a travel sack filled with changes of clothes, a little food, and a wooden carving of a Pidgeotto that their father had made.
"Ben! What were you thinking?"
"I'm leaving with Jason tomorrow morning. I want to become a Pokémon trainer."
Shelly's face boiled. "He told you to do this, didn't he? He asked you to come with him last night."
"No!" Ben defended his new role model, "He doesn't know yet. I'm gonna sneak off and meet him outside of town, please, you can't tell anybody!"
"Ben, are you out of your mind!?"
"I'll use Repel, I'll be fine," he argued.
"You don't even have any Pokémon to defend yourself with! Think, Ben!"
"I'll take one of the Torkoal Uncle Affar captured for the heaters. The young one that I've been hanging out with the past couple of months. They won't need him, and I've gotten pretty close to him. He listens to my—"
"Ben, no. Period." Shelly began to unpack his sack. "You're staying here."
"Shelly! Give me that!"
Ben was crying now. He squatted next to her and made a grab for the bag. Shelly jerked the sack away and dumped its contents onto the floor behind her.
"Shelly, please! I need to go to Galaia and—"
"Ben, stop. Now."
"I need to see that girl," he declared through his tears, "And tell her it's—"
"Ben, stop!"
"—okay and that it's not her fault that Mom and Dad were—"
Shelly grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Stop it, do you hear me? The girl is fine, she's safe, and she doesn't need you to . . ." Her racing heart struggled simultaneously to contain her own anguish and to quickly come up with a reason Ben would accept to stay here.
" . . . Get yourself killed for her, too," she finished, "Is that what you want? For her to have someone else's death on her conscience?"
Ben was sobbing into his hands now. They were trying to speak in hushed tones so as not to wake their grandfather. Shelly definitely did not want him hearing about this. He had enough worries taking care of the two of them.
Shelly softened. "Ben, Grandpa needs you here. We need you to help run the town, and he's already lost his son and Grandma . . . we mean a lot to him. We need you to stay."
"But Jason could use the help." Now Ben was pleading, but with less enthusiasm. "He's gotta want company."
"He'll be fine. He has tons of Pokémon with him. He's got plenty of company."
"But he really seemed to like talking yesterday."
Now he was just grasping at straws. Shelly breathed a sigh of relief. He was coming back to reality.
"Ben, you need to stay here," Shelly said finally, "You and I will take care of each other. Maybe someday . . ." she hesitated because she knew how ridiculous it was, but she needed to give him something to look forward to so he would forget about this nonsense for now, " . . . you'll be able to leave this place and go to Kanto or Hoenn or somewhere and learn to be a trainer. But that won't be until you're older, okay? It's too dangerous to train here."
Now Ben was listening, wiping his eyes, so she continued.
"Jason had a lot of experience before he came here, and look how many Pokémon he brought with him. He knew how dangerous it would be. For now, you just need to stay in Borom and work on your training in town whenever you can."
As Shelly finished, Ben sighed in resignation.
Thankfully, he was a smart kid and he knew she was right.
They stayed there for a while, until Shelly stood and placed an affectionate hand on his shoulder.
"Just try to get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay."
They traded goodnights, and Shelly returned to her room. But she did not go back to sleep. She was watching Ben's door. And crying. And thinking.
"How far is it?" Jason asked.
"'Bout two and a half weeks. It's a hike."
Jason shook off the mild dejection. He had known there would be a lot of walking when he came on this mission. And he had plenty of friends to keep him company. Still, after unexpectedly meeting a town full of people, he wished he had some human companionship.
But that wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't ask these people to go out of their way for him. He would just have to tough it out.
Affar had given Jason some extra food for the road, and some Pokémon food that Jason had placed in several of his item balls that he'd emptied during the walk here. It would be more than enough for the journey—the town of Borom was going out of its way to be gracious, and Jason was very appreciative. They also gave him six bottles of their special Repel. Each bottle was supposed to last two weeks, and it fended off all but the strongest wild Pokémon. Fortunately, Grandpa Stone had said, there weren't too many along the route that were that powerful.
"If I ever run into them, my team can handle it," Jason assured them, "We've already faced three battles on the way here, and we were able to manage."
Ben was there to see him off. Jason didn't know about his wanting to sneak off and follow him. He gave Jason a strong handshake.
"Good luck on your journey," he said.
"You too," Jason returned sincerely.
He called Sugar (his Blissey), Eggy (Togekiss), Flambo (Blaziken), Armos (Aggron), and Sprout (Victreebel) to join him and Leen. And with that, he was off.
A couple hours into the walk, there was a vibration beneath Jason's feet.
Jason turned to Armos. "Stepping a little heavy there?"
The earth shook suddenly and violently, and Armos's eyes widened as she sensed the imminent danger. She shoved Jason and Sprout—the Pokémon nearest her—out of the way.
Jason landed painfully on the rocks, and the fear of an unknown threat washed over him. Before he was able to squash it beneath a determination to overcome this latest menace, the ground erupted a hundred yards into the air.
"GRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRR!" Came an ear-splitting bellow from within the upward cascade of boulders. An enormous Onix had just launched itself from the ground.
Flambo leapt nimbly aside, and Sprout used his vines to propel himself away, but Eggy and Leen were sent spiraling through the air and struggled to upright themselves in flight. Jason instantly thought that they would probably sustain some nasty bruises, but fortunately he didn't see any rocks hit their heads.
Jason snapped into action, assessing the need for physical strength in this battle.
"Crusher, Metatak, go!" He shouted, releasing his Golem and his titanic Metagross.
The mouth of the cavity where the Onix had emerged ceased puckering and began to buckle, drawing the nearby earth into the widening underground tunnel. Sugar slipped and fell, and she began to roll back toward the hole from which the giant Onix had emerged.
"Victreebel, pull them in with vine whip!"
Victreebel acquiesced immediately, yanking Sugar, Leen, and the spiraling Togekiss toward himself.
Meanwhile, boulders tumbled from the sky. Thinking quickly, Metatak raised his body and produced a Light Screen so the whole group could squeeze beneath him.
Like a well-oiled machine, everyone immediately recognized the defense strategy and ducked and rolled under the Metagross. Everyone but Armos arrived, and Jason hadn't seen where she had gone. Probably got knocked onto the other side of the Onix. She had been right over it when it had hit.
Jason watched over Flambo's shoulder as Crusher lunged toward the Onix to begin a counterattack. He dropped into a Defense Curl when a particularly large boulder came down on him. He stood up and shook off the haziness as more of the Onix continued to rise from beneath the surface, towering higher and higher above them like a living, growing monolith.
And that was only the first few seconds of the fight.
It was then that Jason made an executive decision based on one of the most important principles he had ever learned about combat.
Don't take chances.
"Everyone out!" Jason shouted, and his Pokeballs sprang to life, "Eggy, Sky, use Whirlwind to clear this debris! Marvin, Sphya, get ready to retaliate! Everybody with wings, get to the sky and get a look at what's happening. Armos, you there? Wait, Tropius, you're with me."
The team went to work. Jason heard Armos's response roar from high in the sky, and then the sound drifted far away. Jason jerked his head up to see that the Onix had Armos in his mouth and was swinging her around wildly.
Soon, the Whirlwind cleared the dust, and Jason could see the full length of the beast that now clutched his struggling Aggron in its jaws.
It was enormous.
As long as a football field and nearly half as wide. And it was probably super-powered like the other Nyor Pokemon. A giant, super-powered Onix. This was not going to be an easy fight.
"We need Rock-strong Pokémon at the forefront!" Jason ordered, "Goldwave and Freezy, use your triple-threat tactic. The rest of you try to distract it!"
The Articuno picked up Goldwave, Jason's Lanturn. The latter gushed out a Thunderbolt-charged Hydro Pump that combined with Freezy's Ice Beam to create a three-type attack that multiplied damage exponentially. Steam, ice, and plasma-charged water particles struck Onix's neck. It grunted as its jaw loosened, not enough to release Aggron, but the Aggron was able to reposition her hands and feet inside the giant's mouth.
Char-Char flew low, breathing fire as a distraction, saving his strongest attacks for when he better knew his enemy. He led Elecuty, Flambo, and Cinder to provide the necessary diversion while Marvin—Jason's Gardevoir—and Sphya—his Espeon—provided simultaneously a deflective defense and a supplementary, chip-away offense with their psychic energy waves.
Sableye and Wolfen—a Mightyena—joined them by launching dark-energy orbs at the target. All the while, they nimbly dodged the Onix's tail and body—it had begun to use Thrash—but Crusher took it head on, latching onto the rock snake and pounding Earthquakes into its side to help get Armos free.
Armos finally managed to get a grip on both sides of the Onix's maw and pried herself free. Righting herself before she hit the ground, she took the impact with bent knees and a steadying arm. Redirecting the impact's energy into her other fist, she punched the ground launched a vicious Earthquake attack. Onix recoiled painfully.
"Meta, not yet!" Jason shouted
Jason's Metagross had taken point and launched a powerful Hyper Beam at the thrashing Onix's snout. The beam connected, and Onix's head snapped back as it roared in pain. Then it snarled and reared up.
"Noooooo!"
Metagross, recharging from the Hyper Beam attack, was crushed beneath the Onix's Body Slam. It was now that the team truly saw how powerful this Onix was: When it lifted its head, Metagross was revealed to be fully unconscious.
"Okay, guys!" Jason yelled, "You all have to listen! Don't take any risks! Chip away at it! Now is not a good time to get cocky. Nobody play hero!"
Here, Jason shot Char-Char a look, and his most gallant, daring Pokemon met his gaze with a single eye and gave a subtle nod.
Jason returned his attention to the battle.
"Freezy, now! Blue, Poliwrath, follow suit! Leen, follow them!"
Freezy dipped low over the Onix's head. With Aggron free, he now had a clear shot. He opened his mouth.
Fssssssswwwwz! BzzzzzzFwooooooosssshhh!
Freezy launched an ice beam, and Lanturn let loose a Thunder-charged Hydro Pump. The three attacks fused and hit again at the top of Onix's head. Dust exploded, but the giant did not falter.
Next, Freezy soared upward to give the trailing Leen a clear shot. Leen poured a Gold Beam into the damaged spot.
Blue and Bubbles launched their Hydro Pumps, and Marvin charged them up with a Thunder of his own.
Jason had hoped to see the quick succession of attacks at least cause the Onix to show signs of damage, but the thing reacted like a bear being shot with a pellet gun. It dove—faster than one would expect something that big to move, but still slow enough to see it coming—and Jason's Azumarill, Poliwrath, and Gardevoir were forced to leap out of the way to avoid a crater-forming Headbutt.
Attacks were flying from every angle. Jason's 30 Pokemon were not letting up, but the Onix was beginning to wear them down. Even Char-Char was having to grit his teeth.
Jason realized that his strategy would not be strong enough to win against something this massive. He wracked his brain for an idea, when suddenly . . . .
"Aggie, go!"
Jason turned to see a larger-than-average Nidorino leaping over a ridge to the southeast. A small, feminine figure climbed atop the crest.
"Hit it hard!" Her voice shouted.
It was Shelly!
"Tropius, get me down there!" Jason ordered.
Tropius continued her barrage of Razor Leaves even as she swept downward. When the Onix turned to Bite Tropius, Char-Char let out a Blast Burn that took Onix hard across the jaw. The rock snake turned and lunged, and Char-Char barely missed getting pummeled.
Then something amazing happened. The Nidorino slammed into Onix's side . . . and knocked it over.
Jason's Pokemon took the opportunity to let loose a barrage of their most powerful attacks.
Nidorino is a super-Pokémon, too, Jason realized.
"Hop on!" Jason shouted to Shelly once Tropius had landed.
She ignored his outstretched hand and pulled herself up.
"Aggie, Poison Sting!" Shelly shouted.
Nidorino complied, but this time the attack didn't do much.
"A poison attack won't work well against a rock type," Jason advised, "Stick with the physical attacks. Your Nidorino's strength could help us out a lo—"
"Shutup and don't tell me how to fight. Nidorino, Body Slam! Find an opening!"
Jason ignored both Shelly and his own annoyance with her comment. He called to his Pokémon.
"Concentrate fire on that spot at the back of its neck! That seemed to do the most damage. Right at the base of its head. That should knock it out."
He hoped.
Then he had an idea for how to make the aiming task easier. He had learned it from martial arts training, and his Psychic Pokémon could implement it here.
"Marvin and Sphya, Aikido principles! Redirect its body energy at opportune moments to provide the others with their shots! Altaria, Crobat, and Togekiss, cover all angles and watch your teammates' backs! Tell 'em when to jump, when to dodge, when and where to shoot!"
The strategy proved effective. Even if they weren't taking Onix down, they were at least controlling the battle now. Char-Char's distraction team provided a constant pressure of irritation via fire and lightning attacks. Now that Onix had learned to ignore them and pursue the more dangerous water, ice, and psychic attackers, Char-Char's group sought to blind Onix if they could, or at least obscure its peripheral vision by exploding Fire Blasts or Thunderbolts on the sides of its head.
Meanwhile, Freezy was always looking for an opening. When he got close, the Psychic Pokémon would move Onix just enough so that Freezy and Lanturn had a perfect shot. Then the pair would let loose with their triple-threat, and slowly but surely, a dent began to appear in the giant Pokémon's rock hide.
Twice, Onix dipped low, and Marvin and Sphya added Psychic power to its momentum, bringing it crashing into the ground. The second time, they managed to roll the Onix so the weak point on its neck was facing Elecuty and Poliwrath, who had prepared a Hydro-Pump/Thunder combination.
Crusher, the Golem, having exhausted his Earthquake attack, was pummeling Onix with everything he had. Armos was following suit, using her advantageous Steel type attacks to wreak havoc.
The plant Pokemon, too, contributed. Victreebel's Vine Whip gave Tulip a ride to aim a few Solarbeams into the target spot, and Tropius' flight allowed it to barrage the Onix with an almost constant stream of Razor Leaves.
All this time, Big Red—Jason's red Gyarados—had been using Dragon Rage and Hydro Pump; now he unleashed those attacks on the target region and used his body weight in conjunction with Nidorino's Body Slams and the psychic attacks.
Slowly but surely, Onix began to weaken.
At the very end, it gave one last bellow and reared straight up into the air. Everyone almost breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew better. They poured everything they had into Onix's hide, wherever they could hit, right then and there.
In its last moments of consciousness, the panicked Onix dove at the ground in desperation. The attack came so suddenly that no one had time to react. Jason saw Elecuty's life flash before his eyes as Onix's jaws came down atop the Raichu's head, and both disappeared into the earth. Jason's heart stopped.
"GROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!"
Once again, Onix burst forth from the earth, but this time, brilliant light was shining from its mouth. Lightning plasma shot from all sides of the beast's great maw. Leen, who was closest to Onix's neck, donned a fierce look and flew at the target spot.
"LEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"RRAAAAAAAIIIII!"
BZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWW!
Leen's Gold Blast met Elecuty's Thunder, and a massive explosion ensued. Leen quickly dodged as the Thunder attack shot through the hole that had been created where the target spot had once been. Char-Char flew quickly to yank open the knocked-out Onix's jaws before it fell.
"Aggron!" Armos grunted, positioning herself beneath Elecuty to keep him from hitting the ground.
Onix hit the ground with a crash and began breathing very slowly. A ring of gold light persisted around the sizzling hole in the back of Onix's neck. Everyone was too tired to cheer, or do anything else but feel relieved. Even now, none of them would drop their guard.
"Raaaiii . . ." Elecuty joked self-deprecatingly, blushing a little in Armos's arms.
Tropius touched down near Metagross, and the two humans hopped off. Jason immediately raced over to his fallen Pokémon, pulling a Max Revive out of his backpack.
"How about a thank you," Shelly said crossly.
"Thank you," Jason said sincerely, "You helped us a lot. That would have been much, much harder without you."
The girl scoffed. "You couldn't have done it without me."
"Grooooo . . . ." Metagross awakened, wincing.
Jason patted his steel friend's hide.
"We could have done it," he answered, giving an honest assessment of his team's ability, "But it would have taken a lot longer."
"Oh, well, I guess I'll be going now, then." She said, rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time.
"Good job, guys," Jason encouraged his friends while still trying to figure out how to talk to Shelly.
Finally, he decided to ask, "Hey, what are you doing out here, anyway? I thought you were against leaving Borom."
"I came out here to keep you from getting your rear wiped for you. Somebody had to make sure you didn't die."
This kid thinks every conversation is a death match, Jason thought, She's defending herself when she doesn't need to be. If that doesn't scream insecurity, I don't know what does.
But she didn't seem to be the type to be insecure in normal things, like appearance (and Jason once again thought she was very pretty); maybe she was insecure in her place in the universe? Her morality? Her . . . what if it was her ability as a Pokémon trainer that she felt was inadequate? The time she had gotten most cross with him today was when he had given her advice on how to attack the Onix.
In any case, she was obviously a very conflicted, pained young woman. Jason really felt for her.
"Well, like I said, thanks. Do you . . . are you going back to the town?"
"Yeah, I'm going to town. To Galaia. You can think of me as a native escort."
Jason was stunned. But . . . then again . . . it made perfect sense. Galaia was where her parents were killed. Maybe she felt like leaving with a trainer as strong as him was the safest way she could really get closure. But why not leave with the next caravan that went there for supplies?
Because she wants to go alone, Jason realized, She wants . . . the same thing I'm always craving. The same thing her brother is craving. Probably the same thing her parents craved when they were alive.
"Does your grandpa know you're gone?" Jason asked. He knew he would feel dumb if she said yes, but he had a hunch that she had left without telling anyone.
"You leave my business to me. Don't ask questions."
So she had run away.
"Did you leave a letter?"
Shelly rolled her eyes again. "I left my grandfather a letter. Which means we need to be long gone from here, or they'll catch up with us."
Jason hesitated briefly. He would be breaking the trust of everyone in the town if he took her with him. On the other hand, if he took her back . . . . This journey might be what it took to bring her healing. They would have at least a few weeks together on the way to Galaia. That should be enough time to get her to open up to him. To herself. That's what she needed: to face whatever it was that she was carrying. Maybe this was his opportunity to make a difference. And, he admitted, he would be grateful for the human companionship.
"Okay," Jason nodded, "I'll take you. Under your conditions. But I have one, too: You need to stay close to me, and if we get into any big fights like that again, you need to let me give the orders, because I have more experience than you, and your Nidorino has some advantages, but it's not as strong in most ways as my Pokémon are."
There. He had directly hit her with an obvious but uncomfortable truth: that she would have to rely on him. He watched for her reaction.
Surprisingly, she took it well. He saw a glint of insecurity, but she glazed it over with a surge of pride.
She's leaning on pride, Jason observed.
"Deal," she said firmly.
"Deal," not "Fine." That's progress.
Jason gave a warm, but rough, smile—a sign that he accepted her hardness and would willingly meet her persona where it stood.
"Glad to have you," Jason welcomed.
She again ignored his extended hand.