Chapter 33
9/28/0046/Morning
Olivine City
It had taken two full days of searching, but Alan had finally found the person Lexer was bugging him about. After discovering the appearance of two Abyss Pokemon in Olivine City, Alan searched the city high and low for the Dark Crest that was responsible for Latios releasing Pokeosis.
When his search had come to its end, Alan could only raise an eyebrow at the woman that was standing alone in the Olivine City Cemetery in dead silence.
Her name was Maria Holker, a young woman who had been dating Ricky before his unfortunate encounter with Alan. She was the only answer to the questions surrounding the Abyss Pokemon, and Alan was now going to find out if his hunch was correct.
"Hello." Alan said, approaching her form the side, receiving no response from her. Alan waited for a few moments, expecting an answer, but Maria never gave him the slightest gesture. "Hello?"
"Oh, uh, sorry. Can I help you?" She asked, looking toward Alan now.
"I think you can. You're Maria Holker, right?" Alan asked, getting a slow nod from her. "Well I heard about Ricky's…unexpected death."
"Oh really, how do you know Ricky?" Maria asked after a few seconds of silence.
"He was a business associate. You could say we were almost partners." Alan replied, spouting lies fluidly.
"He never mentioned you."
"I'm not surprised. At first we started off together, but we split off after a few disagreements as to what we should offer to the public. We haven't spoken to each other since then."
"So what do you need?"
"I know you've been dating Ricky for some time, and you hold him near and dear to your heart, so I'd like to make a deal with you."
"A deal?"
"Yes, a deal."
"Why me?"
"Because I believe you hold something special that the man I work for would be interested it."
"And what might that be?" Maria asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Raise your left arm into the air." Alan said, watching Maria mull over the order for a moment or two before lifting her arm into the air. Alan took a hold of her wrist, but Maria quickly pulled her wrist from his grasp.
"Wha-What are you doing?" She asked, getting a sigh from Alan.
"It's part of the deal, just keep your arm raised." Alan responded, watching Maria raise her left arm once again, although she appeared to be nervous this time.
Alan grabbed her wrist once again, opening his Crest which created a field of dark energy around him.
Maria gasped, trying to pull away from his grip, but found that Alan wouldn't budge at all as he began to chuckle. The dark field began move from his body to her's, starting at her wrist which lit up as the moving field surrounded it.
"Heh, I was right." Alan said out loud, watching Maria's Crest take the shape of a black crescent moon. The dark field continued to surround Maria until she was completely engulfed in it for a several minutes before it was all absorbed into her Crest, leaving the woman to drop to the ground panting. "Yes, you're the person my boss is looking for."
Maria remained silent, trying to muster the strength the sit up straight.
"So Miss Maria, if I were to tell you I could bring your beloved Ricky back to you, would you join me and travel to Sinnoh to meet my boss?"
Maria quickly sat up despite the wave of exhaustion that washed over her. She gave Alan a skeptical look, obviously thinking his words were false already.
"No matter how much I want to believe you, that's impossible." Maria replied, getting a loud laugh from Alan.
"Nothing's impossible my dear, or at least, not for me." Alan said before kneeling down in front of her. "You and I, we're special. We possess power beyond what any normal human could obtain. Power beyond what any normal Pokemon could possibly have."
Maria was silent, staring at Alan who returned her stare.
"Is it really possible? To bring my Ricky back to life?" Maria asked, her eyes gaining a new light.
"I can't guarantee it, but who knows if my boss has any limitations as to the extent of his powers." Alan said with a shrug before Maria took both his hands in hers, shaking them happily.
"I'll do it. I'll do anything to bring Ricky back." Maria said, getting a nod from Alan who hoisted her up to her feet with one hand.
"Then come with me." Alan said, inviting Maria to follow him. 'Excellent, Sander will be pleased.'
Sinnoh Region
Sunyshore City
Harbor
"Hey look, it's the Top 16 of the IBF Toruney!"
The Sunyshore harbor was crowded with people who had heard the ferry with the remaining competitors of the IBF Tourney would be landing in Sinnoh today. As the group of sixteen walked down the ramp to leave the ferry, they were greeted with a mob of fans rooting for their favorite to win.
The biggest cheer came with the appearance of Karson Moe, the Sinnoh Champion. He had built up quite a fan base in Sinnoh, and was sure to have the most fans in the Mt Corenet Battle Dome when the time for the finals came.
Glancing back at Matt, Blake took notice of how Matt was giving Karson an odd look with a small smile. He was anticipating their battle.
Blake had taken some time to check out his next opponent. He wasn't particularly worried, but he wasn't going to go into this match without preparing for himself for as many situations as possible. Blake couldn't wait for the finals to start. Each and every trainer that had come this far would probably be the greatest challenge Blake had faced, but there were a few people he was particularly focusing on.
Grace and Griffen were his top priority. Blake could see that the two of them could potentially beat the Regional Champions, so he was focusing on those two more than the actual Champs. But if Matt somehow defeated Karson Moe, Blake's rival and friend would prove to be his greatest threat in the tournament.
"Hey Grace, would you be willing to do some training with me?" Blake asked, turning to the girl who was waving to the fans that were trying to push past the barrier that had been set up by the local authorities.
"Hmm…?" Grace asked, putting one hand to her ear. She couldn't hear him.
Grabbing her wrist, Blake pulled her closer where he repeated his request, getting a nod from the girl.
Route 222
"So what kind of training were you thinking of?" Grace asked, observing Blake who released his Shelgon from its Poke-ball.
"This is the finals of the IBF Tourney, I don't stand much of a chance against any of you with my team at its current level. Especially Ryuu." Blake explained, noticing that Shelgon looked down shamefully since it had lost every match it had been in during the second round of the IBF Tourney. "But, with this training, hopefully Ryuu will evolve before the finals, making it ten times stronger than it is right now."
Shelgon looked up hopefully at Blake who gave it a nod with a smirk before the two looked toward Grace.
"Sounds nice. I could use some practice to make sure that I beat Meegan, but in return for this training, we had better battle each other in the finals." Grace said, releasing her Tangrowth from its Poke-ball.
"It's a deal." Blake said. "Ryuu, use Dragon Breath!"
"Tangrowth, dodge it and use Power Whip!"
Narrowly avoiding the green flames from Shelgon, Tangrowth thrusted both its arms forward, launching two glowing green vines toward the Dragon type which hit it with frightening accuracy. Shelgon was sent flying backward from the attack, landing on the ground several meters away from its starting point.
"Now get it with Seed Bomb!" Grace shouted, seeing the opening land a harsh attack.
10/11/0046/Morning
Outside of Celestic Town
The past two weeks of training for Blake had been completely dedicated to training Shelgon to reach its full potential and evolve. Comparing Shelgon to the rest of his team like he had to Typhlosion before it evolved, Blake could see just how much weaker Shelgon.
While its defense ability was on the strong side, its power and speed could use some work. Shelgon had made progress in increasing its power, but its speed could beg to differ. Constantly battling Grace did pay off with the variety of Pokemon she had at her disposal to help Shelgon grow in different areas. Like a power duel with her Metagross, or doing its best to cope with Lucario's speed. Shelgon faced a set of opponents that helped it reach a point that every Shelgon dreams of.
"Tangrowth, use Power Whip again!" Grace shouted as her Vine Pokemon launched two vines at Shelgon again.
"Stand your ground Ryuu!" Blake said, watching as Shelgon stamped its feet, preparing itself for the approaching attack. Taking the attack head on, Shelgon was pushed back a few feet before it stop, stubbornly doing its best not to get pushed back any further. "Now push forward with Dragon Claw!"
All four of Shelgon's feet gained a dark purple aura that extended, forming a pair of claws for each foot which Shelgon pushed into the ground to firmly holding its place. Slowly but surely, Shelgon began to advance toward Tangrowth, forcing the vines back as it moved.
"Go for it!" Blake said, encouraging Shelgon to attack once its was within range.
"Shelgon!" It shouted, pushing forward with its hind legs while raising its forward legs to chop up the vines that had been holding it back. Once the vines were out of its path, Shelgon rushed in at Tangrowth to land a dual attack on the Grass type.
Tangrowth was sent sliding backward on its feet, grunting from the damage it had just taken before noticing the white light in front of it. Shelgon's tired form disappeared with in a halo of blinding white light that.
Blake, Grace and Tangrowth looked on in awe as Shelgon's body doubled in size, its legs and neck becoming longer. It's head became prominent, and it sprouted a pair of wings on the top of its back while a tail grew from its back. The light died down after a few moments, revealing Shelgon's last form that Blake quickly identified as a Salamence.
"Awesome!" Grace cheered, watching Salamence look down its feet that now possessed small silver claws, and then to its back where it found a pair of wings. Blake couldn't suppress the genuine smile that grew on his face with Shelgon's final evolution. Taking out his Pokedex, Blake looked up Salamence's new move set.
"Ryuu, use Flame Thrower!" Blake shouted, looking toward the Dragon Pokemon who turned around to glare at Tangrowth. Grace's Pokemon instantly became frightened, jumping backward which was Salamence's cue to attack. Salamence unleashed a wave of flames from its mouth onto Tangrowth, engulfing the Grass type in flames which knocked it out from the super effective hit. "Nice."
"Hey, that wasn't fair Blake, I wasn't ready!" Grace called out after returning her Tangrowth.
"Heh, tough love." Blake replied, walking over to his newly evolved Salamence who looked toward him with a smirk. "Can you fly Ryuu?"
If a question mark could materialize above the Dragon Pokemon's head, Salamence would be surrounded with them.
"Well let's find out." Blake said, climbing onto its back before pointing up at the clear skies. "Let's go!"
Salamence gave a loud roar before flapping its wings twice, taking a leap into the air to get airborne. They rose about eight feet before both Salamence and Blake came crashing to the ground, the two of them tumbling a bit before they came to stop.
"Are you guys okay?" Grace asked, rushing over to her brother and Salamence.
"We're fine." Blake said, sitting up to observe Salamence who was shaking its head a bit before flapping its wings again. Blake and Grace watched as Salamence took off once again, spreading its wings which resulted in it gliding for a few seconds, but when it tried to flap its wings, Salamence dropped to the ground like a brick.
"That's pretty strange. I didn't know you have to teach a Salamence how to fly." Grace stated.
"Neither did I, so I guess we still have some training to do." Blake said with a nod of agreement before taking note of Matt who had return to the clearing that they had been training in.
"Hey Matt, how was training today?" Grace asked, addressing the shirtless boy who was drenched in sweat and panting. Matt remained silent, brushing past Grace and Blake to head to the small campsite the group had made in the clearing. Collecting a towel, Matt left them without a word, heading toward the river to take a bath.
Grace was honestly impressed with Matt and Blake. While she trained with Blake and saw the regime he had designed for his Pokemon, she had yet to see what Matt's was like. All she knew was that Matt himself came back exhausted each day, took a bath an crashed in his sleeping bag, and if he was that tired, she could only imagine what his Pokemon must've been like.
Blake would finish his day of training in a similar fashion, but he was never as tired as Matt. That left Blake and Grace to wonder what he was doing everyday.
10/11/0046/Night
Johto Region
Ecruteak City
Entering the large estate belonging to the Kimono Girls, Lana let out a loud sigh as she released her hold on her backpack, allowing it to drop to the floor. She was finally back in Ecruteak City, and her top priority right now was go sleep, on a bed.
Surprisingly, the entire estate was quiet, which Lana planned to take advantage of and catch a few Z's. As she neared the door of her room, she found that the entire door was covered in notes that had been taped on. Their were at least twenty five different letters, Lana quickly spotting some differences between who wrote which ones.
Taking the longest one which was signed by Nozomi at the end, Lana began to read it, wondering what was so important that they had to go this far to make sure she noticed.
'Dear Lana, we need you to go to Sinnoh. We received a call from Professor Elm a while ago saying that Professor Cedar in the Sinnoh Region has been picking up a lot of seismic activity around Mt Corenet. They need someone to go investigate and we've got our hands full so we need you to head over there as soon as possible. Sincerely, Nozomi.' Lana read before tossing the letter to the floor. "I'll get going tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to sleep on a bed!"
The short brunette slid open the door to her room to get a running start toward her bed. With a small jump, Lana landed on the queen sized bed in the middle of the room.
"So soft, civilization is the best!"
10/15/0046/Morning
Mt Corenet
Blake, Grace and Matt rested in a flat, rocky area a good ways up the mountain where they had set up camp the night before. Right now Blake was busy with Salamence, sharing the mechanics behind flying although he didn't have much to share. All he would says was to keep its wings spread for wind resistance to slow its decent.
Salamence hadn't made much progress, and Blake couldn't understand what was affecting its ability to fly. Coming to the conclusion that Salamence wouldn't be able to fly, Blake began to make strategies for Salamence without the ability to fly. But that wasn't enough for the Dragon Pokemon. It wanted to fly.
"Blake, do think Salamence will learn to fly by instinct?" Grace asked Blake as Salamence stretched out its wings, preparing for its next attempt.
"By instinct?" He repeated, looking at her while raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah. You know, like how Pidgeot's teach Pidgey's how to fly by pushing them off a tree branch." Grace explained. "Do you think if Salamence were to like, jump off a cliff it would learn to fly for survival?"
"That…could work." Blake mumbled, mulling over the idea. The IBF Finals was in a week, and Salamence still couldn't fly, so anything was worth a shot now. "I guess we could give it a try."
"Are you ready Ryuu?" Blake asked as he rested on its back. Salamence looked back at Blake, sweat pouring down its face as it shook its head. "Don't be scared, it's only a one hundred foot drop."
"Rahh." It muttered, turning around to peer over the edge of the cliff once more.
"Do you want to fly Ryuu?" Blake asked the Pokemon who gave him a nod. "Then jump off this cliff."
Salamence looked back at Blake one more time before gulping. Then it took a few steps back before getting a running start. Grabbing onto Salamence's neck, Grace watched as the two of them disappeared over the age, beginning to plummet down toward the next platform. Blake was clinging tightly to its neck, but Salamence was staring at the approaching platform with wide eyes.
"Flap your wings!" Blake shouted. "If we hit the ground, you'll be seriously injured!"
Salamence was still frozen as the two of them dropped. Watching the two of them from on top the cliff, Grace could tell that their plan wasn't as full proof as she thought it would be. Blake was hoping he wouldn't have to play this card, but it appeared as though Salamence wouldn't respond to the danger it would be crashing into pretty soon.
"Ryuu, if you don't fly…I could die from this fall!" Blake shouted desperately.
Salamence's double vision joined together with the realization that Blake was in danger as well if it couldn't fly. Turning its body downward into a nose drive, Salamence's terrified expression disappeared as it spread its wings, piercing through the air as it sped up its decent toward the platform below.
'Come Ryuu, you can do it…' Blake said mentally, his eyes changing to a lime green as he Synchronized with Salamence. 'I know you can do it!'
As they approached the platform, Salamence gave both its wings one flap which put its decent to an immediate stop before spreading its wings once more to glide through the air. Blake was silent for a moment, watching Salamence glide for a few moments before it began to flap its wings, ascending to the platform where Grace and Matt were waiting for the two of them.
"Nice Ryuu!" Blake said to the Dragon Pokemon as it landed on the platform behind Matt and Grace who were cheering for Salamence's success. "For a second there I thought this wasn't going to work, but good job."
"Hey Blake, do you think Salamence-" Matt began.
"Ryuu." Blake interjected with a glare.
"…Ryuu, do you think it can give us a ride up to the Battle Dome?" Matt asked sheepishly, using Salamence's nickname.
"I don't know, do you think you're up to it?" Blake asked, jumping off of Salamence's back.
"Ra…" Salamence growled softly before nodding its head.
"Then let's get going!" Grace shouted, happy that she wouldn't have to spend another night finding their way to the top of Mt Corenet using the caves.
Gathering their belongs, the group of three got onto the back of the Dragon Pokemon who had to take a few moments to adjust to the added weight. Then with a running start, it leaped off the cliff once more. This time, Salamence took off with its wings spread, beginning to climb along the side of the mountain.
As the group clung onto its back for another twenty minutes or so, they found themselves staring at the Mt Corenet Battle Dome. The building was similar to the Meteor Falls Battle Dome, being comfortably lodged on the side of a mountain, but this was built into the mountain side. This Battle Dome was the second largest on the planet, easily holding over a hundred thousand fans in the oval shaped arena.
"This is going to be sweet!" Matt exclaimed as the Salamence landed on the platform, allowing the group on its back to hop off.
"Nice Ryuu, take a rest." Blake said, returning the Dragon Pokemon to its Poke-ball.
"Let's get registered for the Finals." Grace said, motioning toward the front doors that were suddenly thrown up, a large crowd better known as the pauperize came racing toward them.
"Damn." Blake muttered, remembering that this televised event would be worldwide, and as one of the finalists, he was sure to receive attention for the media.
"Can we get an interview!" The reporters shouted as they crowded around the group.
10/22/0046/Morning
Mt Corenet Battle Dome
Corridors
Blake's last week of training in Mt Corenet was as brutal it could get. There were no trainers to battle against with how far up the mountain he was, but the level of the wild Pokemon was perfect for training. Especially with the varying types Mt Corenet had to offer. From the Ice types on the north face of the mountain to the Rock and Dark types on the inside.
All of Blake's Pokemon received their fair share of training, but with Salamence at its final evolution, Blake turned his attention to strengthening Absol.
The Dark type Pokemon he had added to his team in the spur of the moment back in Lilycove City turned out to be a powerful Pokemon, capable of holding its own against most trainers at the IBF level. But while it did possess a powerful move pool, the Disaster Pokemon was distrustful of Blake since he never did return the Orbs. It wasn't easy to make it one of his full time allies, but a week's worth of harsh training Mt Corenet strengthened the bond between the two of them
Now Absol was like a normal member of Blake's team, possessing the same attitude three out of his six Pokemon possessed. Glaring at almost anyone, Absol fit in perfectly with Gallade and Typholision, but it turned out to be quite accepting after becoming friends with Poliwrath, Tyranitar and Salamence. He hadn't used the Disaster Pokemon once during the second round, but now Blake felt that he was comfortable enough with Absol to use it during these high stakes battles.
"So are you excited to see the competitors this year sir?" One of the critics asked as they were joined by a dark haired man who took a seat beside them.
"I love watching the IBF Tourney, it's the only way I can find out what hot shot trainers are going up to the World stage to challenge me." The dark haired male replied casually.
"So what do you think of them so far?"
"All of them are strong. And the Regional Champs are even stronger than what I usually expect to see. But two of them stand out even more than them."
"Which ones?"
"Those two together at the front of the group." He said, pointing toward Matt and Grace. "Each of them give off a presence that's different from the Regional Champs. Something that could cause a huge upset this year."
"You really think so?"
"I'm sure about it. This year's batch is spectacular. But I can't wait to see all these powerful trainer face off with each other." The dark haired man said with a widening smile.
"You haven't seen all of them yet."
"Really?" He said, counting up the number of trainers that were present in the enormous arena. There were only fourteen out of the sixteen that should be there.
"Here he comes one of them, from the north entrance." The critics said, pointing out Griffen who entered the stadium with a blank expression, observing the fans that were now focusing on him.
The eyes of the dark haired male became wide. There was an enormous aura surrounding him, one that was larger than any of the finalists. He gasped, trying to find words to describe what he had seen, but then Blake entered he stadium with his usual dark expression on. The eyes of the dark haired man was then drawn to Blake, finding that the aura surrounding Blake was just as overwhelming powerful as Griffen's.
'Such a powerful presence!' The dark haired man exclaimed mentally. 'I've never seen anything like it!'
"No way, is that the Golden Flash!" A few fans seated around the group exclaimed, noticing the dark haired man who quickly took note this.
"What's he doing here?"
"Can I get an autograph!"
The number of people surrounding the man quickly grew in size as word spread of his presence. After years of being caught in Battle Domes by fans all over the world, the dark haired male had trouble weaseling his way through the crowd to make his escape.
"Those two trainers, I don't know who or what they are, but I want to know more." He said to himself as he sprinted through the hallways, hoping he could find another area where he could get a seat.
Day one of the IBF Finals started with a bang as the stands of the large stadium became filled with fans from all over the Sinnoh Region. Being built into a mountain, their was no sunlight, so the entire area was lit but multiple powerful lights that were all aimed down at the battle field where the sixteen finalists were waiting to begin.
The fans held sparklers which many of them had lit already in the darkness, many people raiding the gift shops for merchandise to support their favorite trainer. A circular platform rose up from the center of the battle field were a young man with a microphone greeting everyone with a loud shout.
"Hello fans from across the globe! Welcome to the IBF Finals!" He shouted proudly, getting a roar of cheers from the fans. "You've all been watching for over two months, and now the IBF Tourney has come down to its sixteen finalists. All this battling for the IBF crown has come down to sixteen people who will, in a few minutes, begin eliminating each other to determine who has the right to challenge the IBF Champion!
"These battles will take place over a course of three days, where our finalists will slowly take each other out until were down to two trainers who will battle each other in the final match to become first contender for the IBF Title. So let's get going with the first match today!"
The fans roared with approval, anticipating the amazing battles that were sure to take place.
Spear Pillar
"Excellent, everything is going according to plan." An old man said to himself with a soft smile, watching as four Red Chains circling around him. Sander, the Commissioner of the Sinnoh Committee was located in Spear Pillar.
Within the top Mt Corenet was a location that was referred to as Spear Pillar, that was supposedly the location of a place where someone could cross into different dimensions and call out a few Legendary Pokemon so long as certain conditions were met.
Resting around in on the ground around the older gentleman in a triangular formation were three small children with glowing wrists that were crying out in a pain.
"Soon it will be over…Abyss Arceus will finally appear and the Storm will begin." The man said to himself with a cackle. "And I can begin my hunt for the King, to begin my reign."
I know its been a while since I posted. I didn't stop, I just had to put everything on hold to prepare for my finals, and now their over so I'm back having all the free time I'd need to type. Yay! :D
With the IBF Finals starting up in Sinnoh, its almost time for the Storm to begin while Blake is more focused on battling all of his current rivals.
Leave a review, tell me what you think, I'd like to know what anyone has to say, I'll reply if your interested. R & R!