Thank you all very much for reviewing. Due to me being very busy during the past few weeks, and the fact that this chapter is uber long, this took quite a while. I hope you enjoy.
The Power Trials
Chapter 9: Of Ice and Fire
The hall was empty. It was long and the walls were plated with steel, a faint cold aura coming from every direction. Isolation.
That was what Chris Hanoski felt as he stepped quickly along the hallway. He was a man of twenty, spiky brown hair jetting out from his head. A navy overcoat flowed behind him as he continued forward, each footstep hitting the ground softly. He reached a large, oaken door. Stretching his hand out in a fist, he knocked on it.
"Come in." The voice drawled out slowly from behind the mass as Chris pushed open the door to a large, furnished and antique room. 18th century furniture was scattered around, and a large, bald, man sat in the middle, stretched out on a plump leather armchair. He was looking out large, single paned window.
"Welcome, Chris. I am the chairman," He said formally, twisting around. His eyes were blank and emotionless, even though a fake smile was plastered on his face.
"You may know why I have asked you to come here," The Chairman continued, putting one leg leisurely over the other. "This is because everyone believes that you are one of the three legendary psychics of the world, one of the Psi. But… how can I be sure that is true?"
Chris shrugged. "What would you like me to do?"
"I don't know," The Chairman replied a matter-of-factly. "Something big, powerful. Something exciting."
"Like this?" Chris asked, and he put two fingers to his forehead, and then pointed at the chandelier above him.
The chandelier exploded. It split apart into a shower of glass and sparks, all of which rained down like a hailstorm. The brass skeleton of the light twisted and bent before crashing to the ground in a tornado of dust and smoke. Then there was a faint cracking sound as something hissed through the air towards the back of Chris's neck.
Chris frowned and the object streaking towards him suddenly stopped, floating eerily in midair. It was a 50-caliber sniper bullet.
"What was that?" Chris asked, glaring.
There was a quick flicker of fear in the Chairman's eyes, but he paused as if nothing had happened.
"Oh that was an accident. You see, I was afraid you would be an enemy, I had no idea of your true strength. That's why I had a sniper positioned."
Chris could tell that the Chairman was lying through his teeth, but pressed the situation no further. "Okay, then."
The bullet behind him flashed and disintegrated into dust.
"What do you want me to do?"
oOo
The steam slowly cleared, and dust rose into the air. Rampage was hovering above Lutra, who was lying still on the ground.
The audience was silent for a few minutes, and the bead of sweat on Eldon's forehead dropped to the ground.
"It seems that Eldon has suffered a devastating loss!" Alan Harrison announced over the loudspeaker. "Bryce has wo- "
Lutra put a paw on the ground, struggled for a bit, and slowly pulled herself up.
"What?" Harrison exclaimed. "Amazing! Utterly amazing! The Vaporeon has gotten itself back up!"
"What the hell?" Bryce yelled angrily from the other side as the crowd began cheering. "That Vaporeon was hit by Rampage's Poison Whip! It's impossible that she could survive!"
"Lutra!" Eldon called out. "Draw out the last of all of your energy…"
Lutra opened her mouth, and a pulsing yellow orb swirled inside.
"And use Hidden Power right at the inside of Rampage!" Eldon finished, pointing directly at the Tentacruel.
The orb exploded from Lutra's mouth into five more, electric waves slamming into Rampage's unprotected and hollow insides.
Rampage was thrown into the air for a few seconds, hovering eerily. Then he crashed into the ground with a shattering of rocks, a bright white light coursing through the whole stadium. He was knocked out cold.
Lutra smiled at her victory, and then collapsed to the ground, fatigued.
"Good job, Lutra," Eldon whispered.
The crowd roared in applause.
oOo
Aiden Dasopatis vs. Ty Carlson
Aiden Dasopatis tightened his hand on the Pokeball, not sure if he had made the right choice.
"The second battle is up," Harrison announced cheerfully, "And tension is peaking!"
"May we welcome, from the red corner, seventeen year-old Aiden Dasopatis from Hoenn's Lavaridge Town! Though his Pokemon are not very strong, he is recognized for his defensive tactics!"
The crowd cheered, mingled with loud applause.
"And from the blue corner, Ty Carlson from the Orre region! He is a strong outdoorsman, and his Pokemon are a force to be reckoned with!"
Ty waved his arms as applause reigned supreme, shouts from supporters coming from the crowd. He had a smug smile on his face as he greeted Aiden.
"Are you up for it?"
Aiden pressed the button on his Pokeball. "You bet I am."
Two red streaks of light hurtled onto the ground, forming into large shapes.
"This battle will be different," Harrison boomed. "And will not require usage of platforms. Let the battle begin!"
"Gengar, let's see what you've got!" Aiden called out. The Ghost Pokemon snickered maliciously at the large Gliscor on the other side. He was balancing himself with his tail on the ground.
"Phantom will beat the crap outta ya," Ty yelled out, taunting Aiden.
"Well let's see how long you'll last!" Aiden answered back, standing up straight. "Gengar, use Double Team!"
"Phantom, Swords Dance!" Ty ordered.
Gengar split apart into multiples around Phantom, each grinning widely. The Gliscor tensed his claws, a red aura emerging around him. He didn't seem fazed.
Ty took out a pair of binoculars and trained them on the ring of rapidly flashing Gengar, muttering himself. Smiling triumphantly, he yelled out at Phantom.
"Phantom, Shadow Claw the second one on your left!"
Phantom raised his right claw and slashed down at one of the Gengar. There was a flash of shadows as the rest of the multiples exploded into nothingness, and the Gengar that Phantom had hit collapsed to the ground.
"How did you know which one was which?" Aiden asked, shocked.
"The one with the darkest shadow!" Ty replied, smirking. "It's simple science!"
Aiden swore, and called out another order at Gengar. "Use Double Shadow!"
Gengar charged at Phantom, glowing with a blue aura.
"Dodge, Phantom!" Ty yelled out.
Phantom swept to the side in a gust of wind, smiling. But not for long. To his horror, the Gengar that charged at him had suddenly disappeared, and he looked up to see a colossal Shadow Ball being fired at him from above. It slammed into him, swirling like a drill and crashing him to the ground in a hurricane of rocks.
"What was that?" Ty asked in horror.
"A Double Team multiple that was meant to be a diversion," Aiden answered, smiling. "The real Gengar was above Phantom, yet the movements were so fast you didn't notice."
At that same moment, exactly twenty eight flat jets of ice shot out from different sides of the stadium and connected with the other side, forming thin mirrors. The air had suddenly grown two times colder.
Aiden froze, staring up at the large plates of ice that loomed above him. Now he didn't have any view of his Gengar.
"Gengar?" Aiden called out uncertainly. "You there?"
Without waiting for an answer, he charged into the frigid labyrinth of ice, each one reflecting himself.
Right in front of him, he had found Gengar, who was standing uncertainly. "We need to find a way to clear the ice, don't we?"
Gengar looked down, disappointed.
"It's impossible, right?" Aiden asked. "Then we need to find the opponent before I get a brain freeze."
As if his call for help was answered, a loud shout broke the air. "Phantom, use Shadow Claw again!"
Aiden caught sight of the large bat flying towards them in the mirror, and yelled at Gengar to dodge as he dove away from the plate of ice. The Gliscor continued forward, shattering several panes of ice.
Then the Gliscor suddenly disappeared, and it was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did it go?" Aiden asked, a hint of fear in his voice.
Gengar growled, and spread his arms out wide, anticipating an attack. The Gliscor suddenly appeared in front of them, causing Aiden to yell out in triumph.
"He's there!" He cried out, pointing at the Gliscor grinning in front of them.
Gengar roared, and a Shadow Ball zipped from his palms, swirling into Phantom. It was then when Aiden realized that he had made a fatal mistake. The Gliscor somehow shattered into flakes of ice, and at that moment, Aiden jumped right over Gengar. Phantom was behind them, and he struck out at Aiden instead, who got smashed in the stomach. The blow caused him to fly back and crash into another frame of ice. Groaning and clutching his stomach in pain, he staggered back up, smiling at Ty, who was gaping in shock.
"Where did it go?" He asked menacingly.
"The shadows," Aiden replied, standing up. "Now Gengar, Ice Beam!"
Gengar shot up from Phantom's shadow, grinning widely at him as swirls of cold air was collected into his palms. As it formed into a sphere of swirling air, Gengar widened his palms and the air shot out in jets of blue beams, zapping the Gliscor simultaneously. Gasping, it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"How did that happen?" Ty asked, still unmoving with shock.
Aiden massaged his stomach again, smiling weakly. "When I jumped over Gengar, I created a shadow for it to go inside. Gengar can travel through shadows, you should know that."
He punched a fist into the air. "Good game."
Lindsay Skies vs. Patali Rabora
Lindsay twirled her Pokeball around on her finger while Harrison rubbed his hands in anticipation, his voice booming through the stadium.
"Welcome, audience! This is yet another platform battle, and who knows how this will turn out? Everybody excited?"
The audience yelled out their approval, and a wave of cheers came from around the stadium. Several people shouted for Harrison to get on with it.
Harrison held up his hands, smiling. "Okay, okay. From the blue corner, let's welcome Patali Rabora! She is from the Kanto region's Celadon City, and is famous for her quick decisions!"
The crowd cheered.
"The red corner holds Lindsay Skies, a formidable trainer who has surprising potential and is from Kanto's Pallet Town! Without further ado, let the battle commence!"
Patali took out her Pokeball and clenched it tightly in her hand.
"You up for this?" Lindsay asked politely, calling through the distance between them.
"Yeah," Patali answered. "Flara!" The Infernape materialized out from Patali's Pokeball with a bright flash of red.
"Sprout!" Lindsay called out, hurling the Pokeball to the battlegrounds. The capsule bounced back up, releasing a cheerful Jumpluff.
"Flara, start off with a Vacuum Wave!" Flara's hands glowed blue, and she swiped the air in front of her, launching a blue wave of energy towards Sprout.
"Dodge, Sprout!" Lindsay called out.
Sprout dodged out of the way, and the wave of energy impacted Sprout's previous area harmlessly.
"Sprout, Encore!" Sprout clapped his cotton puffs together, a beam of light shooting towards Flara, engulfing her. Dazed by the attack, Flara used Vacuum Wave again, the attack speeding towards Sprout. Sprout easily bounded over it, the momentum of the jump carrying him over Flara's head.
"Now use Seed Bomb!" Lindsay yelled. Sprout's mouth grew green, and he unleashed a glowing green sphere of energy at Flara. Flara clenched her fists, caught off-guard. Energy waves erupted all around her as the packed ball of energy slammed into her, knocking her breath out.
But it wasn't over yet. Yelling in fury, Flara suddenly jumped out of the explosion of dust straight towards Spore, who was still floating in midair.
"Use Shadow Claw!" Patali yelled. Flara's right hand grew purple, and with her left hand, she grabbed Sprout. He couldn't break out of the grip in time, and received a world of pain. The force of the blow launched him higher into the air.
"Aerial Ace!" Sprout charged towards Flara, the wind gathering around him, and he rammed her back into the ground in an explosion of rocks. Sprout then landed back on his feet lightly, bracing himself. Flara struggled back onto her feet and stood up, staggering around a bit.
"Earthquake!" Patali yelled. Flara punched the ground, and the ground started shaking. A circle of energy started spreading from where Flara hit the ground. The ground cracked, jagged lines splitting through the entire battlefield. Spore jumped up, narrowly avoiding the attack, and began riding on thermal drafts.
"Aerial Ace, Sprout!" Spore shifted into a ready position, rearing back for another charge.
"Flare Blitz, Flara!" Fire suddenly erupted around Flara, as if flaming volcanoes were under her the whole time. Ripples of heat suddenly appeared around her, and she resembled a mirage. Then, the heat seemed to gather in her hands, and she stepped back and charged towards Sprout, who had jumped back into the air and was dive bombing towards her. They both collided in midair, a dome of energy coursing through the stadium.
The smoke cleared, and Sprout wobbled out, looking severely battered. Flara dashed out after him and grabbed Sprout's feet, flinging him back to the ground, where he crashed, struggling to get up. Jumping back from her attack, Flara alighted nimbly on the ground.
"How do you like that?" Patali yelled triumphantly. Lindsay gritted her teeth in frustration. She wasn't about to go out on her very first battle in the trial. She needed a new strategy…
As if fate had answered her wish, fire suddenly erupted on one side of the stadium, surging through like a raging dragon. Lindsay's eyes trailed the fire as it traveled around the stadium, an idea forming in her mind.
Sprout's cotton balls started glowing orange. He suddenly stood up straight, his eyes glowing with renewed determination. It was like he had never felt better before.
"What the…?" Patali gasped, while Lindsay smiled.
"Sprout's special ability is Chorophyll, which doubles his speed in strong light. Or didn't you know that?" Lindsay informed Patali. "The fire along with the bright sunlight releases effects similar to Sunny Day." Patali didn't look so cocky then, but she quickly regained her composure.
"He's nearly finished anyways!" She yelled. "Flara, finish him off with a Vacuum Wave!" Flara's hands glowed blue, and she sent another wave of energy towards Sprout.
Nothing could stop him. Sprout sped out of the way so fast that he was a blur to the naked eye, and he appeared right next to Flara before anyone could blink.
"Leech seed!" Lindsay ordered.
Sprout shot out a rain of cotton puffs onto Flara, which latched onto her. Flara growled and attempted a swipe, but Sprout easily dodged out of the way. The swipe caused the puffs to glow green, and Sprout glowed green as well. Flara stumbled as some of her life energy was transferred to Sprout. Patali definitely had a panicked look in her eyes now.
The fire roared harder, threatening to take them both in.
"Don't attack, Flara!" Patali ordered.
"Too late. Encore!" Lindsay called out.
Sprout clapped again, and Flara was forced to use Vacuum Wave again, which Sprout dodged easily. Flara stumbled again as some more of her life energy was transferred into Sprout. Flara looked like she was almost done, stumbling to the ground.
Then she dropped in a crouch on the ground, and an orange aura began surrounding her. Patali's eyes lit up, while Lindsay's quickly turned worried.
"What?" Lindsay asked weakly.
"Didn't you know? Flara's special ability is Blaze, which increases her attack by a lot when she's seriously hurt!" Patali yelled back.
"Flara, Flare Blitz!" Fire erupted again. This time, with the added effect of the cotton puffs glowing green, but it hardly seemed to faze Flara at the point. She charged towards Spore.
"Seed Bomb!" Sprout launched several explosives of energy at Flara, but she managed to dodge them while not breaking stride, the bombs exploding harmlessly around her. The heat energy she charged up though had dissipated, feeding the gradually growing storm of fire around them.
"Sprout, dodge!" Sprout jumped out of the way, and Flara charged past the spot where Sprout just was.
"Sprout, jump and Aerial Ace!" Sprout jumped in the air, and then proceeded to dive bomb the Infernape.
"Flara, Flare Blitz one more time!" Patali called out.
Flara started charging up another Flare Blitz, but the spores latched on to her flashed green again, draining her energy and causing her to break concentration. The attack was unleashed in a torrent of flame, speeding through the ring of fire around them and gathering in strength.
"Go!" Both Patali and Lindsay yelled at the same time.
Sprout unleashed a final blast of solar powered energy at the pillar of fire, and there was a massive explosion as the fire split apart into smoke.
Then there was silence.
The smoke slowly cleared, revealing the Infernape and Sprout lying on the ground, heavily battered and bruised.
Tension heightened to its peak.
But the Leech Seed had done its trick. Glowing green, Sprout flashed once, and he stumbled onto his feet.
"AND THE WINNER IS LINDSAY SKIES AND SPROUT!" Harrison yelled. The crowd roared their approval, cheers erupting through the stadium.
oOo
"That was done well…" The Chairman whispered. He was staring at the vast expanse of clear blue liquid shimmering in a large glass vial.
It began raining outside.
Thunder boomed overhead.
Yeah, and I'm finished with the chapter. Sorry for the delay, since it was far too long, I split the chapter into two parts. So R&R please!
*Credits to Lindsay's battle goes to TripleNNNBooyeah, because I was way too busy and he offered to do it for me. I gave it a makeover though to fit my style, but the battle sequence and ideas go to him. A big thank you.