Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies. The characters in this work are all loosely based on those created by Pokemon and its companies, and this story will never by no means be used to make monetary profit or gain.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lightning Strikes Twice:
Six pokemon. Electrode. Raichu. Manectric. Electrivire. Ampharos. Magnezone.
Triple battle. Twenty different possible team combinations.
I checked the joint training Dante and Callidora were undergoing. We're not ready.
"Again," I ordered, and Callidora snapped her jaw tiredly. Dante gave no reaction.
Pikachu snickered.
And that prompted the seventh fight between my ivysaur and him today. And the fifth one I was too bothered to separate.
An excited murmur rushed through our crowd of spectators. For some reason, Callidora and Pikachu clashing with each other always made the merry onlookers' day. I could feel the soft earth underneath me trembling as many pairs of eyes, visible only because of Dante's flames lighting the cavern, marched forwards unafraid of the stray lightning bolts to more closely inspect the battle my two mains were undergoing. To their disappointment, this particular clash didn't last long. Pikachu swiftly dodged Calliodora's four vines and tackled her on the side, hard. Callidora didn't even give out a whimper, she was too exhausted as her short legs failed her and she fell, giving me a hateful glance. Pikachu snorted and did a small victory tour around her, and the many pokemon watching cheered.
Reaching towards a mixture of crushed leppa and sitrus berries I had prepared, I walked towards her to treat her new bruises. The diglett watching the battle dug underneath and scattered when I approached. "Don't give me that," I said as I rubbed the ointment to her side. "If you can't even handle him, imagine how hard Surge is going to hit. And you and Dante are our only chance in winning. So up your game. Again," I ordered.
A small apologetic look appeared on my charmeleon's face as he nudged Callidora on her uninjured side with his snout. All three of my pokemon knew the main reason Callidora was struggling so much during this training was Dante's fault; the attack plan I had for Surge largely depended on my ivysaur and charmeleon, and Dante was purely lacking. Callidora always had to double her efforts to make up for him, which wasn't fair, but was what needed to be done to win. That change of expression on Dante though was a welcome one, he was normally stoic and distanced from the group, focused only on training. I guessed Callidora sensing his sincere guilt was the final push needed to bring her back up on her feet. With a grunt, she lifted herself and waited my command.
"Now."
And a minute later, when Dante and Callidora were done, after so many failed attempts, with the diglett scattering away from us in fear of their lives, I understood we had finally achieved a satisfactory result. Even Pikachu looked impressed under the shadows of Dante's flames. "Good," I addressed my two tired but proud pokemon. "Rest." And they both collapsed on their bellies.
Chuckling slightly at their sight, I began preparing them their meals. Unfortunately between last week's S.S. Anne catastrophe and our time down here in Diglett's Cave, I hadn't had much of a chance of stocking on meat, and the diglett here were too fast for even my persian Silk to hunt. As for the reason why we were down here in the first place was, well, I needed a large, empty space with soft soil to practice the high risk high reward strategy I had thought of to win against Surge, and the natural wonder born by many centuries worth of diglett digging, moving, and tunneling the earth beneath the mountains east to Vermilion proved the perfect spot to do so. My trainer's license plus a two badge clearance was enough for the rangers to allow me access to the levels lower than what the tourists saw, but I had still avoided the far, most deep corners of Diglett's Cave and settled in a larger cavern relatively closer to the surface; diglett, even in groups, were not that dangerous, but their evolution dugtrio that roamed the lower levels were known to be extremely aggressive with their hypnotic eyesight preventing you from escape - an encounter with a wild dugtrio would always end up in a fight to the death. Also, there were stories of even the best of trainers getting lost in this underground maze, only to be never recovered, an outcome I wished to avoid. Rumors said the tunnels reached all the way from here to Pewter, but I had heard of no scientific evidence backing this claim.
So while Callidora had a relatively decent meal of tree roots, if Dante was displeased with the canned crushed kakuna and metapod goo he was getting, at least he had the decency of not showing it on his face. He sniffed the powdery substance once, then gobbled it all up in one flame covered tongue swoop. I noticed him shutting his eyes as he tasted it, he probably hated it, but I knew these insect carapaces held much more high amounts of protein than bovine meat and were therefore better for a predatory mon like a charmeleon during times when the body was exhausting itself, like when training.
I couldn't help but stare as he ate. It had been a tough decision deciding on him as my third against the Lieutenant, between him and Silk, my persian was actually the stronger mon. But there was the issue that Pikachu would never feel concentrated enough on the battlefield if a predator to his species was with him, and also that Silk was still not listening to me completely. Dante however was all about obedience, and I could see he was working his best to be of use to me. He also had some chemistry with Callidora going on, he never forgot that it was thanks to her he was able to go through his drug withdrawals. So in the end I had decided on him, which had brought the possibilities of a few uncommon team strategies with.
I sat leaning on the cavern's wall deep in thought and began scratching between Pikachu's ears. Once we perfected our battle strategy, we would leave Diglett's Cave to schedule a battle with Surge. I suspected we wouldn't have to wait too long, not many trainers willingly entered a triple battle. And if we lost, well, I didn't want to think about that, because I was pretty sure Surge fought to kill. So instead I tried focusing on what we would do once we won.
Bill was going to meet me in Cerulean after the battle. Over the dex, he was quite excited at the idea of tracking down a drug ring and had insisted I deliver the samples of X I had in person, which made sense since sending drugs via mail would bring us both a lot of problems. So - hopefully - with my earnings from Surge, I was going to book a port to Cerulean, an act in direct violation of my rule against using gym rewards in anything unrelated to my goal.
Except I had to admit, ever since the S.S. Anne, my lines were becoming blurrier and blurrier. I had long suspected the rockets having at least one high caliber league officer on their payroll, and the recent events only proved it more, so did stopping the rockets actually count as a motivation in becoming champion, a position in which I could more easily pluck out the rotten weeds of the league government? Or was it simply personal feelings, a selfish vendetta blinding me so much that I would even sacrifice from my original goal to avenge the death of my team in Mt. Moon, the torture inflicted upon me by James, the hurt Butch had caused, and the humiliation at the hands of Archer?
I sighed. It's more likely the latter. Maybe feeling a twinge of guilt and responsibility at the human lives lost at the hands of the rockets was a good first step in finding the motivation, the belief supporting the great ambition that I was born and had every right to be a champion, but no, it was not the ultimate final answer, an answer that would perhaps present itself once I pried from the rockets' mouths more secrets about my fathe-
Wait, I thought, fully aware that my subconscious had intentionally cut short where my trail of thoughts were headed. What if the rockets do actually have someone really up high backing them?
I stared at Dante. Would they actually? There was no chance, but if there were, then of course it would be initiated by the rockets, seeing no one else but them knew about it, and this would prove my suspicions, perhaps even at a great cost at myself. If it's true...
I stood abruptly, causing Pikachu to fall from my lap. Ignoring his complaints, I grinned and asked my three pokemon, Dante whose owner was killed, Callidora who had been scarred permanently by an arrowhead, and Pikachu who had experienced firsthand the capabilities of those people, one question.
"Would you like to catch a rocket?"
The answer came in triple growls.
))(())((
No announcer. No cheers.
Only the cold spherical screen hanging from the ceiling.
"Pokemon Trainer Red vs Vermilion Gym Leader Surge"
Underneath my name the screen was split in three equal parts, and while the other two parts were blank, the first had an image of Pikachu, who was down below on the forest arena, far from where I stood on the deck. Surge's side of the screen was also split, but his parts were all blank.
The seats were full, but out of respect for the trainers and most difficult battle type of all, the crowd was silent. I found myself surprised at missing the background noise I had grown accustomed to during these gym challenges but pushed the feeling away. Now was not the time to wallow in fear of the unfamiliar, but to steady my resolve and sharpen my instincts.
For across me, the Lieutenant had entered.
He climbed the trainer's deck in no hurry, each step filled with the assuredness of a man who had seen, done, and survived this experience countless times. I silently wondered how many had been slain by this man, this man whose service record included many impressive feats, from the Alph expeditions to the Tohjo guerrilla wars, this man whose gym held the second highest fatality rate in all of Indigo, trailing just behind Fuchsia Gym. A man of action, incapable of sitting still even when retired from active duty, a man who had served, and was in a way still serving the country he had risked his life for, a man who was formidable even in appearance with his athletic, lean built and short, buzz cut blond hair, a man seemingly undefeatable.
And despite the respect his aura commanded those around him, in an ironic twist of fate, his very visible vulnerability would be the immediate first thing people noticed if not kept hidden, and perhaps that was why those shades so much linked together with the image of Vermilion Gym Leader Lieutenant Surge never left his face; a shield, from the pity filled eyes of the world against a blinded man, a one eyed freak no longer fit for duty, a cover against the memories of a painful end brought to a bright and promising career, only because of one tiny nidoqueen dart less large than a toothpick, a cruel reminder that even the smallest of worries are worth attention and focus in this bestial world of ours.
But if the difference between victory and defeat were to be up to that, well, my body was no stranger to such lessons, and my eyes also had their fair share of secrets to keep. My right arm rose, baring my Lichtenberg figure naked as I pulled down on my cap to cover my eyes. I nodded a small salute towards the one gym leader I felt a kinship towards, a privilege I had not offered to Misty and Brock, and was greeted with a similar gesture back. Both our attentions shifted when the writing on the screen changed.
"Trainers! Prepare your pokeballs..."
I freed Dante and Callidora's balls from my belt ready to throw them. Pikachu had already taken his place in the battlefield before I had climbed the observatory deck reserved for the challenging trainer and was waiting on his teammates.
"3..."
I glimpsed at Surge, what would his choices be?
"2..."
If he had prepared by watching my previous battles - who was I kidding, he had definitely prepared - then he knew of Pikachu, he knew of Callidora, and he knew of Paul. And he probably knew I would not dare use a water type against him, so his choices would counter my starter and ivysaur.
"1..."
What would they be? Perhaps his manectric, or a new electrode? Unlike with Brock and Misty, there was no guesswork and favorable probability here, there were too many variables, there were-
"Throw!"
Dante announced his arrival with a loud, intimidating roar, and I heard a few gasps from the crowd being quickly hushed. Next to the bright red skin of my charmeleon, the healthy green of Callidora made terrible contrast, but we weren't here to win a beauty pageant, we were here to fight. I didn't waste any time as I clicked my tongue, commanding my team to commence the first part of my plan to victory - regardless of Surge's own choices, this opening move would still hit hard.
Hopefully.
Almost in a graceful manner, Callidora dug the soft soil, literally planting herself until only her head and the tip of her bud were visible. Her eyes were shut in concentration, and the slight cracks forming near confirmed that she was extending her vines underground. Dante was crouched in front of her protectively, and Pikachu was twitching around her, disliking being put on protective duty.
That would quickly change depending on Surge's choices. Assured that my plan was set into motion, I turned my attention to Surge's side of the field.
Because of the distance and uneven forest arena full of hedges and mounds, my pokemon were unable to spot Surge's team yet. From the high trainer's deck I was on though, I had a semi-clear view and barely had time to notice a bright flash of orange darting sideways into a denser area of trees. I caught the end of a sharp-edged tail disappearing.
His raichu, Ira, I thought. She's following a similar strategy when against Owen, she's going to attack from a blindside unexpectedly.
I frowned, I would have much preferred Surge's team moving in unison, but this was still a scenario I had planned against. Before even registering Surge's other members I gave an order, two thumps against the mic and three short whistles made Pikachu initiate our counter attack. He wished his teammates good luck with a growl - well, he wished Dante luck while deliberately ignoring my ivysaur - but in any case, he too ran and disappeared in the trees to track Ira.
I am not going to be ambushed by a raichu. Pikachu should be enough to keep her busy until we take care of the other two, I thought as I squinted my eyes to recognize Surge's two other pokemon left on his side.
One was a large, humanoid pokemon with the color scheme of a beedrill, black stripes over yellow fur. Twin tails protruded from his behind, sparks emitting dangerously from their ends. The other looked nothing but a colossal mass of steel, but three previously shut lids opening and revealing one central, two side eyes confirmed the pokemon's identity.
The thunderbolt pokemon. The magnet area pokemon.
I tightly gripped the railings in front of me unintentionally. This is going to be tough.
Movement from the other side made me concentrate back on the fight. A blueish light surrounded Superbia the magnezone for a second as it was lifted in the air, the three eyes setting themselves each on a different direction. Its magnet shaped attachments constantly whirling, the pokemon hovered just above Acedia the elektrivire who had begun his march. Mimicking the confidence of his trainer in his steps, Acedia walked towards my side of the field at a steady pace, all the while looking up and giving me a bloody grin.
I had a slight suspicion of what Surge's play was, but I needed to test it before the higher trees would block my sight. And Pikachu couldn't be the one who did the testing, for if my suspicions were right, that would end in a disaster, and Callidora was too busy setting up the field, so...
This is your make and break moment.
Three thumps and two whistles. Dante. Engage from a distance.
Eager to prove himself, my predator pokemon dropped on all fours and climbed the nearest hill in front of him in typical reptilian fashion. A long flaming tongue came out to taste the air, and having caught the scent, Dante headed towards the direction of his "prey".
All the while that blasted electrivire kept grinning.
I knew he was taunting me. It was obvious Surge was breaking our ranks, just like how he had taunted Trainer Owen to reveal his swampert early, he had now made me separate Dante from the side of my electricity resistant ivysaur where together they could mount a better offense and defense. Surge probably suspected a similar tactic like Owen's from me, a defensive play where my grass type would cover the field in spores and seed traps safely under my fire type's protective flames, extremely dangerous in this woodland gym arena.
I did not blame him from thinking so, a high caliber gym leader whose regulars were almost always four or five badgers was in the right to suspect that sort of action from those two types of pokemon.
I was however a bit insulted that he would think I, Pokemon Trainer Red, would play defense.
Three thumps and a whistle stopped Dante. He was now in eyesight of Surge's pokemon, at perfect distance for some test fire, but also close enough to Callidora's proximity for a hasty retreat.
And still Surge's duo did nothing, keeping their walk, even though Dante had long entered their thunder range.
That alone should have been enough to prove my suspicions, but I wanted to be sure. So I repeated my previous command, and Dante roared his flames towards the electrivire.
There were of course some reasons why that did nothing. For one, these were fully evolved and trained gym pokemon, and Dante's weak second stage evolution flames would at most singe them. And two, Dante himself was not even good of a pokemon, even among his own species, his time with Nolan and drug abuse had weakened him severely.
But even considering all that, the flames weren't supposed to just part midway as if hitting an invisible spherical barrier and then dissolve before making contact.
A giggle from the crowd was quickly hushed. Not that I blamed the person, Dante's attack attempt was so pathetic it was almost funny.
But it did serve its purpose. I now fully understood Surge's aim. Signaling Dante retreat, I quickly began thinking on what to do.
To put it simply, Surge's two pokemon weren't attacking, because they didn't need to. The magnezone levitating above the electrivire was constantly emitting a protective screen only the most powerful attacks could break through. The duo was going to keep walking until they were near enough to my ivysaur and charmeleon to deliver a sure, one shot kill, efficient and without waste. Him not bothering to shoot my charmeleon right now could while be seen as underestimation of my potential by the untrained eye, it was actually cautiousness. Electric type pokemon were only as powerful as the charge their body stored, and my past battles had probably shown Surge I was great at exploiting my opponents' strengths through uncommon strategies, he was probably worried of a hidden trump card of mine that would exhaust and deplete his pokemon while they were busy with Dante.
Not that my hidden card would work that way. I smiled to myself as Dante hurried his way back to Callidora. Rightful reputation is a powerful tool. As long as Surge suspected I was too good to leave my charmeleon out in the open without some sort of plan, Dante could safely return to begin my real attack, one that I was sure would hit so hard that not even the magnezone could shield.
Dante's scouting had proved useful, I now knew the Lieutenant's tactic, and it was nothing I couldn't win against. Callidora slowly rising from her place showed she was nearly done, and once the magnezone and electrivire were dealt with, all that would remain was the raichu. Despite knowing it was Surge's ace and strongest, I still liked my odds of three vs one against it.
Thump.
The sound echoing surprised me. I checked the microphone, had I accidentally tapped it?
My blood froze when I realized it was from the other side of the field.
Up until now, the magnezone and electrivire, even the raichu, they were all following some scenario their trainer had made them practice in the endless preparation against future gym challenges. The pokemon always knew how and when to act depending on their opponents' types and species, like when against Trainer Owen, where Surge had not issued one single command.
Not now though.
Vermilion Gym Leader "Lieutenant" Surge had just issued his first order.
Red, you stupid, overconfident, arrogant fool.
We're dead.
By having Dante attack and try guessing Surge's strategy, I had exposed my charmeleon's weakness. It sounded cruel, but Dante was not a good pokemon, or at least not a good enough pokemon for this level of battle, and the entire reason why he was on this field was for me to utilize a strategy that only worked when he was near Callidora.
I was so sure that Surge wouldn't deviate from his usual against me that I had seen little risk in separating them. But Surge was not Brock who was quick to anger, not Misty easy to surprise, no. A professional killer was what the Lieutenant was, one who had easily seen through my mask, my illusion of grandness I was certain would protect my pokemon. Absolutely sure that no hidden tactic of mine could support and boost my too weak charmeleon enough to actually cause harm to his team, Surge had abandoned caution and decided on acting while my two pokemon were apart.
What's more, I had the sneaking suspicion that he had also guessed my aim with Callidora and Dante, and wanted to avoid that at all costs. The strategy so underused that I never thought Surge would suspect was about to be dissected in front of me.
Unless Dante survived.
I couldn't give the orders fast enough. Retreat, retreat, retreat!
I was too late.
Dante ran as fast as he could, but what chased him was thunder, and his instincts weren't the best. The magnezone's antenna twitched, and out flew the brightest, most powerful bolt I had ever seen. Dante only survived though luck, in his haste he tripped over an overgrown tree root, and the lightning missed, flowing over his head.
That brought me an idea that could help us.
Three taps and a short whistle. The trees! Hide in the trees!
He didn't hesitate as he darted into a denser area of the forest, and the lightning chasing him hit a thick trunk, blackening the surface. I sighed in relief. I now lost sight of my pokemon, which would make it harder to issue commands, but at least the trees would serve as barricades from the raining thunder, and while most electric types were agile, magnezone and electrivire were not, and a charmeleon, even at its worst, was naturally so. The trees created an advantageous parkour arena where Dante could maneuver more easily than his pursuers.
Or so I thought.
A slight pause passed before the magnezone took aim again - one, two, three bolts rapidly fired at... Acedia. The huge electrivire shivered as if a weedle had stung it, then let out a bloodthirsty howl.
Horrified, I could only watch as Acedia ran into the forest, jumping incredibly high and grabbing a tree branch like an overgrown ambipom, clinging to two tree branches with his tails. Sniffing the air loudly, he somersaulted back on ground and disappeared after Dante, chasing him with unbelievable speed.
Meanwhile Superbia turned and continued its initial destination towards my ivysaur.
I forced myself not to blink as I focused on the battlefield, not wanting for even a second to glimpse away. Through steady breathing I held the panic at bay and tried analyzing the horrific situation we were in.
Taking full advantage of an electrivire's unique biology capable of converting external electrical energy to increased muscle strength, Surge had buffed Acedia and set him loose on Dante. A now much faster and agile hunter on his trail, Dante was only alive thanks to the few seconds of head start he had gotten while Superbia was amping the electrivire up. If Dante was smart, he would keep running, and I hoped I could come up with a plan until Acedia caught and killed him - recalling him was not an option available because of me lacking visibility.
Callidora was relatively safe and almost done, she was now out of the dirt and only a few vines were still attached to her sides. Her part of the plan would be over before the slow magnezone would be in shooting range, but one-on-one she had no chance against a pokemon species with a mind boggling eleven resistances and, when levitated, two immunities, even if she did indeed resist its electric attacks.
No, for to survive and win, I needed to somehow get Dante over to her side, there was no other way. I gritted my teeth and racked my brain, how could I do this, how, how, how, how-
A distant spark caught my attention. It ended quickly but I noticed it wasn't on Dante and his pursuer's side of the woods, and it definitely wasn't from Superbia who was clearly visible as it hovered slowly towards the hill my ivysaur was planted behind, so that left...
Pikachu.
I hadn't forgotten about the other aspect of this ongoing battle, the fight hidden behind trees away from both Surge's and mine sight, the fight between Pikachu and Ira the raichu. His job was to keep the raichu away until the end, but things weren't exactly going as planned...
I made my decision quickly. Two taps. Pikachu. A whistle. Join the main battle.
There was no noticeable sign that showed my starter had understood the order, but I couldn't dwell on that now, I had to time this perfectly.
Numbers were racing through my head; the average speed of a raichu and pikachu, the known speed of Pikachu, the top speed of Ira I had seen from videos, in correlation to the distance from where I had seen the spark and the clearing Superbia was moving above.
With one hand I wiped the sweat from my forehead, never before had I needed to so intently concentrate on the theoretical knowledge imparted on me during training school. I also need to factor in Dante's speed, and a three times buffed electrivire's. The equation is output divided by distance, times k, times three over two to the, how many bolts was it? Three, to the three - shoot, what's the average magnezone voltage, damn it...
A painful roar near Dante's side distracted me. No time. Let's wing it.
I tapped thrice. Dante. Two whistles. Retreat back to Callidora.
Once again, there was no way of confirming my orders had been heard.
I bit my lips in anxiety as the seconds lasting an eternity passed. A heavy silence hung in the air, my attention was divided equally between Superbia closing the distance to Callidora and the two sides of the forest from where I expected some reinforcements, but none came, and now the magnezone was on top of the hill, a suitable vantage point to drop the thunder on my ivysaur, who cried out in worry as the air crackled, and I, damning myself for it, hating myself for it, still hung to the hope that somehow this would work out and I wouldn't need to recall her, couldn't push the huge "Surrender" button in front, and when none came I was too late, and the antenna twitched and came a powerful, powerful thunderbolt aimed at Callidora, whose eyes widened helplessly as-
Under the surprised looks of every onlooker, the bolt changed direction midair, turning at a wide angle and avoiding Callidora by a large margin.
I almost collapsed in relief. Pikachu, you amazing, incredible son of a rat, after this you get all the poffins you want.
Of course, I was giving credit to my starter falsely, what had really saved us was not Pikachu who was limping on one foot as he dashed and ran in a zig zag, dodging the thunderbolts sent behind him.
It was his chaser: Ira the raichu. Now that she was in close proximity, her tail was catching every bolt Superbia was sending, which while indeed powered her up - a problem for later - it at least took away Superbia's most powerful weapon in its arsenal, rendering it useless, and more importantly, buying us time.
This was why Surge insisted on making his raichu attack alone and away from his other pokemon in all his battles, like when against Trainer Owen. Ira's tail was literally a double-edged sword; a lightning rod that channeled a finisher attack of unbelievable power, but also a thief stealing her teammates' daggers. If Surge knew what I had ordered, I was sure he would have commanded his raichu to stay behind and not be goaded into a chase by Pikachu, but hence was the reason us trainers used taps and whistles, to disguise our intents.
I thought I heard a chuckle from Surge's side, and I almost smiled myself, but that didn't matter now. For Callidora was done, and the tall sprout grown perpendicular upwards from the ground was its proof. Leaving the literal fuse of my hidden ace in the hole behind, Callidora was ready for battle.
And so was Dante.
I couldn't believe my eyes when he ran out of the forest, his tail was dangerously black, probably caught by a thunderbolt from the electrivire, but otherwise healthy. My heart glowed in the dedication he showed to his mission, a pokemon that would obey every order to a letter, even at expense to his own safety, Dante's red skin was almost purple from the lack of oxygen his body was receiving. Panting crazily in short intervals, he was giving his all and about to fulfill his order: Retreat back to Callidora.
At that moment, I knew he was going to be my third main. I didn't know what the future held, if we would survive this battle or not, but such willpower was supposed to be rewarded. Dante would maybe never become the clever tactician Callidora was, or show Pikachu's ridiculous courage, but he would probably always be the most loyal to a fault, the one who followed orders precisely, a soldier to the end.
Ironic that he was the one about to light the fuse signaling the Lieutenant's end.
The trees behind him came down crashing, obviously frustrated at his inability to catch Dante, Acedia was using his bulk and speed to pummel through. When he came out into the open, he didn't hesitate to throw unhindered thunderbolts towards Dante's way.
Of course, they missed and hit Ira instead. She was now sparkling with excess energy, but was still unloading them in small voltages at Pikachu who kept dodging them, my guess now that she had accumulated this much, Surge was ordering her to store and save it for later. He could also still order her to retreat so that his other pokemon would be able to aim correctly, but I thought he too knew the time for that had passed, and soon there would be nowhere to retreat.
A few series of thuds were heard from Surge's microphone, their meaning I correctly deduced as stop that charmeleon.
Acedia was nearest and quickest, his muscles were still charged with too much power, and even though his projectile attacks were taken from him, the electrivire was still the physically strongest on the field. He grunted loudly and began sprinting, each powerful stride closing the distance between him and his target when-
Sudden flashbacks hit me. A yellow mouse refusing to change his path and instead shocking the much larger human boy. A rat charging against a mountain sized onix head on fearlessly. A pikachu hating having to keep distance from a quagsire, even though its immunity, even though his trainer had ordered so.
Of course Pikachu was going to intervene. What could scare him, the electrivire's size, the strength of its simian arms, the slash of the two tails?
He had faced much worse.
He headbutted Acedia from the side, and at the speed the electrivire was at, it was no wonder he lost his balance and tripped, buying Dante another precious minute. I ordered Pikachu furiously to retreat, every place outside from where Callidora stood was in danger, and luckily, he listened, running behind Dante to the clearing with Ira the raichu close on his tail, still sending small bolts.
But now Superbia was coming, it turned from the hilltop Dante and Pikachu were running towards and confronted my two pokemon, even with its firepower taken away its sheer size alone could block or crush them. I couldn't take my eyes away from the hypnotic chase that entranced me; Ira behind Pikachu, Pikachu behind Dante, and in front of them all Superbia, closing in. Would my two pokemon be fast enough to avoid the bulk of steel, and in doing so, could they still dodge the super charged raichu chasing them, ready for a moment's hesitation to discharge her load?
A half grunting, half sneezing sound rose.
Callidora had snorted.
First the right eyelid shut, then the left. The central one resisted, but it too fell victim to the slumber that suddenly overcame the magnezone. With a deafening crash, the airborne Superbia dropped, and both Dante and Pikachu jumped over it without losing momentum.
I couldn't believe my eyes, when, when had Callidora managed to land the sleep powders with her horrible aim? I remembered the split-second distraction Dante's emergence had caused everyone, had she done the deed then, while Superbia's bolts were misdirected? I hadn't ordered her to do so, just like when against Roulette, she had come up with her own tactic and brought us near victory.
Almost there, I thought. Almost. Almost.
Dante and Pikachu slid down the hill, Dante's jaw was open, his tongue was in flames, the end of the sprout was in sight-
Ira the raichu jumped, she was midair and on our side of the field, and Acedia now recovered was back on his feet on the other, soon it would be too late-
Now.
A month of training in Diglett's Cave until this was perfected.
Totally worth it.
The battlefield exploded.
The better descriptive was, Surge's side of the arena exploded, fire was erupting from the ground imitating active volcanoes. This was not something like Owen's torkoal setting a few trees on fire, that compared to this was only cute. Here the ground was shattered and in cracks, hot steam escaped from the holes, the earth itself was ablaze, and half of the forest was burning. A bed of fire surrounded Surge's side, and it was beautiful.
A horrible smell of metal burning reached my nose, Superbia, closer to the imaginary line dividing my side of the arena from Surge's, was spared the unstoppable inferno's touch, but the intense heat from the ground was cooking the drugged to sleep automaton alive, and despite it belonging to a species with the fewest type resistances known to mankind, unfortunately one the few weaknesses it did have was fire. A burning tree branch breaking free and dropping on top sealed its end, who could blame Surge from recalling his pokemon?
As for Acedia, he was lucky the screens set by Superbia on him were still intact, otherwise he would most definitely be killed. An eruption had occurred under him, the blast throwing him sideways and the flames burning his fur. He was strong enough a pokemon to survive this, but to what end? If the fire was contained, he could still make it to my side of the field and deliver revenge, but it wasn't, it was everywhere. Surrounded by a ring of fire, and the soles of his feet burning from the heat so much that he had no choice but to jump from one foot to another, he howled in pain, and his master relieved him by recalling him back to the safety of his pokeball.
And then there was one.
And still the more favorable one, I grimly thought.
Pikachu was already limping and that last run had taken a lot from him, not only was he physically tired, his opponent was one he couldn't even attack with electricity, he was down to teeth and claws. Dante was near out, panting, purplish in color and catching his breath, his tail dangerously black. Callidora was the best among them, but I knew it was a brave front, after what she had done, she was unable to grow any more vines and was out of her main form of battle.
Ira the raichu, compared to my team, sparkled as a surge of electricity ran through her body, similar to a descended god of wrath, unafraid and powerful.
The real battle is now beginning. I crouched forwards in anticipation of the fight to come, my mind was running different scenarios, was aiming for a status effect the more probable path to victory, or should I try simply attacking her with numbers, what would Surge's play be-
A red light swallowed Ira, and she was gone.
It took me and all my pokemon a minute to process it. The crowd's thundering cheers and the screen confirmed it.
Surge had tapped out.
The effects of adrenaline passed, and all I was left with was exhaustion. I barely processed the pelipper flying in dropping gallons of water on the fire we had started and the gym aides rushing to take my team to a pokecenter. I looked a final time at the screen that displayed those unbelievable words.
"Trainer Red has won the match!"
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I wasn't even surprised anymore that once again a leader had decided on meeting me in person for some paperwork the aides could easily handle. I was surprised though he held his shades in his hand, revealing the milky white one blind eye, and seemed lively for a man who had surrendered.
"Pledge. Fucking pledge." He laughed openly when I jerked involuntarily at his nonprofessional manner. "Nobody does pledge kid, nobody. How the fuck did you think of that?" He laughed again. "Where were bright minds like you during the Sevii ops?" His enthusiasm also lifting my spirits, I grinned and collapsed on the chair he showed me.
Pledge was a very very much underused strategy that only worked with specific pokemon under specific situations. Since the first time the trainer system was implemented in Kanto, trainers had been experimenting on the idea of the perfect team, and today the general consensus was that while no such thing existed, there were certain pokemon duos and trios that had more synergy with each other than others, allowing them to act as cores to the ideal final team. Further trial and error showed not only specific pokemon species, but specific pokemon types also shared bonds, and thus were the three main cycles for mixed core team trainers such as myself were built; water grass fire, dragon fairy steel, and fighting psychic dark.
The pledge tactic was born out of coincidence when circa a hundred years ago in Kalos a Trainer Pledge noticed his empoleon, typhlosion, and chesnaught's elemental powers reacting uniquely with each other. Realizing he had stumbled on a gold mine, he utilized this never seen before tactic to the fullest and became one of Kalos' younger champions. The premise of the tactic that later adopted his name was actually quite simple: The three pokemon brought forth a total three combination moves; his empoleon and typhlosion created a mystical mist blinding his enemies, his chesnaught and empoleon turned the ground under his opponents' feet to a swamp, and his typhlosion and chesnaught created a bed of fire engulfing his foes.
Familiar?
That century every trainer tried mimicking Pledge's way of battle. The pledge tactic's greatest two advantages were that for one, the effects were lasting, similar to screens, they only dissolved with time, and two, they brought a unique way to incapacitating pokemon that were previously thought untouchable. Parafusion was always the tactic to bringing down the big and strong, but how would it work against a krookodile immune to psychic manipulation and thunderbolts? Trick room was versatile but always risky, what if the opponent was keeping a pokemon slower than yours as a last-minute play? The pledge moves were great in avoiding these complexities, they achieved the same results as the previous tactics with more firepower and none of the drawbacks.
So why was it so underused?
Because it usually did not work.
Trainers thought every grass water fire combo would do the job, so they tried the same tactic with better mons than Champion Pledge's. Instead of a empoleon, why not a gyarados? A ninetales in place of a thyphlosion, an exeguttor for a chesnaught, stronger mons would achieve stronger results was the idea.
It failed.
Scientists were still examining exactly why. Later research showed the pledge moves only worked with a few number of pokemon, twenty-one species to be exact, seven from each type, and it was nothing but luck that had brought Trainer Pledge to use a trio from that group. The reigning theory was these species had branched from the same evolutionary ancestor and hence their elemental powers were closer in sync compared to other mons', but there was no way to be absolutely sure and it really did not change a thing, trainers soon forgot about this incredibly limited battle strategy in favor of less restrictive ones.
Not me though.
And Blue used to ask why I was so fixated on destiny. How else would one explain fate landing an ivysaur and charmeleon my way?
I knew Surge demanded a team battle, I knew my charmeleon and ivysaur were part of the twenty-one capable of a pledge attack, and I knew this powerful combination would knock out at least one of Surge's team and then set the forest on fire. All Callidora had to do was find the time to dig underground and reach out with her vines all the way towards Surge's side of the field, tangle her extensions with the roots of the trees present, and punch holes through the earth to allow oxygen access the vine-tunnels hidden underneath.
And then Dante could set it all on fire.
The training in Diglett's Cave proved the charmeleon's flames would react with the ivysaur's vines as intended, burning them thoroughly and creating an underground oven that with trapped heated air trying to expand would erupt. I had my doubts that we were going to pull it off, especially when Dante was being chased, but in the end, we had managed. And it proved Surge's high capabilities as a badge giver that he had caught the tactic much earlier than expected and did his best to stop it; I didn't like to rank our nation's leaders, but compared to Misty who was surprised by a trick room slowbro, a pokemon species with a type she was supposed to be an expert of, and Brock who had been played like a fiddle by me, Surge held a much more higher position than them in my eyes.
Which begged the question, why had he surrendered when there was still a chance of victory for him?
"I like to think each gym challenges a trainer in one way," he explained before I asked. "Jasmine is a test to durability, Sabrina to instinct, Falkner to speed. It's not official, just my personal observations. And me, well, you know this gym's rules, there's only one: Three vs three triple battle." He looked at me with one good eye. "I test strategy Red, strategy. Preparedness. If I'm going to teach any trainer a lesson, I think that's what matters. I've heard Brock and Misty have had some... disagreements with your methods."
I snorted involuntarily, but he shook his head. "Don't do that. They're right. You are a stubborn, cocky trainer who recklessly endangers his pokemon's lives and has shown zero flexibility from your methods. The pace at you're taking badges, you're bound to crash soon. Hard." His tone cheered up. "Lucky for you, it's those qualities I test here at Vermilion Gym. Are you prepared? Do you have a plan? Is it a good one? And can it work?"
He chuckled. "You passed all that with golden stars Red, so I see no harm in giving you this. You earned it." And he reached out to give me the Thunder Badge.
Though discouraged from his speech, I took it. I felt the coldness of it in my palm. Five left.
"On an unrelated note, have you ever considered breeding that L.B. Chu?" he asked, winking.
I stumbled. The L.B. what?
"Heh. Forgive a veteran for still using army slang," he said when he noticed I was unaware of the term's meaning. "How to explain... You aware of the eviolite genome?" he asked.
I nodded. A rare disorder that appeared in unevolved pokemon, it granted the pokemon more physical bulk at the expense of elemental powers. I would actually consider it the reason for the abnormal size of my pikachu if he was dealing any less output than normal for a pikachu, but no, far from it, his body actually allowed him to top the curve of his species.
"Good. Did you know it sometimes varies in effect for certain species though?"
That I did not. I looked up surprised.
He grinned again. "They don't teach you everything at trainer's school you know, otherwise us leaders would be jobless. You really should consider signing up at a gym," he said softly. "Let's see, in some species the eviolite genome can show up mutated with different effects. Species like cubone, chansey, even single staged mons like ditto, and - guess what - pikachu. The army drilled these into our head in case we ever encounter one during war; a monster acting out of norm on the enemies' side is not a surprise we want. We have code names for such pokemon; a normally defensive healer like a chansey acts abnormally offensive, we know it's an eviolite variant, we call it a lucky punch chansey, L.P. Sey. And a frail, small pikachu, large and strong instead is a light ball pikachu, L.B Chu."
This was actually very interesting information that needed to be looked more into later, but Surge wasn't quite finished.
"It does come with a drawback though kid." He seemed to hesitate before continuing. "It's likely your chu will never evolve or will take so much time to, you'll never see it. I'm not saying it's a definite, but it is likely."
Surge gave me a minute to silently process this piece of news. He continued after clearing his throat. "Anyway, here's my number. Give me a call if you ever consider breeding. The eviolite genome is usually hereditary, and L.B. Chu's are pretty rare, so if you want a whole nest of tiny rat monsters, I'm your guy. I bet your pikachu can quench some of the fire in my Ira's belly." He winked.
Was, was Surge offering his raichu to lay with Pikachu? Quite uncomfortable now, and admittedly a bit red in the face, I stood up to leave and offered him my hand.
He didn't seem that surprised I had kept quiet on his offer. "Hope to see you go big Red," he said shaking my hand. "Brock and Misty tell it's almost customary to offer you the gym's back exit, ask Aaron at reception."
"And if you happen to change your mind," he repeated as I turned to leave, feeling his only good eye staring intently from behind. "Give me a call."
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They came two days later.
I had expected them sooner.
It was just after I had booked a port to Cerulean City on my dex for next week, and a newly discharged Pikachu and I were enjoying our last days in Vermilion City by throwing bread at the wingull near the docks.
We felt them coming of course, we were expecting it. The hardest part was trying to pretend we weren't and giving a fake fight.
Still, of all the pokemon present during that ambush, it was the wartortle that impressed me most. He wasn't even the target of Pikachu's thunderbolt, he had just jumped in to save his partner hoppip, whose paralyzing spores had numbed my body so much I lay on the pier deck limp. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two manectric holding Pikachu down with their teeth.
And then came the blues. A trio of Vermilion's finest, donning their perfectly pressed police uniforms, I had to admit the ladies were polite considering they were arresting me.
"Pokemon Trainer Red, you are under arrest for the murder of Pokemon Trainer Nolan and the theft of his starter pokemon issued the codename Dante. You have the right to remain silence and..."
Their voice drifted off as the hoppip's drugs kicked in, and I managed Pikachu one sideways grin before I passed out.
Hook, line, and sinker.
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Author's Note:
Red's dugtrio hypnotic eyesight explanation in Diglett's Cave is my take on dugtrio's signature (annoying) ability, "arena trap" that prevents escape or switching. Pledge moves in the games are exactly as described here, limited but powerful. They weren't that useful when I played competitive, 50BP doubled when used in sync wasn't really good, but a month ago or so I watched a video with MegaZardY and ChloroSaur trying it, and boy oh boy, how sorry I felt for the opponent. A buff in the newer gens had increased the move to 80BP, doubled to a 160BP fire attack from a MegaZardY under the sun with the speed of a ChloroSaur, plus four turns of burn chip damage. My first thought was that shit needs to be banned, but then it came to me: Wait-a-minnut, Red will have an ivysaur and charmeleon at this point of my fic, and if anything can handle Surge, this is it. So yeah, that's the story behind it all (The 21 pokemon Red talks about are not actually the starters of each gen 3x7, remember Alola is still being discovered! It's actually 21 with the first 6 gen starters and the elemental monkeys in Unova, I recently learned they too can do the pledge moves).
Eviolite is normally an item that doubles the unevolved holder's spdef and def. I changed it to a genetic disorder. A light ball, like a lucky punch, is a pokemon specific item, it doubles a pikachu's attack and spattack, putting it on an even higher number than a raichu's. I sort of combined the two to bring a proper explanation for Red's beast of a pikachu.
Next Update: A Blue chapter? A Blue chapter. Probably in two weeks, mid to end May.