Gengar: The Shadow Pokemon.
Gengar are the embodiment of souls risen from the grave to play. Throughout the Gengar evolutionary line, the souls continue to gain more substance, yet retain abilities like being able to phase through walls. Gengar are unlike other ghost pokemon such as Misdreavus and Yamask, and are content with finding humor in the fear they cause. However, despite their assumed role as trickster and prankster, Gengar are poisonous, and some have similarly noxious personalities.
In some secluded regions of the world, Gengar are misappropriated the role of the soul reaper, by leading people away for weeks on end before returning them, looking like the life has been sucked out of the body. This is actually much more likely due to the fact that a mischievous Gengar has recently learned about standup comedy, and wanted to find a poor soul to test its new tricks on. Of course, the joke goes horribly wrong, and the person is exposed to relentlessly awful comedy until the Gengar gets that it isn't funny.
An interesting detail about Gengar is that they act like natural heat sinks; their appearance usually leads to a 5 degree celsius drop in temperature, causing victims to exhibit behavior of chills and nausea. An independent research group is attempting to harness this quality of Gengars to create more efficient coolant systems for cars, heating systems, and energy grids.
We found Gold from the balcony on the second floor of the gym. It was after I had sent Blue back up to the third floor to check the balcony overlooking outside, while I frantically searched the first. There were people, people everywhere, dancing, drinking, betting on battles, cheering, and making a ruckus in general. I gripped my white knuckles in distress, glancing about.
This clusterphobia, being surrounded by waves of strangers, was disorienting. I wanted to get outside, and run to the nearest forest to hide under a rock. The intrigue and excitement of the earlier experience, walking around Veridian, had since faded away into an onset of panic.
I've never lost a child before- granted, I've never been given a child before to manage. What if we end up losing him in Viridian before we leave? He, more likely than not, has the aptitude to survive in a bustling city, but I'd be getting a jail sentence of decades for kidnapping and abandoning a minor if he decided to reveal that we whisked him from Mount Silver. What would I tell Mother? "Oh, we accidently lost a child on the way to Unova, he'll show up somewhere?"
I felt my hands get clammy, and stuck them back into my pockets. He wasn't down here. Could be outside? No, that wouldn't be the case. He's a pokemon trainer. He should be inside here, watching battles and getting that sugar rus-WAIT.
Clinging to a sudden moment of enlightenment, I rushed up to the second floor and to the wall windows that revealed the wide battle arena. Scouring the corners of the gym, I found him amid the epileptic black and white. He was beating up one of the staff's Onix with his Weavile, continuously freezing it with [Icy Wind] and using [Faint Attack] to kick it against the floor.
I sighed in relief.
"Hey, don't you see that trainer over there? Isn't he one-handedly crushing the staff?"
"Oh, I saw him come in like ten minutes ago. He's already beaten down two opponents! We'll be seeing a new challenger to the gym leader soon. Let's go upstairs to the viewing area."
Two passerbies walked past, and I blinked. Damnit, a load of trouble these people are! Jumping down two steps at a time, I rushed over to the vendor at the back of the club area and bought a battle pass -valid for one attempt through the gym to the leader- and brushed past a velvet curtain into the battle area.
Immediately I was exposed under harsh light. From above, huge spotlights moved around, mist from an industrial-sized smoke machine clouding the area. It was like being in a laser tag arena- people running around, some staff ready to challenge others to a one on one battle, others trainers who were trying to hide from view of the staff while progressing forward.
I ducked down behind an ovaloid silicon structure. It gently pulsed in the dark, thin webs of white lines moving through it into the floor. A power regulator? These things were only at the league, meant for immediately repairing the arena from attacks that blew craters in the ground and scorched the walls black. What crazy person is rich enough to afford this?! Normally, gyms would have to resurface their walls or floors every time an intense battle occurs, and have teams of pokemon like Machoke and Poliwrath on hand to patch things up. It was costly, but at least not as costly as one of these money monstrosities. A power regulator would be on par with a master ball on cost, and that's as priceless as you can get. Looking around; however, there was not one regulator, but dozens!
"Giovanni, which region did you bankrupt to afford this?"
I stepped back, cold sweat on my back, and acutely heard a clicking sound. Before I knew it, I was hurled away like a rag doll, twisted and spun in every direction until I lost my bearings and snapped against a cushioning wall. Spin tiles?! I could faintly hear the laughter of a certain imbecile…
"BLUEEEEEE!"
Gold had already entered the Gym Leader's Battle Room. He was blinded from the stark contrast of the main battle room. White light pulsed from everywhere but the floor, which was a deep black, following the pavement outside. From the sides, two power regulators were molded into the wall, humming subtly. The room, intriguingly enough, smelled like nothing- no scent, no traces of the previous battle existed- in this manufactured place.
In front of him was Giovanni, sitting on a bicarbonate grey throne, partially obscured in shadow by a shallow overhang. He looked up, deep set eyes staring straight at Gold's eyes, unwavering. It was unnerving, like Giovanni was a predator, about to pounce upon him and bite at his neck.
He stood up, suddenly appearing half a meter taller than he was supposed to be, and began to walk towards him. His mouth opened, harsh and steely words grating out.
"Welcome to the Viridian Gym, Challenger. I see you didn't leisurely take your time to come find me."
From the right wall, a projection manifested from the white light; it formed Gold's trainer profile and Giovanni's, illusions of sharp rocks bursting from the side of the profile to pierce each other, blank pokeballs rolling out as if from a roulette board.
Giovanni stopped, several paces in front of Gold. He silently glared at him, before extending his hand.
"Giovanni."
"It has been a while, hasn't it, Gold. When you last defeated me at Tohjo Falls, I was quite shocked. To think another upstart ruined the grand plans of the illustrious Team Rocket… I'd never thought I'd get to have a rematch with you."
He grasped Gold's hand by his side, shaking it firmly. As he bent his head up, Gold could see a sly grin on his face, half obscured by shadows.
"Well, that's all in the past now. What's done is done, and I am now just a humble gym leader." Giovanni sucked in his breath, and then proclaimed, "I, Giovanni, of the Viridian City Gym, accept your challenge!"
From the speakers embedded into the room, an assistance AI droned, "This will be a three on three battle, with the challenger allowed to substitute pokemon at will. League regulations: only registered movesets can be used for battle, no fatal maiming, no targeting the opponent's trainer, and when all pokemon on one side is unable to battle, a victor will be declared!"
The battle started almost deafeningly slowly. Gold could hear his heart thrum with anticipation as Giovanni casually walked backwards, settling back onto his throne while a tray jutted out by his side, containing six pokeballs. He paused for a moment, before picking one up, expanding it, and tossing it onto the field.
"Rhyperior, full power!" A light flashed out, a shadow revealing the large imposing figure of Rhyperior. It imposingly glared down at Gold before roaring, trembling and cracks forming in the walls before being immediately sealed up. Rhyperior's icon and HP gauge appeared above Giovanni's silhouette on the screen.
Gold swallowed, and then snatched a pokeball from his belt before flinging it onto the field.
"Feraligatr! Go!" A stomp created a crater in the ground before immediately resolving. blue scales creating a colorful sheen across the floor and the walls. Feraligatr's icon and HP gauge appeared above Gold's silhouette.
The two pokemon stared down each other before tackling their opponent, full throated grunts compounded with cracking noises as fist grappled fist in a strong arm wrestling match. They maintained that stance until Feraligatr was pushed back half a meter; Feraligatr roared and jumped back by Gold's side.
Gold pointed his arm towards Rhyperior. "[Aqua Tail]!" Feraligatr rushed forward on all fours and to meet Rhyperior and pumped its hand against the ground before twisting its body and slamming its tail against its torso. From the shock wave, water gushed into existence, flooding the immediate vicinity and leaving a soaked and angry Rhyperior on the ground. Rhyperior's HP gauge dropped a quarter- the damage from the super effective move reduced its ability, Solid Rock.
"Retaliate with [Hammer Arm]!" "Block it with [Superpower]!" Rhyperior jabbed a foot into the floor to rise and with its right arm and attempted to slam its opponent with a windmill punch, packed with a ton of force. However, it was stopped by Feraligatr, who blocked it with two hands, steam emitting from its body.
"[Rock Blast]!" "Throw him, now!"
Feraligatr lifted Rhyperior, weighing nigh on three hundred kilograms, and chucked it towards the wall, where it blasted through before falling down. Despite the damage, a barrage of rocks blew off from its arms in the cloud of stone dust that resulted in its crash, nailing Feraligatr in the blind.
Both pokemons' HP were now down to a quarter, [Rock Blast] dealing significant damage to the Gold's weakened Feraligatr. The aftereffects of [Superpower] left it vulnerable at a bad time, allowing Giovanni to cleverly exploit it.
The last move decided this matchup!
"[Rock Wrecker]!" "[Hydro Cannon]!"
Both pokemon began charging their trump cards, a gigantic boulder clustering together from Rhyperior's rock body, while a massive ball of water formed in front of Feraligatr's mouth. Both of them reached critical mass at the same instant, before hurtling towards each other. Both sides were unable to move! The battle now decided on which attack was stronger; there would not be another chance to recover from this.
The boulder smashed into the cannonball of water, before tearing its way past and smashing against Feraligatr's face. It crumpled instantly, out for the count. The [Hydro Cannon]; however, was left intact; at least half of the force struck Rhyperior in the chest, where it was previously hit by [Aqua Tail]. It faltered, and roared, before its legs gave way. Both pokemon were out for the count!
"Tch."
Gold recalled Feraligatr, looking at Giovanni, who did the same. The gym leader's face didn't change, lips still curved downward into a disapproving frown, yet his right hand, which was gripping his armrest, was clenched tight, veins popping up.
He's definitely as excited as I am, thought Gold. More likely than not, the majority of challengers would be to reach this room, much less be enough of a threat to defeat Giovanni, the boss of the disbanded crime syndicate that extended its grasp across both Kanto and Johto. Rumor had it that Giovanni even faced down the economic powerhouse, Silph Co., and invaded its Kanto headquarters. Not that any ordinary trainer would know that.
But Gold had previously driven off Giovanni's top grunts in Johto, crushing their revival at the Goldenrod Radio Tower. He had even time traveled with Celebi to previously defeat Giovanni at Tohjo Falls, at the time the organization was calling for its leader to return.
Both of them were itching for a rematch.
"Nidoking!" "Weavile!"
"[Earth Power]!" Giovanni took the initiative to attack the Sharp Claw Pokemon, Nidoking bashing the ground underneath itself to launch a pillar of warped pavement into Weavile's face.
"Leverage it, and go for a [Brick Break]."
Weavile deftly swung around the pillar with a clawed hand before using it as a slingshot to propel itself towards Nidoking, ready to karate chop at the horned head.
Giovanni smirked, and then shouted, "[Flamethrower]."
Nidoking opened its mouth and a bright red flare began to congeal. Gold inwardly cursed- the fiery attack was already too close for comfort- and aimed his pokeball at Weavile. "Return, Weavile!" He hoped that the targeting beam was fast enough, otherwise his pokemon would be set out of commission for a good while.
A torrent of flames blew past Gold, heat radiating off onto his face, almost scorching. He looked down and sighed in relief at the pokeball blinking red for a successful retrieval. Peering back up, he saw Giovanni making a face of ambivalence.
"I'm glad to see that you are actively engaging as a pokemon trainer in the battle, as you should. You properly treat your pokemon with utmost care, unlike others who just stand in the sidelines and watch impersonally. Now, bring out your next pokemon!"
Gold pulled out his third pokeball from his belt clips and expanded it.
"Go, Scizor!"
The pokemon burst out in a flash of light, accompanied with the sound of screeching metal as it scraped its arms together in a battle stance.
"[Bullet Punch]!" Scizor hummed, and shot towards Nidoking with a hard claw.
"Same thing, roast the bug!" Nidoking blasted another [Flamethrower] at Scizor, this time almost twice as big.
But Gold and Scizor was prepared for it, and with a swift reversing of its wings, the bug pokemon shifted laterally to the right and continued to advance. It nailed Nidoking in the face, shoving it backwards. Technician, Scizor's ability, powered up the move and dealt a large amount of damage to the opponent. Nidoking's health bar dropped to half.
"Retaliate! Stop it with [Earth Power] and use [Flamethrower] again!"
Pillars of rock bisected each other as they careened from the ground to target Scizor, but only managed to graze the metal skin as it skirted around. Nidoking shot a bursting flame, the size and intensity of a [Fire Blast], but Scizor ducked under it, suffering only minor burns, drops of liquid metal falling onto the pavement.
At that point, Scizor had reached Nidoking, and grasped it by the neck, creaking as it lifted the gargantuan up.
"[Iron Head]."
The pokemon bashed Nidoking in the chest with its horns, flinging it into the ceiling. It fell down and landed heavily into the ground, and didn't get up.
At this point, Giovanni had stood up and was on the field, face flushed. "Recall!" He threw another ball onto the stage. "Go, Krookodile!"
Its large snout snorted, red and black coloring on its hide contrasting with its rough, pale front. Gold frowned. He hadn't seen this pokemon before, not in either of the Kanto and Johto species databases. Was it a new variety? Or a mutation of some previously known pokemon?
Giovanni grinned. "I got this from a vacation in Unova, from some place called the Relic Castle… Let me tell you, it was very intriguing looking at ruins, whether there or at the Ruins of Alph, because there are so many hidden technologies and pokemon sheltered from society. So many things that could have, alas, risen my group to power… but I digress."
"Scizor, [X-Scissor]."
"Scouting it out, huh, boy. Smart move. But not smart enough! Krookodile, catch it and use [Fire Fang]!"
Krookodile took on Scizor's blow full on, staggering a bit before grasping the opponent's metal hands. It then opened its maw, brimming with fire, and clamped down on its torso. The pokemon screamed, a harsh and grating metallic outburst, and collapsed.
"Return! Go, Weavile!"
"So we're back to one on one, huh. Give me a good fight before you lose!"
"Hmph, we'll see about that. [Icy Wind]!"
Weavile blew a stream of frozen air towards Krookodile, and although not damaging it greatly, slowed the crocodile down. It roared in response, and began to charge at Weavile.
"[Superpower]!" "Get behind, and [Brick Break] it into the ground!"
Both of them collided, one of them like a towering mountain, the other like a flitting shadow, enshrouded in a cloud of dust and ice. It parted to reveal Weavile's arm entrapped in Krookodile's grasp, with its other arm dug deeply into the red and black scales. Krookodile flung it up like a rag doll, and then into the far side of the room. Weavile's body blurred past Gold before a loud thunk could be heard. Krookodile, who's health bar was already in the red, collapsed.
Gold turned around in panic. "Weavile, are you alr-!" He found it clinging onto the metal rims of the entrance, hair raised up and mouth enclosed in a snarl. It finally found itself to the mercy of gravity, and pried its claws out of the wall and slid gingerly onto the floor.
The AI drawled from the stereo speakers: "The gym leader's pokemon are unable to battle. The challenger is declared the winner!" Giovanni recalled his pokemon and walked towards Gold, who thanked his pokemon for their effort and recalled Weavile.
"I lost again, huh…" The grim frown on his face twisted ever so slowly upwards. "That was truly an intense fight. You have won, therefore, as proof, here is the Earth Badge!" He pulled from his suit pocket a silvery green badge, shaped like an evergreen tree and handed it to Gold.
It was right after Giovanni shook Gold's hand that I arrived, huffing and puffing into the chamber. He looked up at me and his face turned into shock; Gold was nonplussed, as if he didn't notice that I came in. Huh, he already has the badge in his hand…Well he's a Champion. I have no doubts he can fight on par with gym leaders.
I trudged over there and knocked him on the back of the head.
"Oww! What was that for?" He grimaced at me, tearing up.
"For running off on your own and making my life harder than it should be!"
I turned around and glanced at Giovanni.
"...So you finally put your life together again, huh."
He stood still for a moment, word forming on the tip of his tongue, but not yet vocalized. He then realized the awkward silence, and his face once again set into grim creases. "It's a surprise that not only this boy, but also you would come…" He looked at the badge in Gold's hand and sighed, not saying anything for a moment.
He then walked to his elaborate chair and retrieved his black trenchcoat, before going past us. "I already heard from Blue. You're going to participate in the Pokemon World Tournament in Unova?"
"..." I started, squinting at his back.
He stopped, and then laughed. Clapping his hands twice, he intoned, "AI, cease functioning of the gym until further notice. Tell the staff to clear out the rest of the trainers." He turned around to face me. Flames filled his irises, reminiscent of the trainers I've seen at the League Tournament.
"Red, I've always thought of you since that gym battle, so long ago, as someone I could never fathom; as an enigma." He lifted his arm, coat partially hanging off it, to unwaveringly point his finger at me. "Let us meet again at the PWT, and battle our hearts out for the title of strongest pokemon trainer!"
He left the room and everything turned dark, except for the dim red emergency lights of the exit.
Oh geez, what the crap did I do this time…
I and Gold found Blue outside of the gym, where a large group of people were just milling around, kicked out of their place to party, or deprived of their gym leader challenge. He waved at us, and walked over, obviously excited for some reason.
"Oh man, Gold, I saw your fight with Sakaki. It was pretty awesome, you know? Usually he doesn't get so worked up as to start stripping halfway, haha. Anyways, you're pretty famous around here now, beating the gym leader and all. I don't think he's had a challenger beat him in months, and that's already with him using his standard team. Who would've realized that he was going to take out his personal squad of elites. So anyways-"
I interjected. "Enough. The sun is already setting. Gold, take your pokemon to the Center and get them checked out; we need to be at the blimp at-" I checked my watch, and my eyes bulged at the time. "-tch! Thirty minutes. Go, now!"
Lips pursed, I shooed them off in the direction of the Pokemon Center. From behind, I could hear distant chatting.
"Well Blue, I did tell you I am the Johto Champion…Hey, why is there a button on the back of this badge that makes it light up?"
"Ah, that was me! It was one of the proposed perks I suggested to Sakaki to pizzazz the gym experience. It fits nicely with the interior theme, right? Right?"
"By the way, why does Red look like he's been through a roller coaster? He looks like he's about to hurl…"
I sighed. This is already a long day...