A/N: Good afternoon. It's been awhile since I posted. A couple of reasons why but mainly I was a little burnt out and this chapter was giving me trouble to write. Hopefully I did it some justice. Enjoy!
Pokémon Journey: Indigo League
Chapter 32: Mind Games
"This is an official match between Gym Leader Sabrina vs Gym Challenger Brandon Adams!" The referee shouts to the crowd, holding up two flags. "This match will be fought using a three-on-three single battle format and will be over when one side's Pokemon are unable to continue. Furthermore, only the challenge can substitute Pokemon. Let the match begin!"
Drone Rotom circles the battlers, getting close ups of both Brandon and Sabrina, as they prime their first Pokeballs.
"Mr. Mime, let's go!" Sabrina shouts, summoning her first Pokemon.
"Nidorina, I need your help!" Brandon yells, also summoning his first Pokemon.
"Mr. Mime, set up reflect!" Sabrina immediately orders.
"Nidorina, use poison sting!" Brandon shouts. He's hoping to poison Mr. Mime and win through attrition. When he cheered on Kelly at the Indigo League, one of the trainer's used poison to defeat Alakzam. His thought process here is to use Nidorina the same way and win through stalling. However, instead of poison sting, Nidorina unleashes three spike looking attacks, landing on Sabrina's side, though no damage was dealt. Brandon blinks, not sure what move Nidorina just learned. Sabrina notices the confusion. Mr. Mime sets up a reflective glass on his side.
"Mr. Mime, set up light screen!" Sabrina shouts.
Mr. Mime again sets up another reflective glass on his side, thus making it harder for Brandon to provide a head on assault with Nidorina. Brandon frowns for a second before pulling her Pokeball.
"Nidorina, return. I will keep you for later," Brandon recalls his Pokemon. He returns his Pokeball to his belt before unclipping a new one. He holds it up.
"Who do you think he will bring out?" Saul asks, watching the match intently.
"Hard to say," Ava says, thinking. "If it were me, I would bring out a speedy Pokemon."
"Tangrowth, I need your help!" Brandon shouts, bringing out his Vine Pokemon.
"Interesting choice," Sabrina comments. "Mr. Mime, use thunder wave!"
Mr. Mime unleashes a thunder wave, hitting Tangrowth and paralyzing it.
"Tangrowth, use growth!" Brandon shouts.
Tangrowth grows a little in size, getting ready as he stares down Mr. Mime.
"Mr. Mime, use psybeam!" Sabrina commands.
Mr. Mime opens his mouth and lets loose a purple beam of energy, aimed right for Tangrowth.
"Tangrowth, dodge it, then use ancient power!" Brandon counters quickly.
Tangrowth jumps to the side and quickly fires off an ancient power. Rocks fell from the sky, hitting Mr. Mime though the attack did little damage.
"Tangrowth, use growth again!" Brandon shouts.
"Mr. Mime, use psybeam again!" Sabrina orders.
Tangrowth attempts to use growth; however, he staggers to his knees, paralyzed. Mr. Mime took that opportunity and unleashed another psybeam, hitting Tangrowth directly, scoring a critical hit.
"Tangrowth," Tangrowth cries out, getting back to his feet, though the effects of the thunder wave are still affecting him.
Drone Rotom floats around the battlefield, occasionally zooming in on both Brandon and Sabrina. The crowd is loving the match, showing their appreciation by the loud applause going around the gym.
"Tangrowth, hang in there. Use ancient power!" Brandon commands, holding his breath.
"Mr. Mime, use psybeam!" Sabrina counters.
Tangrowth fights through the paralysis and unleashes a series of rocks above Mr. Mime's head. Mr. Mime swiftly counters with a psybeam, blasting the rocks away before they do damage.
Brandon grits his teeth, trying to think of a way to beat Mr. Mime. He knows Mr. Mime only has one offensive move but its supporting moves are putting a wrench in his plan. He has to be careful.
"How do you think Brandon will deal with this?" Saul asks.
"I could tell you what I think he should do, but knowing Brandon, he already has a plan cooking in his head," Ava says, watching Brandon intently.
"Tangrowth, use stun spore!" Brandon orders.
"Mr. Mime, dodge it!" Sabrina shouts.
Tangrowth unleashes orange powder towards Mr. Mime who was able to dodge it. Brandon brings up Tangrowth's Pokeball.
"Tangrowth, return. I will need you later," Brandon says, returning the Vine Pokemon. He clips his ball back onto his waist before hovering over a Pokeball. "Should I? Will she listen to me? Or will this backfire?" Brandon thinks to himself. He takes a breath before making the decision. "Taillow, come on out!"
"I wasn't expecting that," Saul comments as Taillow lands on the battlefield.
"Neither was I," Ava remarks. "Hope it doesn't bite him in the ass."
"Taillow, I know I haven't earned your trust yet, but I do need your help," Brandon calls out to Taillow.
"You are fighting with a Pokemon who isn't trained yet?" Sabrina calls out in surprise. "That takes some guts."
"We'll be fine, right Taillow?" Brandon asks the TinySwallow Pokemon, who just looks at him without blinking. Finally, it took Mr. Mime goading her into fighting for her to open her wings and take to the sky. Brandon whispers to himself. "That went better than expected."
"Mr. Mime, use thunder wave on Taillow!" Sabrina shouts immediately.
"Taillow, dodge it, then come in with an aerial ace!" Brandon counters.
Mr. Mime sends a thunder wave towards Taillow, who manages to dip underneath it before striking Mr. Mime on the leg. Taillow swoops around, glaring at Mr. Mime. She's still not sure about Brandon but this Mr. Mime has challenged her to a fight, a fight she won't back down from.
"Mr. Mime, reset reflect!" Sabrina shouts, understanding Mr. Mime has borrowed time.
"Taillow, use aerial ace again!" Brandon shouts.
Mr. Mime waves his hands, erecting a reflective barrier around his side of the field as Taillow's beak shone a white color, smashing into Mr. Mime, who staggers back though, thanks to reflect, didn't take as much damage.
"Mr. Mime, reset light screen!" Sabrina shouts out.
Mr. Mime creates another reflective barrier on his side of the field as Taillow circles above him, waiting to go in for the kill.
"This Mr. Mime is hard to beat," Ava mutters. "And just think. This is Sabrina's first pokemon. I would hate to see her ace."
"But Brandon is lucky," Saul says, pointing out something. "If Sabrina could switch Pokemon, it would be an entirely different match."
"That is true," Ava remarks, as Taillow creates four copies of herself.
"Boomburst but aim for the ground underneath Mr. Mime!" Brandon shouts, pointing towards the ground.
Taillow and her copies dives towards Mr. Mime, coming in at different directions , confusing Mr. Mime. The real Taillow opens her beak and lets out a huge, terrible explosive sound (that causes everyone to cover their ears) aimed at the ground. The ground erupts, throwing Mr. Mime into the sky. Taillow is panting heavily after that attack.
"I know you are tired Taillow, but aerial ace, with everything you got!" Brandon quickly instructs, seizing the moment.
Taillow locks onto the now falling Mr. Mime and, somehow, picks up speed to strike it just before Mr. Mime hits the ground, knocking it out.
"Taillow is the winner," The referee screams out, holding his flag up for Brandon's side. "Will.. oh?" Taillow lands on the ground, her small body collapsing on the ground. "Correction. Looks like this was a tie. Will both Gym Leader Sabrina and Gym Challenger Brandon bring out their next Pokemon?"
"Taillow, take a good rest," Brandon says, recalling his fallen Pokemon. He looks at the ball before clipping it back onto his belt. "Thank you for your hard work. Now, Nidorina, come on out!"
Sabrina recalls Mr. Mime. "I'm impressed Brandon. Battling with an untrained Pokemon was a risk but that risk paid off. Sometimes, in battle, you need to take risks. I look forward to the rest of our match. Jynx, come on out!"
Nidorina appears back on the field, ready to battle. Her opponent joins her, landing on the field but winces as he touches the ground. Brandon looks confused, wondering what was happening but he puts that thought to the back of his mind.
"Jynx, use lovely kiss!" Sabrina shouts, pointing towards Nidorina.
Jynx smiles charmly at Nidorina, before blowing a kiss towards her. Nidorina blinks as she becomes drowsy and quickly falls asleep.
"Great job. Now, use psychic!" Sabrina commands.
Jynx lets loose a psychic attack, hitting the sleeping Nidorina, causing damage to her. Brandon narrows his eyes as Jynx winces, taking small poison damage.
"Nidorina, wake up!" Brandon bellows, trying to wake his sleeping Pokemon but Nidorina is still asleep on the ground peacefully.
"Psychic again Jynx!" Sabrina shouts gleefully. She can hear chants of her name going around through the stadium, bringing a smile to her face.
"Nidorina, you gotta wake up!" Brandon shouts as psychic hits Nidorina again, causing more damage. Jynx, once again, takes a small amount of damage due to poison.
"Jynx, let's finish this battle. Use psychic again!" Sabrina commands.
"Brandon has to switch out right?" Saul asks quietly. "Nidorina can't take much more."
"That would be ideal," Ava nods, agreeing with Saul. "Sabrina is pushing this match fast though."
"She kinda has too. Jynx is on borrowed time," Saul says, pointing it out. "What move was that anyways?"
"Toxic spikes," Ava says, thinking back to her Silver Conference battle lost because of it. "An annoying move if used correctly."
"Look, Nidorina woke up!" Saul says excitedly.
"Nidorina, use double kick on the ground!" Brandon shouts desperately.
Sabrina rolls her eyes. "Really? You're trying that strategy again? Jynx, dodge it!"
Jynx was just about to fire off another psychic attack when Sabrina changed her mind. Jynx quickly jumps to the side to avoid the aftershock. Brandon smiles, as Nidorina jumps to her feet.
"It worked, didn't it?" Brandon shouts from his side, still grinning. Nidorina took major damage but she's not defeated yet. There's still a chance to win this. Jynx winces again as poison takes its toll on her body. Reflect and light screen also disappear from the field.
"I see what you did," Sabrina says, nodding with respect. "You bought yourself time. Well done."
"Thanks," Brandon shouts. He turns towards Nidorina. "I know you have taken a lot of damage but we aren't out just yet. Just hang in there for a little more alright?"
"Nidorina," Nidorina grunts, staring down Jynx. Nidorina is swaying but is ready to do some damage.
"Jynx, they might have bought a little time but let's end this right now! Psychic!" Sabrina shouts.
"Nidorina, run towards Jynx!" Brandon counters. "Follow your training!"
"What?" Sabrina shouts in surprise.
Jynx opens her mouth to release a psychic attack towards the stampeding Nidorina. At the last second, Nidorina uses her tail to jump over the attack, landing beside Jynx and immediately sending a double kick onto Jynx. Jynx cries out in pain as Nidorina finishes her attack.
"Quick, use fury swipes!" Brandon shouts quickly, hoping to get in an attack on the surprised Sabrina.
Nidorina unleashes a series of claw attacks, hitting Jynx five times, causing Jynx to cry out in pain. Nidorina backs away before succumbing to her own injuries. For a second, Jynx stayed standing but succumbed to the poison, also fainting.
"It's another double knockout!" The ref shouts to a stunned crowd. "You don't see those very often! Will Gym Leader Sabrina and Gym Challenger Brandon bring out their last Pokemon please?"
"Return Nidorina," Brandon says, recalling his fallen comrade. "You battled hard. I'm very proud of you! Tangrowth, it's up to you!"
"Return Jynx," Sabrina says calmly. "You battled hard. Thank you. Kadabra, you know what to do!"
Tangrowth appears on the field again, still feeling the effects of the thunder wave. Kadabra joins him, holding one spoon. Kadabra winces, as poison begins to fill his body. Kadabra tries to pass it to Tangrowth but to no avail.
"Tangrowth, use growth!" Brandon shouts.
"Kadabra, use psychic!" Sabrina shouts.
Tangrowth begins to grow in size a little before a psychic attack hits him, knocking him back. He shakes it off, looking towards Brandon for another command.
"Slow and sturdy should win us this match," Brandon calls out. "Use stun spore!"
"Kadabra, teleport and use psychic again!" Sabrina orders Kadabra.
"Keep an eye out and use stun spore!" Brandon yells. In his head, however, he's panicking. It's clear he doesn't know how to deal with speedy Pokemon. He takes a deep breath, trying to focus on Tangrowth's strengths. If he can slow Kadabra down, he's certain that Tangrowth could win this match.
Kadabra teleports out of sight before reappearing behind Tangrowth and hitting him with a psychic attack, causing Tangrowth to cry out in pain. Tangrowth, however, manages to hit Kadabra with a stun spore. Immediately, Brandon can see the decrease in speed for Kadabra, which puts them back in the fight as Kadabra winces from the poison damage.
"Great job Tangrowth!" Brandon praises him. "Use growth once again!"
"Kadabra, use calm mind!" Sabrina commands.
Tangrowth grows in size again while Kadabra focuses on his spoon, feeling himself getting better. The crowd sends around a "Kadabra" chant, causing Sabrina to smile a little.
"Kadabra, use psychic!" Sabrina commands, thrusting her arm forward.
"Tangrowth, curl in a ball and roll towards Kadabra!" Brandon yells, a plan forming in his mind.
Tangrowth curls into a big ball of vine and begins to roll towards Kadabra, who fires off a psychic attack. Tangrowth is able to roll out of the path while Sabrina watches perplexed, trying to figure out what Brandon is up to.
"Kadabra, use teleport and psychic again!" Sabrina commands.
"Tangrowth, keep rolling around!" Brandon shouts, mentally trying to keep count of the feet Kadabra can teleport.
Kadabra appears about five feet to Tangrowth's left and unleashes another psychic attack, which Tangrowth is able to roll out of the path again, picking up a little speed. Kadabra again teleports and appears about five feet to Tangrowth's right this time, again unleashing another psychic attack. This time, it hits the ground in front of Tangrowth, knocking it out of his roll, and causing some damage. But Brandon gets a general idea, which he puts into use. During those teleports, Kadabra has taken poison damage.
"Tangrowth, roll once more but get ready to wrap up Kadabra with your vines!" Brandon commands.
"Kadabra, teleport and use recover!" Sabrina orders frantically.
"Tangrowth, Kadabra will appear about five feet from you. As soon as you see him, wrap him up with your vines!" Brandon instructs.
Kadabra disappears from the field and appears five feet in front of Tangrowth and begins to recover some of his health points. However, Tangrowth is ready and quickly snakes his vines around Kadabra's legs and begins a mega drain, however during the attack, Tangrowth is hit by paralysis, causing him to let go of Kadabra.
"Now's your chance, Kadabra. Psychic full force!" Sabrina shouts, seeing an opening.
"Quick, use ancient power to block it!" Brandon shouts desperately, not sure if it will work.
Tangrowth lifts rocks from the ground and throws them in front of the psychic attack, causing a small rock explosion, flinging rocks everywhere and pelting both Kadabra and Tangrowth.. Immediately, Tangrowth snakes out his vines, wraps up Kadabra and uses mega drain, though Brandon could have sworn it did more damage. Add in the damage by poison, Kadabra faints, much to the crowd's stunned surprise. Tangrowth sways but a determined look crosses his face, willing himself to stay standing. Finally, the ref makes the call.
"Kadabra is unable to battle, which means the match goes to Gym Challenger Brandon," The ref says, holding up a flag.
"Kadabra, return. You battled extremely well," Sabrina says, returning her fainted comrade. She approaches Brandon in the middle.
"Tangrowth, thank you my friend," Brandon says, hugging him. "You battled very well."
Tangrowth hums, hugging him back, feeling at peace. He steps back as Sabrina approaches, quite aware of the crowd cheering.
"That was a great battle," Sabrina says, extending her hand. "I look forward to a rematch."
"Thank you," Brandon says gratefully, shaking her hand.
"For defeating me in an official league match, I'm pleased to award you the soul badge," Sabrina says, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a small two concentric golden circles badge and handing it to Brandon, who gratefully takes it and puts it into his replaced badge case. "Oh I noticed you looked confused with a move Nidorina used. It's called toxic spikes."
"Toxic spikes?" Brandon repeats, not knowing anything about that move.
"As you can tell, it doesn't do any damage to the current Pokemon, but it affects Pokemon that are switched in. It also looked like Tangrowth learned giga drain?" Sabrina explains. She looks thoughtful for a second. "May I ask, where did you catch Taillow?"
"I caught her in Lavender Town. Why?" Brandon asks, curiously.
"Mr. Fuji right?" Sabrina asks. Brandon nods as Ava and Saul join Brandon. "Makes sense. Taillow aren't native to Kanto so it's always interesting to see what type of Pokemon trainers catch. Will they keep to the original Pokemon of that specific region? Or will they add Pokemon from different regions."
"Oh, I didn't know that we weren't supposed to do that," Brandon says, worry in his voice.
"Brandon, there's no right way to build a team," Sabrina says gently, leading the group to the sidelines. "Build one that suits you. Doesn't have to be a region only Pokemon. From the looks of it, you seem to have a good team so far. I'm looking forward to a rematch, which will include my ace Pokemon."
"You mean, Kadabra isn't your ace?" Brandon says, wide eyed.
"Nope. I trained Kadabra for new trainers," Sabrina explains, whistling. A shadow appears beside Sabrina. She places a hand on the new Pokemon's arm. "Meet Alakazam, my ace. He is my first Pokemon. It has been a challenge but we've grown closer over the time."
"Hello Alakazam," Brandon greets the new Pokemon, pulling out his Pokedex.
"Alakazam, the Psi Pokemon and the evolved form of Kadabra. Psychic type.
Alakazam wields potent psychic powers. It's said that this Pokémon used these powers to create the spoons it holds," the dex chimes back.
"Glad I didn't have to battle him," Brandon states truthfully. He spies something on one of the spoons and blinks. It was a small round marble looking item with a tail looking image in the middle. Sabrina giggles, noticing what Brandon is looking at.
"That is an Alakazite," Sabrina explains. "That is Alakazam's mega stone."
"I've heard of them but have no idea how they work," Brandon says.
"Are you planning on entering the Lumiose Conference at some point?" Sabrina asks.
"At some point, yeah," Brandon nods.
"Well, I won't spoil anything then," Sabrina says. She stretches. "Just know that all of Kanto's gym leaders can use mega evolution. Well, I need to run some errands. There is a tournament in town this week but if that doesn't interest you, I would suggest heading to Celadon City, which has the next gym leader. Best of luck Brandon."
Brandon watches her leave before turning back to Ava and Saul. "Do you guys want to join the tournament?"
"I thought you wanted to leave?" Saul asks, as the trio leaves the gym, to applause.
"I do but if you guys want to join, I will join as well," Brandon replies, as they make their way back to the Pokemon Center.
"Let's just head to Celadon City," Saul says, exchanging a look with Ava.
"Meet here in fifteen minutes then?" Brandon asks.
"You got it," Ava says before disappearing upstairs to get ready.
"Be right back," Saul says, also disappearing upstairs.
Brandon follows suit, gathering his things. Soon, the trio is back on the road, heading towards Celadon City.
"Don't do anything foolish," a female voice sternly says.
"Yes ma'am," the hunter says, his hands clasped behind his back.
"If you fail one more mission, you are done. Do you understand me?" the female voice threatens him.
"Oh please," the hunter starts to say but seeing the look on her face, he wisely shuts up.
"You were supposed to capture Zapdos yet you failed. Then, you were supposed to draw out Articuno yet you drew out those Gyarados and worse, we now have the cops on our trail," the female voice says disapprovingly. "Now, head to Seaform Islands and await my instructions."
The female signs off, which gives the hunter time to rub his head. This was supposed to be an easy snatch and grab but he's getting the feeling there's more to this job then he was told. But it's too late now to back out. All he can do is try and control the course as best as he can.
"Yeah, talking to her gives us the same reaction," a voice speaks up. The hunter sighs and looks at the two men standing in the doorframe. "It's best to just give her want she wants."
"May I help you guys?" the hunter asks, sighing.
"We just wanted to check in," the first guy says.
"No need," the hunter says, turning back to the computer in front of him. "Now, leave me alone, Shane and Jason!"
Team Listings:
Brandon Adams:
Blastoise- Male, Torrent ability. Knows Water Pulse, Ice Punch, Flash Cannon, Rapid Spin
Tangrowth - Male, Leaf Guard ability. Knows: Stun Spore, Giga Drain, Growth, Ancient Power
Nidorina – Poison Point ability. Knows Growl, Toxic Spikes, Double Kick, Fury Swipes
Joltik – Male, Compound Eyes ability. Knows: Shockwave, Electroweb, String Shot, Bug Bite
Taillow - Female, Guts Ability. Knows: Boomburst, Aerial Ace, Double team.
Ava Mcarthur:
Umbreon - Female. Synchronize ability. Knows growl , Quick Attack, Double Kick, Snarl
Omanyte - Male. Weak Armor ability. Knows: Withdraw, Constrict, Rollout
Growlithe – Female. Flash Fire. Knows: Ember, Bite
Saul Raymond:
Gumshoos – Male. Unknown Ability. Knows Tackle, Sand attack, Leer
Pikipek – Female (Shiny). Unknown Ability. Knows Peck, Growl
Mantyke – Female. Water Absorb. Knows: Tailwind, Water Pulse
Chansey - Female. Healer ability. Knows: Unknown moves