Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
"Speech."
'Thoughts.'
"Telepathy."
Author Notes: So, Chapter's finished! Enjoy the good read my dear readers! I'd like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support shown in the last couple of badly delayed updates. It's positive notes like those that help me keep going. Anyways, onto the chapter!
Chapter 18 – Will Of Steel
A potent shockwave made the entire battlefield rumble ominously as the stream of draconic green flames collided against the metallic silver-colored beam of flashing light over the center of the arena at full force. The waves of energy released by the collision kicked up a ringed wave of dust and pushed a myriad of rubble and broken rocks away to the edges of the badly ravaged arena.
Latios and Probopass pushed at their respective attacks with all their strength, with both moves holding against each other in a perfect stalemate. Probopass' Flash Cannon was a much stronger attack by itself with a type advantage over Latios' Dragon Breath, but that was counteracted by the fact that the dragon's offensive power was vastly superior when compared to that of the Compass Pokémon. As the two attacks reached breaking point, they ignited into a potent flaming explosion tinted with numerous green and white flashes, releasing a forceful blast that left a small crater in the arena which was then rapidly obscured by a large cloud of smoke and dust that billowed with the wind.
Roxanne covered her face with the sleeves on her dress so as not to breathe any of the dust and smoke while it dissipated. Ash, however, looked unbothered, as Latias discreetly projected a psychic shield around him to prevent the blast's shockwave and smoke from reaching him. "Well, this isn't going to be easy…" Ash muttered as he watched the wind slowly disperse the smoke, revealing his opponents at the other side of the destroyed battlefield. "I don't think any of your moves are super-effective against that Pokémon," the trainer added, going over Latios' moves in his mind and comparing their matchup against a steel and rock-type Pokémon.
"Only my Steel Wing attack hits him neutrally, but my physical attacks aren't exactly the best. All of my special moves are ineffective against him," Latios informed him telepathically.
"Well, your special attacks are very powerful," Latias pointed out, dropping the psychic screen she had placed for Ash now that the smoke had been blown away. "You guys could try to just power your way through Probopass' defenses with your special attacks. Damage will rack up eventually. Wouldn't hurt to mix in a few Steel Wings in there, too."
Pikachu slowly nodded in approval. "A bit of a simplistic approach, but it'll work."
"Yeah, I guess so," Ash agreed, slowly grinning. "We'll just have to hit that thing again and again until it goes down." His grin widened as he punched his open palm eagerly. "Let's start doing just that. Latios, charge at him with Steel Wing!" the Pallet Town trainer commanded firmly. Latios nodded and then suddenly shot forward, his plane-like wings abruptly displaying a bright metallic grey sheen as they rapidly hardened to steel toughness levels.
"Probopass, stop him with another Flash Cannon!" Roxanne countered. As soon as the gym leader's order was conveyed, another white orb of metallic energy formed in front of Probopass' nose. He took aim at the incoming dragon and then fired a roaring blast of metallic silver light directly ahead.
"Latios, dodge that!" Ash shouted instantly.
"This is too easy," Latios said confidently, gauging the attack's speed and linear movement as he got closer and mentally getting ready to evade it. The moment he was inches from colliding with the silver beam of light, he quickly adjusted the telekinetic power he was feeding into his levitation and then swiveled in a wide arc. In a perfect, graceful, and fast-paced motion, the blue dragon instantly pivoted around the beam and moved his way to safety in an extremely efficient dodge that left Probopass no time to adjust his attack's trajectory. Latios sped up, flying alongside the beam of silvery energy and aiming his attack at the black space above Probopass' prominent red nose, where his eyes where located.
Probopass, upon seeing the imminent attack about to hit him, quickly lowered the red-colored protective helmet-like steel cover above his head. The psychic dragon then flew past Probopass, smashing his hardened wing into him and generating a very loud metallic clanging sound in the process. The Compass Pokémon was pushed back roughly, a small dent appearing on his forehead protector in the process. "Probopass, hold on!" Roxanne shouted worriedly.
"Circle around! Don't let him recover!" Ash shouted immediately. Latios rapidly flew in a wide arc and turned around, coming from behind and smashing his other hardened wing into Probopass' back with enough strength to crash him into the earth beneath him and leave a deep indentation on it. Latios smirked, continuing his flight path before turning around and levitating in front of his trainer. "Good job, Latios," Ash praised with a smile. "You're awesome!"
"I know," Latios responded with a cocky grin, which only further broadened when he heard the numerous applauses and cheers coming from the crowd as they voiced their approval at his maneuvers.
"Just like the battle between Pikachu and Nosepass, Probopass can't keep up with your speed," Ash noted.
"Probopass is slow," Latios agreed. "Using my speed to our advantage is going to be very important to beat him. There's no way he can keep up with me."
"Unless he also has Lock-On," Pikachu quipped innocently.
"Don't jinx it!" Latias and Latios both shouted in his mind, making the electric-type laugh in response and almost fall from Ash's shoulder.
On the stands, Bianca clapped enthusiastically along with the crowd of students. "Latios is doing very good so far," she stated, smiling afterwards. "He's cancelled out two of Probopass' attacks and landed two very solid hits in retaliation."
"Indeed," Brock responded to her, nodding in agreement. "Latios is very tricky to battle. Like every other trainer before her, Roxanne is having issues adapting to fighting such a unique Pokémon."
Bianca smirked. "And, he hasn't even started using some of his more awesome tricks yet," she said eagerly. 'Latios, go and win this one!' she thought excitedly.
"I plan to," Latios responded to her, having picked up her thoughts with his psychic mind.
"Probopass, are you okay?" Roxanne asked worriedly, and then sighed in relief when the Compass Pokémon electromagnetically levitated off the ground, his bushy mustache and nose now completely covered in dirt and pebbles. His red cover lifted off his eyes and revealed a piercing glare that was directed at the Eon Pokémon. Probopass looked clearly annoyed.
"His glare would be a lot more intimidating if it wasn't for that ridiculous mustache that keeps distracting me from it," Pikachu commented jokingly, causing the two dragons and his trainer to chuckle.
Roxanne hummed in thought, playing what had gone by of the battle so far in her head a few times. "Flash Cannon didn't work. Let's try something else. Probopass, use Stone Edge!" she commanded while dramatically pointing at the dragon-type Legendary Pokémon.
Probopass let out an electronic drone response and then released his electromagnetic levitation, smashing his underside into the ground violently to send a very strong tremor across the arena. Latios narrowed his eyes, noting the cracks appearing across the ravaged battlefield and keeping track of them.
"Latios, use Steel Wing again," Ash countered. "Be sure to evade Probopass' attack while you're at it."
"Right," Latios answered. His wings once again flashed in a metallic grey, hardening considerably. The Eon Pokémon used his psychic senses to feel the arena all around him. The moment the ground underneath the dragon tore apart, he accelerated forward and sped away from his position. His movement had come not a moment too late as a gigantic and sharply jagged spear of glowing blue stone aggressively emerged from the ground below and rose high to meet nothing but empty air.
"Keep attacking, Probopass. Don't let Latios reach you!" Roxanne ordered. Probopass glared at Latios and then exerted more of his power into the ground below, causing more cracks to appear in the terrain in front of him. The ground all over tore apart as more serrated rock spires gleaming a soft blue hue emerged from it very violently.
Latios smirked. "Not good enough." The dragon sent a gigantic wave of telekinetic power into his levitation, making him dart forward at an astounding speed. The eon dragon crossed the distance between him and Probopass in a single speed blitz that was far too fast for any of the jagged rocks to even come close to hitting him. By the time the rocks had finished emerging from the ground, Probopass was already crying out in pain and being pushed back as Latios roughly collided against him and slashed his side with a hardened wing.
Roxanne gasped, seeing Probopass crash into the ground and leave another deep indentation in the process. "He's very fast," she acknowledged as she watched the dragon circle around and return to Ash's side of the field. A very annoyed Probopass magnetically levitated off the ground.
"That was very good, Latios," Ash complimented. "Well done."
"Thanks," Latios replied gratefully.
Pikachu stuck his tongue out at him. "I was way more impressive in dodging my way through a Rock Slide."
"I didn't even need to dodge," Latios countered smugly. "I just hit him before he even finished using his attack."
"Boring," Pikachu shot back, faking an obnoxiously long yawn. Latios rolled his eyes.
"Latios, use Dragon Breath!" Ash suddenly said, interrupting the two bickering friends. Latios nodded and took a deep breath. He thrust his head forward and exhaled a potent gust of draconic green flames out of his mouth, aiming them towards the opposing Pokémon.
"Probopass, hang on!" Roxanne shouted. Probopass let out a droning growl and didn't move, bracing himself. The green flames collided with him with enough force to push him back slightly, but he held strong as the flaming plume washed over him intensely. "Probopass, it's time to reveal our hidden trick. Deploy your Mini-Noses!" she commanded.
Ash blinked. "Mini-Noses?" he questioned in confusion. "What's that about?"
Roxanne smirked confidently. "You'll see." Probopass let out a droning hum as his electromagnetic powers flared. As the Compass Pokémon tanked the potent hit of Latios' Dragon Breath as best as he could, the three smaller units that heavily resembled him located at his sides and back suddenly began to rumble. Slowly, they levitated off from his back and moved outwards towards the Arena. Each of the three units took to their own direction, separating from each other.
"Well, they don't look toodangerous," Ash said offhandedly, looking at each of the Mini-Noses. "What are they going to do?" he wondered. Latios closed his mouth, cancelling his Dragon Breath attack to focus on the movements of the three smaller units.
Roxanne chuckled. "Oh, they'll do a lot. I'll admit your Latios is very good at dodging because he's so darn fast, but can he dodge attacks coming from multiple directions?" she asked, flashing the trainer an assured grin. "Probopass, use Flash Cannon!" the gym leader ordered.
Suddenly, each of the three Mini-Noses that were floating over the field began to glow in a silver hue of light and formed metallic orbs of brightly flashing energy in front of them.
"Latios, use Psychic to push them away!" Ash shouted. Latios' eyes glowed a soft shade of blue as he exerted his mental powers, targeting each of the three Mini-Noses. His attack reached the units, surrounding each of them in a faint blue outline as he pushed them psychically to throw them off course.
"Hold strong, Probopass," Roxanne said, crossing her arms. An electromagnetic pulse from Probopass rapidly made the Mini-Noses turn and adjust their aims directly towards the dragon Legendary despite the psychic pressure they were currently under.
Latios growled, bombarding them with an even stronger barrage of psychic power in response. Cracks and dents formed in each of the Mini-Noses, but they surprisingly held their spot resiliently. Probopass' red nose emitted stronger pulses of electromagnetism, holding the position of each Mini-Nose as steady as he could under the dragon's relentless mental attacks.
Ash smirked at Roxanne, causing her to frown. "Your Probopass is strong, but, you underestimate my Latios' abilities. If you want us to dodge it then we will. Latios, cancel your Psychic attack, dodge all of those attacks and then use Steel Wing!" Ash shouted. Latios' eyes abruptly stopped glowing as he narrowed them and then rapidly charged forward.
"There's no way he can dodge them," Roxanne said in disbelief. "No way!"
"Oh yes there is," Ash replied with a confident chuckle. "As you're about to see for yourself."
Probopass kept track of the incoming dragon and began to load a Flash Cannon himself, making a much larger orb of silver energy than that of the Mini-Noses form in front of his red nose. Latios expanded his psychic senses to feel his surroundings, and rapidly began taking into account the movements of the Mini-Noses as well as Probopass himself to prepare his own countermeasures. The Mini-Nose to his right was the very first to act, with it firing a long laser of silver light directly at the speeding dragon. Latios narrowed his eyes and rapidly sped forward in an attempt to leave the attack behind him. Probopass immediately reacted to that, adjusting the aim of the Mini-Nose to the dragon's left side to fire its Flash Cannon directly ahead of Latios. The same moment that happened, Probopass fired his own Flash Cannon in an upwards angle meant to purposely overshoot the psychic dragon and then instructed the final Mini-Nose flying above Latios to fire its Flash Cannon attack behind him.
Latios gasped slightly when he felt the web of beams coming at him, which created an effective four-directional attack designed to box him in. However, he would not be undone by it. Latios' mind rapidly played out numerous scenarios he could attempt to dodge the attacks in a matter of milliseconds, and grinned when he devised the perfect flight path that would carry him to safety based on the way Probopass had aimed and timed the attacks. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the Eon Pokémon as he took careful note of how the Flash Cannon coming from Probopass and the one coming from the Mini-Nose above him came at him.
When the instant was right, Latios flared the telekinetic power of his levitation and then abruptly swiveled upwards and then fluidly maneuvered to the side in the precise instant he needed to move so he passed between the two Flash cannons before they met. Once again, Latios had gone through the motions in an extremely fast and unpredictable way that made it impossible to gauge his exact series of movements. Once he had evaded the two attacks, Latios suddenly sped forward and made his wings gleam brightly in a metallic grey hue.
Probopass sent out an electromagnetic command to his Mini-Noses, trying to rapidly make them readjust their attacking directions. However, by now it was too late. Latios' hardened wing smashed into Probopass' nose on the side, slashing it with enough force to visibly dent and crack it and make him cry out in pain.
"Yes!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, pumping a fist to the air. "You did it, Latios!"
Roxanne's eyes widened as she watched Probopass' Flash Cannon collide with the school's exterior wall with a large flashing blast and the three Mini-Nose Flash Cannons harmlessly explode against the ground. 'It's no use, he's too fast,' she thought, shaking her head slightly. 'Unlike most flying-types that use moving wings to fly, his style of flight means he can alternate between speeds and directions instantly without making any physical motions to indicate what his next move is going to be. It's all fluid, seamless and unpredictable movements.' Roxanne frowned, narrowing her eyes. "Congratulations, Ash. Your Latios is simply out of this world."
"Thank you," Ash said appreciatively, clapping alongside the excited and cheering crowd. "That's Latios for you."
Pikachu begrudgingly clapped a couple of times. "I'll admit that was good. But, my Rock Slide dodge was better."
"This was way more awesome," Latios countered immediately.
"Guys, both were awesome," Latias said with a sweat-drop, trying to play peacemaker.
Ash chuckled but said nothing, instead focusing on Roxanne. "So, you ready for more?" he asked tauntingly.
"As a matter of fact, I am," Roxanne responded. "Much like your Pikachu, seeing as your Latios just keeps dodging everything I throw at him. I'll have to reuse my tactics here. I dislike having to use the same trick in multiple battles but you leave me with no choice here."
Pikachu burst out laughing, already knowing what Roxanne was referring to. "Oh boy, there it is!"
Latios growled in annoyance. "You just had to jinx it!"
"Probopass, use Lock-On!" Roxanne commanded. Probopass' red nose began to glow as he prepared to execute the conveyed order.
"Oh no you don't!" Ash said rapidly, making the gym leader give a small start. The Pallet Town trainer smirked, much to Roxanne's horror. "Latios, turn invisible and fly away!"
Latios' eyes flashed briefly as he activated his fine coat of feathers, using them to refract the light all around him perfectly and began to disappear. Just as a red ring of light formed in front of Probopass' nose, Latios finished turning invisible and then flew to the side. The Compass Pokémon fired the status move where Latios used to be. The red ring flew at near untraceable speeds, completely missing Latios and hitting the school's exterior wall. Probopass made an annoyed droning sound and cancelled the attack, making the red bullseye on the wall disappear. Roxanne's eyes widened. "I completely forgot he could do that," she deadpanned. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that, as she had literally just seen him appear from thin air a few short minutes ago before the battle had started.
"Latios, hit him with Psychic!" Ash commanded confidently, feeling firmly in control of the pace of the battle. Latios' eyes glowed with an intense shade of blue as he released a huge blast of psychic energy towards his opponent. The Legendary dragon, however, was very careful to mask the glow of his eyes with the light refraction of his feathers so as to not give away his location.
Probopass winced as his rock and metal body was bombarded by a massive wave of telekinetic power, painfully grinding and smashing at his hide. Numerous cracks and dents appeared all over him, however, he did his best to tank the hit. "Probopass, we need to get that Latios out of hiding. Use your Mini-Noses to cover the entire field with Discharge!" Roxanne commanded.
Struggling through the incessant psychic assaults from the currently invisible dragon, Probopass electromagnetically levitated to a corner of the battlefield, while also directing each individual Mini-Nose to head to the remaining three corners. The distinct buzzing sound of electricity began to loudly resonate on the air as arcs of violent electricity began to emit from Probopass' nose, swirling all around it as a massive amount of electrical energy gathered within it. Each of the Mini-Noses also began to emit the same buzzing sound as they too began to emit distinct pulses of electrical energy.
A large continuous bolt of electricity suddenly connected each of the Mini-Noses and Probopass himself, surrounding the entire battlefield. As the violent electrical current kept building up in Probopass and his units, the electricity joining them grew in size.
Pikachu yawned. "This is nothing compared to me," he commented. "If Latios dares to wince from this, I'm going to zap him a hundred times after this battle to show him what real electricity is like."
Ash laughed. "I don't doubt you, buddy." He turned and faced Roxanne. "Still, electricity against a dragon-type?" he questioned.
"I don't need the attack to be effective in this case," Roxanne clarified. "My idea is to use an attack that covers the entire battlefield to draw your Latios out. Discharge is a violent attack that moves in all directions. It's perfect for that."
Ash shook his head. "That's going to fail."
"We'll see, Ash," Roxanne responded. She paused and focused intently onto the field, noticing the sparks uniting Probopass and his Mini-Noses were about to go overboard. 'All I need to do is pay attention for where his dragon will pop out. The attack will inevitably make him cry out in pain and release his invisibility. That's when we'll strike,' she thought to herself. "Probopass, release!" the gym leader spoke up.
Like a massive lightning storm, Probopass and the Mini-Noses released a myriad of lightning bolts towards the battlefield, covering the entire arena in a storm of bright yellow beams of electricity. No place in the entire area remained untouched as the bolts hit everything in it. Rocks shattered and rubble flew everywhere as the attacks poured in every direction and violently ravaged the battlefield.
"Latios, use Psychic again," Ash commanded assuredly.
"Alright," Latios responded calmly from where he was floating in the middle of the lightning storm. Dozens upon dozens of lightning bolts struck him all over his body, causing relatively painful and stinging jolts all over. The occasional large bolt hit him with enough power to fully electrocute him, but he held strong and did his best to ignore the pain and remain focused on keeping up his invisibility. Once again being careful to mask the natural glow of his eyes whenever he used psychic attacks, Latios unleased a massive telekinetic assault on Probopass' body once more. The attack smashed against the rock and steel-type's body at full strength, further damaging and cracking his already worn out armor.
"Probopass, hold on!" Roxanne shouted encouragingly, noticing that her Pokémon was visibly wincing and struggling to keep the Discharge attack going. She returned her gaze to the field as she did her best to look for where the Legendary Dragon could be but found nothing. There was no sign of him in the violent electrical destruction going all over the field. She growled in annoyance. Without Latios reacting to the electrocution there was nothing she could do to pinpoint his location. "This isn't working…" she admitted as the electrical barrage began to die down, Probopass having used up most of his electrical charge.
"Latios, hit Probopass with Steel Wing!" Ash ordered. Latios nodded and charged forward, once again making sure to use his light refracting feathers to carefully hide the metallic sheen that coated his wings.
"Probopass, defend yourself with your Mini-Noses!" Roxanne countered, frantically trying to think of a way to counter the dragon's invisibility. Probopass electromagnetically called on his Mini-Noses to return to him, which they began to do as fast as they could. However, before they could finish returning to him, the Compass Pokémon let out a sharp cry of pain as Latios suddenly smashed his steel-hardened wing behind him with enough force to send numerous small chunks of his rocky hide flying in all directions.
Probopass rapidly sent out a magnetic pulse to signal his Mini-Nose units their designated defensive duties. The three units wasted no time in forming a self-protective circle around the Compass Pokémon, beginning to spin around him at a very fast speed. Latios circled the rock and steel-type like a predator stalking his defenseless prey and took careful aim. Once he had figured out the best angle to approach without risking collision with any of the three Mini-Noses, he sped forward and smashed another Steel Wing directly into Probopass' face. Probopass cried out in pain and stumbled back as bits of his armor flew in all directions.
Roxanne growled, knowing the battle would be over soon if she didn't do something about Latios' invisibility. "This is very bad," she muttered uneasily, wondering if there was anything she could do after the failure of Discharge.
"Ash and Latios are doing really well," Brock noted. "They're dominating the pace of this battle brilliantly."
Bianca nodded slowly. "Yeah. In the battles against Nosepass, Roxanne felt a lot more in control. Right now, it feels like Latios is maybe just too much for her and Probopass."
"Hopefully, this means Ash has this badge in the bag, but I'd not rule Roxanne out just yet," Brock said, leaning forward to intently watch the battle and his friend's performance. "Ash sure has come a long way since needing sprinklers to beat a rock-type gym," he added, chuckling.
"And Latios too, from depending on invisible tackles to win every battle," Bianca said with a small giggle. 'You've improved so much, congrats,' she added as an afterthought, which she knew the dragon would pick up.
Latios smiled as he heard the comment. He sped up aggressively and came around for another pass and landed yet another solid hit on Probopass with Steel Wing, which briefly made him lose his levitation and painfully crash into the ground while further denting his armor. Roxanne's eyes widened when she noticed the small cloud of dust that Probopass colliding with the ground kicked up. "That's it!" Roxanne suddenly spoke up excitedly. "Why didn't I think of this sooner? Probopass, use Sandstorm!"
"Huh, Sandstorm?" Ash questioned.
"She intends to use it to spot Latios," Latias clarified. "The sand moving in the air will give out his position."
"Then let's make the most of it while he's still hidden. Latios, keep up your attacks!" Ash ordered. Latios quickly flew around and sped forward for another pass with his Steel Wing attack.
Probopass' Mini-Nose units dropped to the ground and then began to resume their wild spinning around him. As they span rapidly, the units began to kick up an aggressive sandstorm that billowed all over the field like a violent gust of wind. Latios took that precise moment to make another pass and smash a painful Steel Wing into the Compass Pokémon's side, further cracking his hide from the repeated punishment it had taken throughout the battle.
Probopass sent a strong electromagnetic pulse from his nose, signaling the Mini-Noses to spin faster. As the sandstorm grew in intensity, both Roxanne and Probopass intently watched the movements of the sand in the wind. Unlike the wild and unpredictably moving electricity whose natural shine made it hard to look at, the uniform movements of the sand on the wind made it easy to spot disturbances in it, which is what Roxanne and her Pokémon instantly noted when a painfully obvious silhouette appeared in the sandstorm ahead, as the natural pattern of it was disturbed by Latios' body.
"Quick, use Lock-On!" Roxanne shouted immediately. Without wasting a single precious second, a red ring of light appeared in front of Probopass' nose, which he carefully aimed towards Latios as he quickly flew in a wide circle in an attempt to throw Probopass' aim off. However, with the Sandstorm making the Eon Pokémon's movements easier to track, Probopass fired off a precise Lock-On that effectively embedded a red bullseye target mark on Latios' forehead.
"Gotcha." Roxanne smirked. Probopass let out a drone of approval, electromagnetically levitating forward along with his Mini-Noses. With their spinning stopped, the sandstorm that had been raging on the battlefield slowly died down.
"Oh, not that again," Ash grumbled in annoyance.
Latios growled as he stopped his movements and dropped his invisibility in the process. With Lock-On active on him, there was no point in remaining invisible. "Well, they got me," he said.
"Finally, he's got nowhere to run," Roxanne said eagerly.
"Yeah, but I'm sure you know that doesn't mean you have success guaranteed, Roxanne," Ash said firmly. "We can still fight off your attacks."
"Then I'll be sure to have Probopass hit you with his best," Roxanne responded.
"Bring it on!" Ash challenged her. Latios nodded to back his trainer's challenge as he floated idly by the center of the field. "We're ready."
"That's good to hear, Ash. Probopass, use Stone Edge!" Roxanne ordered confidently, knowing that her move would hit no matter what. Probopass let out an almost too excited call in response and then slammed into the ground roughly, sending a deep and rumbling tremor across the battlefield. The ground directly under the dragon tore apart as a massive serrated spire of blue-glowing rock emerged from it violently.
"Latios, stop that with your Psychic attack!" Ash countered. Latios growled as his eyes began to glow in a soft blue tone, exerting his large mental powers. He took hold of the rock spire below him easily, pressing back against it with his psychic powers. The rock cracked and rumbled as it was stopped in its tracks, with debris falling off of it as it struggled to rise further.
Roxanne chuckled. "Unsurprising. I counted on you doing that," she said offhandedly. "It's a good thing I anticipated for that."
"Huh?" Ash asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Roxanne smirked. "Latios will be under the influence of Lock-On until a move hits him, which means he can't dodge if I use more than one attack on him," she explained. "Probopass, direct your Mini-Noses to use Flash Cannon!" she commanded. Probopass' bulky nose emitted a potent electromagnetic pulse, bringing the three Mini-Nose units to life once more. They rapidly flew upwards and surrounded the Dragon in a triangle formation, with each of them starting to emit a silver glow as they gathered a metallic orb of energy in front of them.
"Latios, stop that as well! You can do it!" Ash shouted as the three Mini-Noses fired their respective beams of silver light at the dragon.
Latios' eyes began to glow even brighter as he exerted an even larger amount of his mental powers against the incoming attacks. He targeted each of the incoming Flash Cannons and formed a protective barrier in front of each of them. The three beams collided with the barriers in midair and stopped in their tracks, with flashes and small blasts of silver light flying off in all directions as the attacks pushed at the barriers aggressively. "This is ridiculous," Latios said telepathically, his mental voice sounding strained.
Latios' eyes were wildly glowing now as he held the Stone Edge under him and the Flash Cannons coming from the Mini-Noses all at bay at the same time. The attacks struggled vibrantly against each other, with each gaining precious inches on the dragon, only for him to push them back further with intense bursts of psychic power.
"You can do it, Latios!" Bianca cheered on. "Push those attacks back!"
"Yes! Go on bro!" Latias hailed as well. "Win this one!"
"You can beat those attacks, Latios!" Ash shouted encouragingly. "This gym badge is ours!"
Roxanne chuckled, making Ash look at her worriedly. "Oh no, it's not yours yet. Probopass, use Iron Head!" she commanded.
Ash gasped. "Oh no!"
Roxanne laughed. "Oh yes!" Probopass aimed himself head-first in relation to where Latios was and then made his red helmet-like steel cover drop down to shield his eyes. It then began to glow a bright metallic grey. Probopass gathered potent electromagnetic energies in his body before using them to suddenly launch himself at a rather impressive velocity towards the Dragon.
"Latios, you've got to stop that too!" Ash shouted at the blue dragon. "Maximum power Psychic attack!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know! I know!" Latios responded frantically. He took a few deep breaths to quell the headache he was beginning to feel before unleashing the biggest blast of psychic power he had ever made. Probopass cried out in pain and was pushed back several yards as Latios' vast psychic powers collided head-on against him. However, his momentary shift in focus allowed the still ongoing Stone Edge and Flash Cannons to suddenly gain precious ground against him. Latios gasped and rapidly refocused his psychic powers, stopping them cold once more, only for Probopass to suddenly surge forward.
Latios growled deeply. He would not be beaten in a direct power clash by Probopass. Never. His eyes shined even brighter now, with so much psychic power being exerted by the dragon that now even his feathers across numerous sections of his now blue-outlined body began to brightly shine as well. His vast psychic powers held strong, beginning to push back against the combined attacks of Stone Edge, Flash Cannon and Iron Head.
Roxanne's eyes widened slowly. "No way…" she said in pure awe, almost breathless. "So, this is the power of a Legendary Pokémon…"
Probopass' red nose began to emit even stronger pulses of electromagnetism, doing his best to keep surging forward despite the massive wall of psychic energies he was colliding against. His brightly glowing metallic head emitted intense pulses of purple light as he battled against Latios' potent mental hold and struggled visibly to move forward. Slowly, all three of his attacks gained precious inch after precious inch on the psychic dragon. Latios roared, a massive aura of blue psychic power now shining brightly all around him. The sudden increase of psychic power caused all of Probopass' attacks to abruptly begin to lose ground and fall back ever so slightly.
"Probopass, give it everything you have!" Roxanne encouraged. Probopass' nose began to release violent sparks of electricity as he used it to propel himself forward with as much magnetic strength as he could muster. Slowly but surely, he began to close in on the badly strained Latios.
The crowd watched in pure awe, with numerous students holding out mobile devices and phones to record the epic clash between the two Pokémon. Bianca and Brock, as well as Latias, Ash and Pikachu, watched with bated breath while mentally cheering for Latios.
Ash growled, seeing how visibly tense and strained Latios was now. He knew he had to do something and fast or else Latios could be overpowered. "Latios, let's show Roxanne just how powerful you truly are." He took a deep breath. "Use Luster Purge!" he roared at the top of his lungs.
"Luster… Purge?" Roxanne questioned, her breath catching. "What's that?"
Latios growled loudly upon hearing the order. The blue aura surrounding him suddenly began to increase in intensity until the dragon was surrounded in a brightly gleaming sphere of blue and white light. For a moment it looked as if a second blue sun was shining on the sky as Latios' massive attack gathered more and more power.
Latios roared out deafeningly. Without warning, the blue aura that was surrounding him suddenly emitted four massive pulsing blasts of intensely bright white and blue psychic energy. The blue-gleaming rock spire under the Dragon was instantly pulverized from top to bottom, with the first blast effortlessly cleaving through it and reducing it to rubble. The three other blast each headed for one of the Mini-Noses. The Flash cannons were completely disintegrated into nothingness as the Luster Purges flew right through them before colliding against each Mini-Nose unit. Three explosions suddenly illuminated the sky as the units were blasted away.
Latios glared at Probopass, and with an almighty push of his powers, the Eon Pokémon sent a colossal blast of blue and white telekinetic light ahead of him. The attack hit Probopass so hard it was as if a mountain's worth of psychic power had impacted him. His Iron Head attack was instantly dissipated as he let out a howling roar of pain. The intense blast of radiant light carried the Compass Pokémon all the way to the ground, crashing him against it and igniting a gigantic explosion of blue energy.
Everyone covered their eyes due to how intense the blast's shining light was as well as the gale of wind and dust that enveloped the school's entire courtyard. "Probopass!" Roxanne cried out worriedly. "Are you alright?" she questioned loudly. Silence was the only thing that answered her. "Probopass!"
After the blast had died down and the wind slowly began to clear the dust that had set over the arena, it revealed a large crater that covered most of it, with an unmoving Probopass in the middle. His three Mini-Noses lay scattered around him, also still. Latios drifted down and floated in front of Ash. The dragon looked visibly exhausted and was panting, but he was uninjured.
"Probopass is unable to continue battling!" the teacher posing as the referee shouted and raised his hand in Ash's direction. "The winner of this battle is the challenger Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" After the referee finished relaying his call, the crowd stood up from their seats and began applauding and cheering for both combatants in appreciation of the battle they had given.
Roxanne let out a long sigh and quietly held her Heavy Ball forward. "Probopass, return." A long beam of red energy shot forward and connected with the Compass Pokémon, dissolving him into red light and then returning him back to his Heavy Ball. "You did well against an impossible opponent, you deserve a good rest," she whispered to the sphere before tucking it away and beginning to walk to where Ash was.
"Yes!" Ash cheered loudly, running up to the field and tightly hugging Latios' neck. "You did it! Congratulations, Latios. You were amazing!"
Latios smiled. "Thank you," he said appreciatively, reaching around with his long neck to nuzzle Ash's head.
"I'll admit you did very good. Not as good as me, but still good," Pikachu said, flashing Latios a toothy grin. The dragon smiled back at him, bemused.
"You were fantastic, Latios," Bianca congratulated while slowly clapping as she walked to them alongside Brock. "You too, Ash and Pikachu. This was a very good battle."
Ash grinned broadly at her. "Thanks a lot, Bianca."
"Thanks to you as well," Latios said telepathically, giving Bianca an affectionate nuzzle.
"So, how does it feel to beat a rock-type gym without any cheating?" Brock said teasingly.
Ash scratched the back of his head. "It feels pretty good. And I'll win my remaining six gyms just like this!"
Brock, Bianca and Latios all moved back when they noticed Roxanne along with the school's principal approaching the group. "Congratulations, Ash, you have defeated me," Roxanne began with a smile. "That was a very good battle, and you showed the traits of an extremely good battler back there. I couldn't knock out a single one of your Pokémon, after all." She reached for her pocket and took out an ornamented box which she then presented to Ash. "You've earned this. It's the Stone Badge, proof of you overcoming the Rustboro City Pokémon Gym."
Ash reached forward and opened the box, then grasped inside to take out the badge within. He examined it for a moment. It was a neat brown-colored set of triangles united by a rectangular piece with a rather rough texture. He raised the badge into the air proudly. "Yes! I've won my second badge!" he declared triumphantly, like he always did when winning badges. Latios smiled and held one of his arms to Ash and Pikachu. Both Ash and the Mouse Pokémon grinned and reached forward, high-fiving the dragon together.
Roxanne couldn't help but feel touched at the scene, while several in the crowd applauded it. Ash was simply unlike any trainer she had ever seen. The level of personal chemistry that he had with his Pokémon was simply immeasurable. "Thank you for the great battle, Ash. I look forward to seeing you, your Pikachu, and your Latios in the Hoenn League. Don't disappoint," Roxanne said kindly.
"You're welcome, Roxanne," Ash responded gratefully. "I'll be sure to win it."
"I don't doubt that," Roxanne replied. "Would you like to stay in the school for a bit? Get a tour? Enjoy a few of our classes?" she offered.
Ash hummed, thinking about it for a moment. "Nah, it's fine. I want to go back to the Pokémon Center to check on my Pokémon, particularly my Treecko."
Roxanne nodded. "I respect that." She smiled at Ash one last time before turning around. "I have some things to arrange with my colleagues due to our daily activities getting interrupted and discuss with all the students here what's next for the day and see what they learned from the battle. Goodbye, Ash. And good luck with your future endeavors." She walked away, heading for the stands where a fellow teacher handed her a microphone.
"I'll gladly escort you to the exit, young trainer," the Pokémon Trainer's school principal said in a kind voice, motioning with his arm towards the exit. Ash and the group followed him quietly, with Latios turning invisible as they moved to the school's main gate. The students clapped and cheered at Ash appreciatively, with the trainer turning around to briefly return an enthusiastic wave at them before departing the school.
Once they had left the school, Ash and his friends began to walk back to the Pokémon Center at a leisurely pace while chitchatting amongst themselves in a friendly manner. Several minutes went by uneventfully with them calmly walking and talking. As the group slowly made their way back, Ash took out his badge case and opened it. He grinned happily while looking at the two shiny badges that now rested in its interior. "Doesn't this look awesome? That's two down, six more to go."
"It does look awesome, we all earned those badges," Pikachu agreed. "I think this battle turned out very well in particular."
"You and Latios were simply amazing," Latias praised, giving each of them a pat on the back. "You two were fantastic!"
"Thanks a lot, sis," Latios replied warmly, playfully nudging his invisible sister while the two remained unseen by the group and everyone else on the Rustboro City streets. Latias giggled lightheartedly and nuzzled Latios affectionately.
"I couldn't draw anything because the battle was that enthralling, but I sure memorized your final clash with Probopass, Latios. That was epic!" Bianca gushed. "I'm definitely going to draw that when I have the time."
"Oh, I look forward to seeing that," Latios said eagerly, knowing just how good the young artist's drawings were getting.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Your drawings are always very good, Bianca."
Bianca smiled at them. "Thanks for the compliments, guys. They're very appreciated."
As the group kept walking, Ash looked ahead and noted that they could now see the Pokémon Center down the street. Once they reached it, Ash headed to Nurse Joy's desk immediately while Brock and Bianca sat in the lobby's chairs.
"Hello, welcome back," Nurse Joy greeted kindly, flashing the Pallet Town trainer a warm smile. "Judging by your clearly content looks, I presume you won in your battle against Roxanne."
Ash beamed at her. "I did!" He grabbed Treecko and Phanpy's Poké Balls and placed them on the counter. He took out another of the electronic spheres and held it outwards. The invisible Latios tapped it and returned himself into it with a quick red flash. Ash placed it on the counter alongside the two other Poké Balls while Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and landed beside the Poké Balls. "Can you please check my team? I may have won, but it was a very intense fight."
"No problem," Nurse Joy said in a friendly manner. She grabbed a tray, put the Poké Balls on it, and walked to a room behind the counter. Pikachu wordlessly followed her. A few minutes later, she returned. "All of them have been healed and look healthy," she informed him while handing the tray to him. "Your Treecko looks okay despite his healing injury, but I recommend you still take it easy with him in the following days."
"Alright, thank you," Ash said appreciatively, placing Treecko and Phanpy's Poké Balls on his belt. He then held the other Poké Ball out and then pushed its center button. Latios materialized in a bright flash of white light from the sphere and immediately turned invisible. Ash then placed the empty Poké Ball on his belt. After Pikachu jumped on his shoulder, Ash turned around and walked back to his friends. "So, what's next?" he questioned.
"Well," Brock began, taking out his trusty Hoenn Pokémon League guide book. "We could stay here for a bit. We can rest some and then eat, and after that we can go sightseeing in the city. Tomorrow morning we can head east for Dewford Island, where your next gym challenge will await."
"What about my next Contest?" Bianca asked curiously, taking a peek at Brock's guidebook over his shoulder. Brock hummed, turning several pages to look for the appropriate information.
As Brock looked around in his book, a faint siren could be heard in the distance, causing the group to pause and gaze out the window. As the sound got louder and louder, they got closer to the window and looked out in curiosity. Rapidly speeding down the street they saw a police motorcycle with Officer Jenny riding on top of it. She sped past the Pokémon Center and continued way down the street.
"That's a lovely girl in a hurry," Brock commented, then nearly bit his tongue at the glare Bianca threw at him. "I mean, Officer Jenny is in a hurry!" he corrected quickly.
To the group's surprise, the sounds of sirens persisted. "Huh, what's going on?" Ash wondered, stepping out of the Pokémon Center to have a better look. Brock, Bianca and the twins followed as they were equally interested. As he exited the Pokémon Center, Brock noticed out the corner of his eye that Nurse Joy's phone rang, with the nurse going over to pick it up.
As the group walked out of the Pokémon Center, they stopped in their tracks when they saw the source of the still loudly resounding noise. Four very large and intimidating Rustboro City Police Department armored vans followed Officer Jenny's trail, with the sirens on all of them blaring at full blast. "Woah," Ash said in surprise and amazement. "Something must be very wrong." He frowned when he realized something awful. "Wait, we just came that way…" Ash lamented, pointing down the street. "They couldn't be going to the school, could they?" he asked worriedly, looking at Brock and Bianca.
"I'm sure there's more down that street than just the school, Ash," Bianca responded to him. "In any case, we should just-" She was interrupted by the distinct sound of Helicopters in the distance. "Those are police too, right?" she asked, glancing up at the sky but failing to see anything.
"Quiet guys, I'll see what I can hear," Latios said telepathically, getting the group's attention. He closed his eyes, focusing entirely on his keen hearing. Pikachu, who also possessed a very acute sense of hearing, also focused on what his sensitive ears could pick up.
Latios didn't try to reach out over a long distance with his psychic powers, as he knew from past experience that it was a bad idea to do that in the middle of a large city. "Huh, I'm picking up those same siren sounds from multiple areas of the city, not just in that direction."
"I can hear multiple helicopters too, and they're all over the place," Pikachu added to Latios' assessment. "I have a very bad feeling about this."
"Something's wrong," Latias said uneasily. "I can just feel it."
"Trainers!" Nurse Joy suddenly called out, standing on the Pokémon Center's doorway. "Please come inside and take refuge!" she said urgently.
Ash, Bianca and Brock looked at each other in alarm and then ran to where the nurse was standing. "What's going on, Nurse Joy?" Bianca asked anxiously.
"I just got a call from the police department. A villainous organization known as Team Aqua is attacking numerous areas of the city and is causing chaos all over. Police are advising all citizens to go indoors as soon as possible. A city-wide lockdown could be imminent," Nurse Joy informed them urgently.
Everyone collectively gasped. "Team Aqua!" Brock cried in shock. "No way!"
"They're not the ones that have Larvitar's mother, but they are connected and part of the same mess," Ash said, looking at him. "Should we do something about it?"
"I'm not sure," Brock answered uneasily.
"Yes, we should. I want to read the minds of some Team Aqua members to figure out more about what they're after," Latios informed them telepathically. "I got a lot of useful information from reading the mind of Team Magma's admin back at Oldale Town. I need to read a prominent Team Aqua member's mind too."
"We'll have to fight them, then," Pikachu noted, his cheeks releasing a few vivid sparks of electricity. "I'm game."
Ash nodded at the pair and then looked back at the Pokémon Nurse. "No thanks, Nurse Joy. We're very strong trainers. We're going out there to help out."
Nurse Joy sighed in slight annoyance. Typical trainers. But, she was also well aware that she couldn't stop them if they really wanted to leave. "Do as you wish, then. But, please, be very careful out there. I'll be going back to my duties. With all the fighting that's going to happen, I expect a lot of injured Pokémon to come here in the next several hours. I need to prepare this center for maximum capacity operation." She hastily turned around and then rapidly walked back to the counter. She picked up her phone to make several urgent calls.
Brock hummed in thought for a moment. "I'll be back in a bit," he suddenly said, turning around to walk into the Pokémon Center.
Ash raised an eyebrow and looked at him as he left. "What's going on, Brock?" he asked.
"Judging by the amount of Police that headed down the street and the fact we're in the middle of a big city, I imagine there'll be a big fight. I'm calling the Pewter Gym to get more of my Pokémon. I'm not going to be of much help with just my Forretress," Brock responded before resuming his pace and heading for one of the Pokémon transfer-capable telephones in the lobby.
"I'll go and have a quick look to know where we should head," Latios declared before rapidly flying upwards.
"I'll go too," Latias spoke up, flying after her brother.
It took seconds for Latios and Latias to make it high into the sky, with them levitating higher than all of the city's buildings by a good margin to get a good view. "What the?" Latios asked incredulously as his gaze was drawn to the most outstanding thing he could see. Floating on the surface of the ocean by the city's coastline was a massive metal ship with Team Aqua's logo on its side.
"That thing's huge," Latias said, shocked. "Well, at least we now know where the attack is coming from." She turned around, taking note of the Helicopters flying over the city and tracing their locations. The sound of police sirens echoed faintly over the city, and wherever she saw a Helicopter she could see the flashes of blue and red on the buildings nearby, clearly from the presence of the city's law enforcement. "There's one by the coastline, one at the north of the city and the other…" she paused anxiously when she realized what the final helicopter was hovering over.
"Yeah, that's the Pokémon Trainer's school," Latios lamented with a growl. He gazed down in the school's direction, his extremely keen eyesight easily making out the school despite the altitude and distance. "Those scumbags, attacking a place full of children…"
"But, why? What could anyone gain from attacking a school full of children?" Latias wondered, shaking her head in disgust.
"…Attention," Latios realized after a moment of thought. "An attack on a school is something very sensitive and eye-catching."
"Roxanne's there, and police is there too," Latias said in slight relief. "They're not defenseless, so that's good. Still, if they're trying to get attention, what's the pattern here? They're all over the place," she speculated.
Latios looked around with a thoughtful expression, however, his attention was immediately grabbed by a cluster of five Team Aqua Helicopters flying into the city and heading directly towards a particularly large pair of very modern-looking buildings near the center of the City. Behind them, two more Helicopters followed a considerable distance behind them. "I see. Look there, Latias."
Latias followed his gaze. "Hmm, do you think that's it?" she asked him.
"The other attacks seem like smaller skirmishes, that group looks much larger. Those buildings there also look fairly important. Maybe the attacks all over the city are just distractions while that's their main goal. Come on, Latias. We gotta tell everyone else." Latios flew down, with Latias following him.
When the twins reached ground level, Brock was already walking out of the Pokémon Center. "We have a decent idea of what's going on," Latios informed them, grabbing everyone's attention. "Whatever is going on here, it's all focused on a pair of buildings in the center of the city. The rest are possibly just distractions."
"Did they go to the Pokémon Trainer's School?" Brock asked in a clearly worried tone.
"Yeah…" Latias responded in dismay.
"I'll go there and help out," Brock announced. "Roxanne's probably going to be caught in the middle of this and I don't know if she had the time to heal her Pokémon after battling Ash. I'm going to go help my fellow gym leader out. Plus, there's children there. I have so many younger brothers and sisters, my mind is screaming at me to go there." He turned to look at Ash. "You go to those buildings Latios mentioned. Please, be very careful. Remember, you have a Legendary Pokémon, something guys like these would be after."
Ash nodded slowly. "Alright. I will." He turned to look at Bianca and frowned. "What about you, Bianca?"
Bianca sighed, thinking about it for a few moments. "I think I'll stay here at the Pokémon Center. Last time we got into a fight with a group like this I had to be protected by Latias the entire time. Besides Latias I only have Candace with me, and she's not a Pokémon made for battles like these. I fear I'll only get in the way." She smiled. "Besides, I know some medical basics. I can help out Nurse Joy if she expects a very busy day because of all the fighting."
Latias nodded. "Yeah, I think it's best if you stay here and help out Nurse Joy," she said. She smiled and leaned forward to nuzzle Bianca's cheek with her own. "Cheer up! You just started out. One day you'll have a full team of Pokémon and you'll be able to help out."
"I know," Bianca responded. "Good luck, guys. And again, be very careful."
Brock nodded and then took off running in direction of the Pokémon Trainers' School while Bianca turned around and walked back into the Pokémon Center. Latios looked around, noting there were still a few people out on the streets but the number had vastly diminished since the news of Team Aqua's attack broke out. At this point and with the imminent danger, he realized it didn't matter if anyone saw him. Latios turned visible, and then levitated closer to the ground. "Come on, Ash," he said. "Let's get going."
Ash nodded and jumped on top of the Dragon. "You ready, guys?"
"Always," Pikachu responded with a smirk. What that, Latios took off towards the city center with a still invisible Latias flying behind him.
The Devon Corp. building complex was massive and simply magnificent. It was located at the very heart of Rustboro City and spanned an area that looked like at least two entire city blocks combined. The building complex's main entrance from the streets gave entryway into a vast and stunning courtyard lined with numerous neatly arranged trees, gardens and fountains. Past that, a wide stairwell led to a large building that looked about five or six stories tall with an elegant red-colored dome on top of it. At each of the main building's sides were erected two massive, wide, slightly curved, mostly golden-colored futuristic buildings that rose way past all the other buildings in Rustboro City's skyline.
The tranquility of the courtyard was abruptly shattered as five large tiltrotor helicopters, each bearing the logo of Team Aqua, descended upon it to land and deploy their forces. The trees and bushes lining the courtyard's gardens rustled ominously as the helicopters caused a powerful gale to sweep across the garden, with the few people on it running away and taking refuge in the main building.
On the far end of the courtyard, at the main building's entrance, four rather burly-looking security guards looked at each other nervously as they watched the helicopters deploy dozens of men and women all dressed in the same pirate-like attire. They were tasked with the main gate security, but this was definitely way out of their league.
The four guards were so entranced by the upcoming danger that they all nearly jumped in fright when the main glass doors of the building opened. The moment they saw who walked out, they rapidly stood firm and at attention. "There's an intrusion!" one of the guards informed awkwardly.
"Multiple intrusions, an invasion really," another guard hastily corrected.
"I'm aware," the man responded calmly as he stepped out of the building. The four burly security men watched the much shorter man slowly make his way to the stairwell. His light blue eyes were keenly focused on the threat ahead, assessing it carefully. He was in his mid-twenties, with stunning and rather messy silvery blue-colored hair. He was dressed in an extremely expensive and elegant-looking black and dark purple suit, with a rather large and thick red tie adorning the middle. Two heavy-looking silver ornaments that resembled a castle's crenellations hung at each of the ends of his long sleeves, with several silver rings also adorning his fingers. On the left side of his suit hung an elegant ornament that also resembled a castle's crenellation that was carrying a very distinct multicolored stone with a leaf-like sigil pattern inside of it. A young Aron walked at his side, looking between his trainer and the outside repeatedly as they walked ahead.
The security guards followed him, flanking him with two at each of his sides. "What are your orders, Mr. Stone?" one of the guards asked. "Do we summon all of the building's security guards to the courtyard to confront this threat?"
"No," Steven replied calmly as he stopped by the edge of the stairs along with his Aron, examining the opposing group of trainers intently. As the helicopters finished deploying their men and women, they began to take off and leave, but remained in the vicinity. Steven hummed, deep in thought. He reached into one of the inner pockets of his suit and took out a very modern and sophisticated PokéNav. He looked through it briefly, getting the most recently available data of the current situation before putting it away. "I see…" he muttered.
"Hey!" a voice suddenly shouted, making Steven and the guards look up at the newcomers. The guards immediately took out several sturdy-looking police batons on one hand, while reaching for a single Poké Ball with the other. Latios instantly stopped in midair and glared at them warily.
"Relax, he's not with them," Steven informed them, instantly recognizing Latios and the trainer on his back from the Johto League Silver Conference. The guards looked between each other and put their Poké Balls and batons away. Steven took a couple of steps towards the young trainer. "Ash Ketchum," Steven greeted formally, bowing slightly in respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, uh, who are you?" Ash asked, nervously scratching the back of his head.
"My name is Steven Stone," Steven responded, a slightly bemused look on his face. He turned to look at the incoming band of Team Aqua grunts and began to make his way down the stairs. "Sadly, there's not much time for further formalities."
Latios and Ash looked ahead and gulped when they noticed the large force of enemies walking towards them. Slowly, Latios began to glide down the stairwell at the same pace as Steven walked down. "Suddenly, I'm not too confident about this," Latios said uneasily.
"Absolutely, this might be a bigger bite than we can chew. Back at Oldale Town, we had a tough battle against what? Three grunts? There's dozens here," Pikachu mumbled uncertainly.
"Uh, yeah, I don't think this is a good idea either," Latias commented nervously.
"I presume you're here to help?" Steven asked, briefly glancing at Ash.
"Of course!" Ash responded immediately. Latios, Latias and Pikachu collectively facepalmed.
Steven nodded and looked at the young trainer admiringly. "Good. Your help will be much appreciated." He turned to look at the guards. "I want you all to head inside and alert all internal guards. Put the building in lockdown and start maximum security procedures. Leave this to me."
"Yes sir!" The guards responded together. They turned around and ran back into the building.
Steven glanced at Ash now. "Can you please head to the building's upper levels and rooftop? Keep guard there and fight any Team Aqua members there."
Ash frowned. "Wait, why?" he asked in confusion. Ash gestured at the huge band of incoming Team Aqua grunts. "They're here, not up there."
The army of Team Aqua grunts stopped near the center of the courtyard, while five distinct members kept walking ahead. They were dressed differently from the rest, denoting their higher status as commanders. "Hey, you!" one of them shouted. "Steven Stone… it seems we succeeded in drawing you out!" He laughed raucously.
Another of the commanders took out a radio. "Steven Stone located. We're preparing to engage," she spoke quickly into the device before putting it away.
"No, they aren't important," Steven answered the young trainer as he reached the bottom of the stairs, making Ash blink at him.
"They're not?" Ash questioned.
"Look around you," Steven began, motioning with his arms all around him. "Why would an organization like theirs deploy so many henchmen to a courtyard that's nothing but fountains and gardens? There's nothing of value here. This is clearly a diversion. Something meant to distract someone, most likely me. The company valuables are in the buildings, not here," he explained.
One of the Team Aqua commanders paused and glanced at the others uncertainly before resuming his stride. Steven had figured them out instantly. The five commanders stopped, now only about a dozen yards away from Ash and Steven. Another of the commanders grinned savagely. "It seems like you figured us out, but it doesn't matter. You're here, that's what matters."
"Well, it's fairly obvious," Steven responded calmly to the Team Aqua commander. "Your ploy is poorly concealed."
"If it's a diversion, why not just ignore them?" Ash asked the older trainer, frowning.
Steven narrowed his eyes at the Team Aqua members. "Because, if we don't purposely walk into their trap, they'll most likely cause chaos in the surrounding areas. There's thousands of innocent people in the nearby streets and buildings. Even if they don't matter, they're still here and have to be dealt with one way or another."
"You got that right, ya punk," a male Team Aqua commander hollered. "You're very intelligent, I'll give you that. If you decide to leave this place, we're going to attack all the nearby buildings and make sure everyone near here painfully knows that you abandoned this fight."
Steven looked at them sternly. "That will not be necessary. I won't leave." He turned to look at Ash. "They have helicopters, so they'll most likely soon send another team to attack the buildings from the rooftops. They will be carrying out their actual mission."
Latios nodded slowly. "Makes sense. Hey Ash, we should do what this Steven guy says. He seems fairly important to this place. We're bound to run into Team Aqua members there as well, hopefully a much smaller group that we can handle."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Are you going to be alright?" he asked Steven in a worried tone. "That's a lot of guys right there."
Steven smiled at him briefly. "I'll be fine. I can hold my own pretty well in battle." He turned around and moved forward, making the five Team Aqua commanders in front of him take several steps back involuntarily.
Latias and Latios immediately took notice of that subconscious action. "Just who is this guy?" Latias wondered. "He's about to fight all those guys and he's calm. My empathy doesn't sense the least bit of worry or stress in him. I only sense… confidence."
"I guess we're about to find out," Latios responded. "Whoever he is, he's a big deal."
"I'm going to issue this warning just once. Leave this whole operation and leave my father's company alone," Steven said in a very firm and rather intimidating voice. "Do so and none of you will be harmed."
"Fat chance loser!" one of the commanders responded immediately. "We're going to rough you up so badly, you'll be unrecognizable!"
"Yeah!" Another commander shouted in agreement. "Here ends the reign of the Champion of Hoenn, Steven Stone!" she declared boldly.
"Oh, wait, that ended already because this guy pussied out of being Champion!" another of the commanders joked, making all of them laugh boisterously in unison at their taunts.
Ash, Pikachu, Latios and Latias gasped as realization downed on them. "You're a League Champion!?" Ash asked incredulously, his eyes suddenly full of awe.
"No wonder he's so confident despite the odds," Latias murmured.
"I hope he doesn't try to kidnap me," Latios commented uneasily. "Last champion we met tried that."
"I was," Steven responded serenely to the young trainer. "I used to be the Champion of Hoenn, yes. But, I resigned from my position a year ago. Someone else formally possesses that title right now."
"Why?" Ash asked sadly. Becoming a champion was akin to what his ultimate goal of becoming a Pokémon Master was. He couldn't fathom the idea of renouncing such a position.
"It's a long story that I'll gladly tell you, but not now," Steven answered coolly. He glanced at the still laughing commanders, not looking the least bit offended or affected by their taunts and jeers. "Is that your final answer?" he asked seriously.
"Take a guess, scumbag!" one of the Team Aqua commanders spat back, turning around and walking back to their forces alongside his fellow commanders.
Steven closed his eyes briefly. "Then so be it." He opened his eyes, glaring at the opposing Team Aqua forces with a firm and resolute look, his will and determination as powerful and tough as if he were steel himself.
The five commanders nervously looked at each other once they had made it back to their Grunts. "So, who goes first?" one of them asked.
"Not me," one of them said rapidly.
"Screw this! We're not going to make that dumb mistake everyone makes of attacking the lone guy one by one. We're all going to attack him at the same time, with all our Pokémon!" one commander, a tall guy, declared boldly. "He won't stand a chance!"
"Yeah!" Another agreed before turning back to face his subordinates. "Everyone, get ready!" he shouted, raising his arm to rally his grunts to battle. "We're going to do this!"
"Yeah!" came the collective roar of the massive amount of Team Aqua grunts behind the five commanders. Each of the five commanders grabbed all six of their Poké Balls and tossed them forward. The mass of grunts behind them all grabbed their respective four Poké Balls each and hurled them forward as well.
Soon, their entire side of the courtyard was covered in a truly gigantic coat of pure white light as dozens upon dozens upon dozens of Pokémon were all collectively released at the same time.
Steven coolly gazed at the myriad of white flashes that kept pouring out of the Team Aqua army and crowding the courtyard that spanned vastly ahead of him. His Aron growled defiantly at his side, making the steel-type master smile. Steven slightly brushed the multicolored crystal stone perched on his suit with a finger as he calmly reached into a pocket in his suit to grab five very elegantly-decorated Poké Balls from inside of it. Steven gave the Team Aqua Grunts and Pokémon a cold, steely look before flinging his five Poké Balls in front of him, making them activate and release his own Pokémon onto the soon to be chaotic battlefield.
Chapter 18 End
Author Notes: I decided to add a better layout in separating the start and end of the chapter as well as separating any important scene changes within the story. This is in response to receiving a few comments in my previous chapter that I should make my scene separations clearer. I'll eventually go back and give the same format to previous chapters.
Anyways! What did you think of the chapter? Please leave your thoughts in the Review box! I'm always delighted to hear what you think. See you all next chapter!