Author's Note: This is Jackson's team, so far:
Leafeon: Sunny Day, Leaf Blade, Solarbeam, Iron Tail. Ability: Chlorophyll/Leaf Guard
Ledian: Light Screen, Agility, Ice Punch, Bug Buzz. Ability: Iron Fist
Weavile: Metal Claw, Ice Beam, Ice Punch, Night Slash. Ability: Pressure
Dewott: Night Slash, Swords Dance, Razor Shell, Water Pulse. Ability: Torrent
Quilava: Aerial Ace, Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Swift. Ability: Blaze
Gardevoir: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Moonblast, Psychic. Ability: Synchronize
Blackthorn City Gym
Jackson looked at Clair and her partner, Druddigon, thinking on a strategy. 'Dewott and Ledian are out, but so are her Dragonair and Lapras.' he thought of the battle so far, 'If memory serves right, Gyarados and Kingdra are her remaining two Pokémon, alongside this guy. He is a tough customer, no doubt, and physical contact will also do damage to whoever I call out. Meaning…'
He pulled out a ball, and shouted, "You wanna use your latest Pokémon? So will I! Gardevoir, go!" He tossed the ball, bringing out his Embrace Pokémon to the battlefield.
"Is it time for me to fight?" She asked Jackson.
"Yep. Your first Gym battle." He replied, "Let's show her your strength."
"It will be beaten just like any of your other Pokémon!" Clair stated, "Druddigon, Fire Fang!" Her partner's mouth opened up, igniting in flames as it raced towards Gardevoir, who held her arms in a way that showed she was prepared to fight.
(Insert 'STAND UP' by Twill (full version))
Music Intro
(Traveling through shining golden tunnel of energy, leading out into space with many world, all of which different colors, with the central world being the Pokémon world. The logo 'Jackson in Johto' appears on screen, before the camera passes through the arch of the 'n' from 'in, going into the world, through the clouds, where the glowing shadow of Ho-Oh can be seen, to the sea, where the shadow of Lugia is flying beneath the waters, before reaching the shoreline, getting blinded by the sun.)
Yeah, stand up boys!
Come on, face forward
(Jackson stands up, with Quilava at his side, followed by Dewott, Weavile, and Ledian, all of which expressing their unique personalities to Jackson.)
The call enveloping you is your guide
Step towards tomorrow
(Dewott gets angry at Weavile for trying to act so cool, while Jackson rolls his eyes before he, Quilava and Ledian took off ahead, with Weavile following behind, ignoring Dewott, who panicked and ran to not be left behind.)
Yeah, stand up girls!
At the end of what's more than real
(Leafeon rises up with Lyanne as Jackson and the boys pass by. The two look to one another, before giggling at the sight of the boys, before looking to the sky.)
We'll grab a light that's been covered by thick clouds
(Camera goes up to see Gardevoir appear in a sparkling light, landing right next to the two girls, smiling pleasantly at the two before they raced after the boys.)
How we spend our days before isn't good enough
(Camera passes by still images of all the companions and gym leaders that he has met or will meet in the future, including Cypher at the end of the pictures, while Jackson, Lyanne, Leafeon, and the rest of his current team walked along the bottom of the screen.)
At full speed
We can blast through
Even the highest wall
(Team Rocket suddenly appears, with the four admins of Team Rocket standing together, with the images of their ace Pokémon at their side, and the satellite system right above them.)
Stand up for your dream!
(Jackson draws his sword, while Lyanne turns into her Latias form, and the rest of his team ready to fight together.)
Be enthusiastic at what you do, no matter what it is
(Jackson rushes forward as he slashes his blade against Team Rocket grunts, followed by a spin kick, sending them flying, while Leafeon leaps up and unleashes a forward somersault Leaf Blade, taking out their Pokémon.)
Push your way through to make an opening
(Weavile unleashes an Ice Punch as Dewott throws a Water Pulse at a different direction, followed by the pair unleashing simultaneous Night Slashes. Quilava leaps through their attack, going into a Flame Charge.)
No matter how far
The answer you're seeking is
Stand up for your dream!
(Ledian flies in, striking with a couple Ice Punch, before unleashing a Bug Buzz. Latias flies above him, unleashing a Mist Ball, sending it ahead. Gardevoir flew forward, using Psychic to catch the Mist Ball, spinning it around her before shooting it forward, adding a Moonblast alongside the attack, creating an explosion.)
Even if my feeling show weakness
Your voice that I hear close by
(In the burning Ecruteak City, a serious Jackson raced along the path with Leafeon and Quilava at his side, towards the two towers, where a deranged Ho-Oh and Lugia were at, unleashing Aeroblast and Sacred Fire onto the city.)
Gives me courage and strength
I can go the distance
(Jackson leaps high, landing on Latias's back as they flew off, with the rest of the team leaping with him before encased in a stream of their signature colors, before the screen turn white, with a crystal blue Pokéball with a gold and silver sword crossing behind it the only thing remaining.)
"Gardevoir, Teleport!" Jackson called out. Before Druddigon's attack made contact, she warped out of the way, landing on one of the water platforms nearby.
"That won't be enough!" Clair shouted, "Jump and use Iron Tail!" Druddigon pivoted over to where Gardevoir was, and leapt into the air, its tail glowing metallic.
Jackson smirked as he shouted, "Psychic!" Gardevoir's eyes glowed as she raised her hands to the oncoming threat, stopping Druddigon midair. It was in pain from the attack it was stuck in, before Gardevoir brought her arms down, sending it crashing into the water.
Clair was startled, and saw that Druddigon was struggling to stay surfaced above the water. She mentally cursed herself, reminding that she didn't train her new Pokémon how to deal with water. Lance saw her expression, and knew what she was thinking.
"Gardevoir, Moonblast!" Jackson called out.
"I'll help you out." Gardevoir told Druddigon, summoning the power of the moon into a sphere of energy in between her hands, before hurling it at the Dragon-type, blasting it out of the water, and causing a great amount of damage. It crashed onto the catwalk again, where it struggled to get back up onto its feet again. However, the super-effective attack hit him hard, and in the end, his strength gave way, and he fell forward, with spirals in his eyes.
"Druddigon is unable to battle!" Lance declared, "Gardevoir wins!"
"Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!" Jackson cheered.
"Amazing, Gardevoir!" Leafeon cheered.
Lyanne looked pleased at Jackson's victory, and watched as Gardevoir teleported next to where Jackson stood.
Clair put Druddigon back into his ball, before looking to Jackson as he told Gardevoir to get some rest, returning her to her ball. "Druddigon is still my newest Pokémon, so we hadn't trained enough." She defended, "I have some flaws I need to get around."
"True, but you did defeat my Ledian with him." Jackson argued, "It was from his fight that gave me the idea of how to defeat it; using a Pokémon that doesn't need to make physical contact to dull out damage."
"I see. You got around Druddigon's Rough Skin ability with long-ranged fighting." Clair understood, "I'll have to add that to things I need to train him to overcome. For now, you will have to deal with my other dragons! Gyarados, go!" She brought out her next Pokémon, the blue Water/Flying-type Pokémon onto the field, who roared to intimidate Jackson.
"Jackson?" Leafeon asked, looking poised.
"I hear you. Let's do this." Jackson replied, waving a hand to the field, causing the Verdant Pokémon to leap out, ready to battle." Gyarados roared again, activating its Intimidate ability, lowering the attack strength of Leafeon.
"Leafeon, let's set things up. Sunny Day!" Jackson called out. Leafeon cried out to the ceiling above, summoning sunlight that shone onto the battlefield.
"Gyarados, Dragon Dance!" Clair ordered. Gyarados jumped out of the water, spiraling its body as it danced about in the air, boosting his physical strength and speed.
"Both are preparing themselves." Lance noticed.
"Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon blitzed into Chlorophyll speed at Gyarados, unleashing a slash with a whip of her tail.
Clair was amazed at Leafeon's speed for a moment, but then called out, "Don't let her show you up! Ice Fang!" Gyarados' teeth became encased in ice as it tried to chomp down on Leafeon as she landed, only for her to back off before she got hit by it. The chomp ended up shattering part of the catwalk, leaping a hole that was quickly filled by the water.
"Taking that attack head-on is suicide!" Leafeon stated.
"Agreed." Jackson admitted, "Let's hit from afar. Solarbeam!" Leafeon used the sunlight to charge the attack into her mouth.
"Gyarados, Dragon Pulse!" Clair ordered. Gyarados fired off a blast of draconic energy from his mouth straight at Leafeon, who fired her own attack. The collision of devastating attacks pushed off one another, until there was a detonation that made everyone brace themselves.
"Leafeon, Leaf Blade, now!" Jackson called out, and Leafeon leapt at her opponent with a glowing tail.
"Aqua Tail!" Clair responded, and Gyarados's tail was encased in swirling water, weakened by the Sunny Day, and countered Leafeon's attack.
"Dance with blades!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon unleashed her swordsmanship, parrying off of Gyarados's Aqua Tail, unleashing a combo of slashes that flows from one strike into another, barely giving Gyarados any moment to breath, before one powerful slash sent Gyarados crashing into the water.
"Yes!" Leafeon cheered.
"Once again, I am impressed by Jackson's Pokémon and their range of movement." Lance stated.
"You are not the only one with fancy tricks." Clair told Jackson, "Gyarados, in the water and use Dragon Dance!" The Atrocious Pokémon dove to the bottom of the ocean, and started spinning its body about, going faster and faster. The spinning was so strong, it caused a whirlpool to form which was shown above the surface, nearly covering half of the field.
"Gyarados's Dragon Dance is creating a whirlpool?!" Jackson exclaimed.
"Jackson, I don't like the looks of this." Leafeon muttered.
Suddenly, Gyarados quickly rose up to the surface, causing the water rise with him, creating an aquatic tornado, with Gyarados in the middle of it, his glowing eyes glaring down at Jackson and Leafeon. Clair smirked, before ordering, "Use Aqua Tail!" Gyarados suddenly gathered up the rotating force of the cyclone with its tail, and brought it down onto Leafeon and the field, creating an explosion of water that caused everyone to shield themselves against the force.
Leafeon was flung from the attack, crumpling next to Jackson, who looked down to see that she had taken the hit. When the splash dissipated, the trainer was shocked to see that the catwalk was completely annihilated. Shrapnel pieces of it still floated here and there, but now the field was far more difficult thanks to Gyarados's immense attacks.
"She broke the entire field with one move…" Lyanne muttered, "That Gyarados is on another level."
Leafeon struggled to get back up again, glaring at Gyarados. Jackson looked at her. She had taken a heavy blow, and the field was not in her favor. But he had a plan in this situation. "Leafeon, come back." He told her.
The Verdant Pokémon looked to Jackson for a second, before nodding in understanding. She raced back to his side as Lyanne sighed in relief. Leafeon needed to recover from the fight, so having her out wouldn't do much. The sunlight died down as she did so.
"You afraid of the power Gyarados and I have?" Clair asked Jackson, smirking in confidence, "We trained hard to get that attack right. In fact, we were hoping to use that in our next battle with Lance." Her cousin looked to her, believing that the attack would've done some damage to any of his Pokémon.
"It's devastating, I'll give you that." Jackson replied, pulling out another Pokéball, "But I've been afraid of worst things than a little demonstration of power. Weavile, let's go!" Jackson tossed out his Dark/Ice-type Pokémon, who had his arms furled.
"My time, huh?" Weavile asked.
Leafeon thought on why Jackson would bring out Weavile instead of Gardevoir, eventually understanding what he had planned.
'Jackson's Pokémon he got from the very Ice Path near us.' Lance noticed, smirking, 'Clair is use to training in those caves with her dragons, so as to find counter measures for one of a Dragon Master's biggest enemies.'
"Weavile, you see what I see?" Jackson asked, "The field is a little difficult to deal with."
"I understand." Weavile answered, leaping up and unleashing an Ice Beam onto the pool of a field, freezing their half solid.
"So cold…" Lyanne muttered, shivering as she held herself.
"That's quite the power of ice he has." Lance stated.
"Your using ice as a platform?" Clair asked, "That's cute, but not enough to deter us! Gyarados, shatter it with Aqua Tail!" Gyarados roared as it used the still rotating whirlpool of water he made, created another strong, rotating vortex around his tail, bringing it down onto the ice.
"Night Slash!" Jackson called out. Weavile summoned a blade of purple energy, focused where to strike, and dashed forward at high speeds, going under the Aqua Tail attack, and striking right at the tail that wasn't covered in the swirling water. He flew into the air as he made his slash. At the arc of his leap, Gyarados reeled back, in agony from the attack, his Aqua Tail dissipating.
"What?!" Clair gasped, "He struck Gyarados in the spot that was most vulnerable during his Aqua Tail to stop it?!"
"Right about where the tail meets the body." Leafeon noted, "Though it's hard to tell when dealing with a serpent body like this guy's."
Gyarados pulled back his tail into the water, which became too much in pain to use as Weavile descended towards him. Clair saw this and shouted, "Recover and use Dragon Pulse!" Her Water/Flying-type regained itself and shot a blast of draconic energy at Weavile.
"Drill through with Metal Claw!" Jackson ordered, and Weavile turned his claws metallic, putting them together in front of him, and spun his body until he became a drill that pierced through the Dragon Pulse, reaching Gyarados, and creating an explosion that consumed both in smoke.
There was a brief pause, as Jackson saw Weavile leap out of the smoke, sliding to a halt on the ice, slightly injured from countering the attack, but still fine. Gyarados was floating on the surface, unable to continue.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Weavile is the winner!" Lance shouted.
"Alright!" Jackson cheered, making a fist pump.
"Well done, Weavile!" Leafeon cheered.
Clair returned Gyarados to its ball, putting it away. She glared at Jackson. "How is he this strong?" She muttered, "I shouldn't be THIS weak. I can accept the fact that my cousin is stronger than me, but this boy? No… This must be a mistake. I refuse to consider this will be a loss!"
She pulled out her final Pokéball, before raising her voice as she stated, "You will be defeated by my strongest Pokémon! I won't lose this match!" Jackson could tell she was serious. Lance also could see that she was getting far too serious as a gym leader. She wanted to make sure she was the strongest.
"Kingdra, go!" She tossed out the ball, and the Pokémon was summoned into the water. It looked like a large, old seahorse, with blue scales and a yellow belly, branched spines on his head and fins, and a curled tail.
"That's Clair's ace." Jackson understood.
"I can tell that it won't be an easy opponent." Leafeon noticed.
"Kingdra are powerful." Lyanne muttered, "Their yawns are said to create undersea currents that destroy ships. When they're awake, they can easily create whirlpools and water spouts. I often heard stories about them from sailors back in Alto Mare."
"Weavile, Ice Beam!" Jackson shouted, and Weavile shot a blast of icy energy at Kingdra.
"Dragon Pulse!" Clair ordered, and Kingdra blasted a stream of draconic energy from his snout, meeting the Ice Beam. Both attacks clashed, but the Dragon Pulse overpowered the Ice Beam, sending Weavile flying in pain.
"Her Dragon Pulse is much stronger than Gyarados's!" Leafeon noticed.
"It easily overpowered Weavile's Ice Beam." Jackson noticed, "Then we have to get up close and personal. Weavile, Night Slash!" Weavile drew out his blade again, and launched at Kingdra.
"Smokescreen!" Clair ordered. From his snout, Kingdra shot a fume of smoke that consumed the area around him. By the time Weavile got to where he was at, Kingdra vanished. Weavile fell into the water as a result, surfacing quickly, looking about the smoky environment.
"Heh!" Clair chuckled, before ordering, "Use Hydro Pump!" Weavile looked about for where the attack came from, only for it to be shot up from underwater, striking him square-on, and sending him reeling upwards, taking a great deal of damage.
"Weavile!" Jackson called out.
"He was under the surface?!" Leafeon gasped.
"Even I didn't sense her dive down so fast!" Lyanne stated, which was saying a lot.
Kingdra resurfaced as Weavile tried to land on his feet, but the damage he took from Kingdra's attacks were really severe, and he toppled onto his back. He struggled to get back up, but he lost his strength, and passed out. "Weavile is unable to battle!" Lance declared, "Kingdra is the winner!"
Jackson looked startled at this, before looking ashamed as he pulled out Weavile's ball, and placed him back in. "You did your best. Sorry I didn't think it through." Jackson told him.
"Jackson, don't blame yourself." Leafeon argued with him, "That Kingdra is her ace, you knew that. But it was a lot more evasive than we thought."
"I know…" Jackson muttered, "But I got careless with us having three Pokémon still on my side, while she had the one. I thought she was being overconfident, too, but she has the power to back it up." He raised his hands, and slapped his cheeks hard. He lowered his hands as the red marks formed where he smacked himself, saying, "Kay. Can't doubt myself. Gotta blade things up a notch to win!"
"Right!" Leafeon answered, her tail swishing happily, "Want me to get in there?!"
"You go for it." Her trainer answered, and she leapt onto the ice, immediately summoning out Sunny Day before Jackson even had to ask, making the sky bright above them. "Good call. That should weaken her Hydro Pump." Jackson told her.
"You and your Pokémon seem confident, all of a sudden." Clair pointed out.
"Because the battle's not over till we say it's over!" He replied, "We're gonna keep going! Leafeon, Leaf Blade!" Leafeon got her grip on the ice just right to shoot forward, her tail glowing as her Chlorophyll activated, and she got at Kingdra's face, slashing her before she could make a move, pushing her across the water.
"She's tough. Better do something about that." Clair told herself, "Kingdra, Yawn!" The Water/Dragon-type suddenly sent bubbles from her mouth, going towards Leafeon in the air, popping in front of her. 'That should put her to sleep.' She told herself mentally.
Jackson and Leafeon both smirked as the Verdant Pokémon touched the ground wide awake. "But how?!" Clair gasped, "She should've been asleep?!"
"Leafeon is incredibly special." Jackson told her, "Thanks to an incredulous trial we had to deal with through our journey, Leafeon was blessed by Arceus itself with being able to both of her abilities. That means she uses Chlorophyll & Leaf Guard!"
"Impossible!" Clair gasped.
"A Pokémon who can use two abilities?!" Lance gasped, "That shouldn't be possible! And you said Arceus blessed her?!"
"The proof doesn't lie." Jackson answered, "But either way, you will have to do better than that to beat us! Leafeon, Solarbeam!" Leafeon charged up the solar energy shining above before firing it at Kingdra.
"Into the water!" Clair shouted, and her partner dove underneath, avoiding the attack. "Heh! So what if your Pokémon is gifted by Arceus! There is nothing you can do from being attacked beneath the surface. Dragon Pulse!" Kingdra started to fire her draconic energy from below, shooting through the ice.
"Leafeon, watch out!" Jackson shouted, seeing the rainbow color from below. Leafeon looked through the ice, before avoiding the attack as it shot up at her. The Dragon Pulse fired over and over again, causing Leafeon to dance upon the ice, avoiding it.
"Jackson, she is really making it difficult!" Leafeon exclaimed, "I can't fight her like this!"
"I agree." Jackson answered, "That's why we need to think smarter! Leafeon, come back!" Leafeon bounded back to Jackson once more, as he pulled out a ball, shouting, "Gardevoir, I need you!" Gardevoir reappeared once more, ready to fight.
"How shall I assist?" Gardevoir asked.
"He's switching out again in the midst of the battle." Lance noticed, "He must have a plan in mind."
Kingdra didn't mind, as it fired off the Dragon Pulse once more, shooting towards Gardevoir, who took the blast from below. It consumed her, but when the attack died down, she seemed unfazed. "That was not very nice." She muttered.
"Of course! Gardevoir is a Fairy-type!" Leafeon understood, "She could take that hit!"
'Now I just need to coax Clair into taking the bait.' Jackson told himself, 'After all, since Gardevoir can't take status effects in the sun…'
'He thought he could counter my underwater assault, but it won't work!' Clair told herself, 'I doubt his Pokémon can resist being put to sleep! Better make it a surprise!' She waved a hand forward as she ordered, "Kingdra, unleash Smokescreen!" From underwater, Kingdra shot smoke into the holes in the ice made by her Dragon Pulse, rising above and fuming the field with it. This made it very difficult to see the scene around them, even with Sunny Day still in effect.
Gardevoir looked about, hesitant. She wasn't sure where her quarry was gonna strike. "Gardevoir, calm down!" Jackson shouted, "You don't have to see. I'll be your eyes, okay?!" The Embrace Pokémon looked towards the direction of the voice, and could feel Jackson's presence. "Have faith in me, Gardevoir. We're gonna win." He assured her.
Gardevoir paused, before answering, "Alright. I'm counting on you." She stood still, closing her eyes.
Jackson closed his own eyes, focusing every other sense he had onto the field. Kingdra was fast to go below and above surface, but that didn't mean there were signs of her going above and below the surface. He had to detect it. He concentrated, waiting patiently.
"Kingdra, now is our chance." Clair told her, "Surface and use Yawn!" Kingdra resurfaced from the water, and started firing bubbles that went to where Gardevoir was.
Jackson snapped his eyes open, before shouting, "To your forward-right! Psychic, in the air!" Gardevoir snapped her glowing eyes open, and created a psychic field that consumed the area Jackson spoke of. In an instant, the Yawn bubbles stopped coming towards her, and were caught in the field.
Gardevoir then saw Kingdra's silhouette through the smoke, calling out, "I see her!"
"Then return to sender!" Jackson declared, punching his fist forward. The Psychic/Fairy-type sent the bubbles back to Kingdra, who saw too late that they were on top of him. They popped all about, and Kingdra took in the effects, getting drowsy, before laying on her side, asleep.
"No! Kingdra!" Clair cried in a panic.
"He predicted the attack and returned it back!" Lyanne gasped.
"That's an incredible display of trust between Jackson and his Pokémon." Lance stated with a smirk.
"Gardevoir, use Moonblast!" Jackson ordered, and Gardevoir created a ball of moon energy, firing it at the sleeping sea dragon, knocking it out of the water, right by Clair's side. It wasn't knocked out, but it was still asleep.
"You have to get up! Kingdra!" Clair ordered.
"Jackson, I believe Leafeon should finish things off." Gardevoir suggested.
"If that's what you want." Leafeon answered.
"Alright then. Switch out!" Jackson told the pair. Gardevoir flew back to Jackson as Leafeon bounded forward. The two crossed, Leafeon reaching her paw out her comrade, and the two girls high-fived as they crossed. Leafeon bounded onto the field as the Smokescreen finally dissipated, and Leafeon dashed towards Kingdra.
"Leafeon's coming!" Clair told the Water/Dragon-type, "Wake up and get in the water!" Kingdra finally snapped her eyes open, and bounded onto her curled tail, taking a jump to get into the water.
"Oh, no you don't!" Leafeon shouted, as Jackson shouted, "Leaf Blade!" Leafeon shot over the water, getting towards Kingdra.
"Stop her with Hydro Pump!" Clair ordered. Her partner almost shot the attack, but got cut off as Leafeon suddenly slashed her in the neck, causing Kingdra to gag its attack, and get knocked backwards, tumbling through the air and crashing to the ground behind the stunned Clair, to see the spirals in her partner's eyes. Leafeon splashed into the water, keeping herself afloat with a doggy paddle.
Lance looked to the state of things, before declaring, "Kingdra is unable to battle! Leafeon is the winner! The victor of this match goes to Jackson of Ecruteak City!"
Jackson beamed in joy, looking to Gardevoir right next to him, before punching the air, shouting, "We did it! We won!" They raced onto the ice on the battlefield, and Leafeon swam over to them. Gardevoir used Psychic to pull her out, and the trio shared an embrace in victory of their final gym battle.
"This…this must be some mistake…" Clair muttered, falling to her knees as she looked to Kingdra, "I am suppose to become the greatest dragon tamer there is. How… How could I lose? There is no way I should've lost!"
"Clair." Lance spoke up, approaching Clair, who looked to him. "You are no doubt a powerful trainer. You have been giving your all in order to get stronger in order to reach me. However, you failed to understand that you are not just a dragon tamer, but also a gym leader. Your duty is not to win, but to test the trainers that come to this gym. Their strength, their wisdom, but more importantly, the bond with their Pokémon they share. You took your fights far too seriously as a gym leader."
Clair looked frustrated, looking to her Kingdra. She approached her and raised her head, saying, "We did give it our all. But we still lost."
"That's because you ignored the fact of how must stronger Jackson has become." Lance stated, looking to the trainer in question, who had Lyanne join in on the festivities, "I knew he was gonna become a great trainer the moment he left Blackthorn City. But to reach a level like this, I had no idea. He might just reach me to challenge me, yet."
Moments later, both parties gathered outside the gym, with Jackson, Lyanne, and Leafeon at his side, while Lance stood next to Clair, who still looked irritated. However, she gave a frustrated sigh, before smiling as she stated, "It seems I underestimated you. Or rather, I might've overestimated my own strength. I will need to learn from this in order to get better."
She held out a badge, which looked like a dark blue and black dragon head. "This is the Rising Badge." He told him, "Your final badge, I presume?"
"It is." Jackson answered, taking the badge, "The one I couldn't have been able to gain before. And now, I earned it." He flipped into the air, spun around, and snatched it as it fell, holding it aloft.
"I don't mind saying that I am exhausted." Leafeon sighed in relief, "That entire ordeal was stressful on me."
"Agreed." Lyanne seconded.
"By the way…" Jackson interrupted, looking to Lance, "You said there was something you would give me should I win this match with Clair. You said it had to do with something about Latias?"
Clair turned to Lance as he nodded in response, answering, "You're right. But first, I believe it's time we're really introduced to her, don't you think?"
"What do you mean?" Clair asked, perplexed.
All eyes were on Lyanne, who looked worried. However, after seeing Jackson's nod of approval, she smiled, before closing her eyes, and transforming into the Pokémon itself. Clair and Lance were amazed at the sight of the Eon Pokémon within their group.
"She was Latias?!" Clair asked, shocked.
"So this is what she looks like up close." Lance stated.
"So, I showed her." Jackson told the two dragon tamers, "What are you gonna do with her?"
"There is a tradition that is held within this town." Lance answered, "Back when we, our ancestors of Blackthorn City, made an agreement with the people of Alto Mare about hiding a power that Latias and Latios can also gain. It may seem small, but it is a great ability."
"A great ability?" Jackson asked.
"Yes…" Lance answered, looking to Latias, "You see, while they can turn into a human, they can't speak our language. However, we are able to help her gain that power."
Jackson and Leafeon spun to Latias, who was shocked. If what he said was true, this meant that Latias would be able to speak as a human!
