Chapter 53 – Cynthia Part 2
Johanna looked down at her daughter with her heart in her throat. Both Jill and Cynthia were now down two Pokemon, yet neither woman was going to give an inch. Another part of Johanna's mind noted how lucky everyone was to be witnessing such a battle however. These two titans were attacking in perfect sync with their partners, reacting in fractions of seconds and showcasing such power it was a wonder the building was still standing. The crowd around the small group near Jill were still shouting their support, but it was clear Jill couldn't hear any of it. She was far too focused.
Jill steadied her breathing and grasped her next Pokemon. Letting the ball fly, Icarium materialized on the field. The blade Pokemon took everything in, quickly feeling out his trainers emotions. There was no fear there or worry but there was a nervousness that the young woman was quickly getting under control. This match was all about maintaining calm in the face of the storm.
Opposite Icarium, the Lucario was slowly moving to its left. Icarium calmly stepped forward and matched the other fighters steps. Without warning, Lucario launched an extreme speed attack. Icarium attempted to buffet the attack out of the way but was still staggered by the blow. The part psychic type heard the opposing blonde trainer call out an attack, and so Icarium shifted stances just as Jill called out the counter. Icarium was so in tune with Jill that he didn't need to hear her to know what she wanted or was thinking. Two shadow balls were launched in quick succession. They were so close that Icarium was hard pressed to avoid them. Yet his swords dance allowed him to create some distance and dodge. The Lucario pressed forward once more, but this time Icarium was more prepared. The steel type stepped close throwing another shadow ball. Icarium sliced back with psycho cut. The two Pokemon were almost within touching distance of one another and Icarium felt the adrenaline pulse from Jill.
"Brick break!" Icarium was already moving. Cynthia seemed to sense the same thing however.
"Extreme speed away!" Icarium's arm flashed down against the air, the other fighting type having avoided a super effective strike and flipping away.
"Aura sphere to follow" the Champion commanded. Lucario landed and quickly pressed into offense again. Channeling its aura, the sphere's of blue lights raced out towards Icarium.
"Use psycho cut to defend!" Eyes narrowed, Icarium pushed his psychic energy into his arm blades and danced forward. Neither attack was able to find the opposing target, and neither Pokemon seemed to be slowing down. Every time one began to get close, there was a dance to create a small amount of distance. Just out of reach for Icarium's brick break, but not close enough to land an attack. Cynthia frowned, knowing that while she was wearing down Jill's Gallade, Lucario was also getting tired. It was time to change tactics once more.
Jill's breath caught as once more, Vervada was fielded. The dragons roar drowned out the crowd. Jill quickly recalled Icarium, knowing the dragon was going to be a challenge. And it felt like this time, Cynthia meant business with her ace. Jill looked down at her side as she felt a presence move up beside her.
"It's time" Cal's low rumble said. Jill smiled at her partner.
"Remember when we watched Arthur's battle before we began our journey?" the young woman asked. The grass type nodded. "We've finally made it. Let's show everyone how powerful we've become." Caladan stepped out onto the battlefield, the earth shaking with each step. Across from him, the dragon's nostrils widened as it prepared to fight once more.
"Dragon rush!" Cynthia yelled out. Vervada was moving faster than any of Cynthia's other Pokemon it seemed. There was a sense of power emanating from it that few could match. Caladan did not move however.
"Let's use earthquake to disrupt it" Jill said in counter. Caladan roared and slammed into the ground, heaving the battlefield. It was just enough to knock the dragon off stride just before it could hit Caladan. Cynthia still wore a small smile as Vervada was close enough to use the attack she had been taught to battle her weakness.
"Flamethrower." The word was uttered too quietly to hear over the crowd, yet the Garchomp seemed to know exactly what to do. The rush of air into its jaws was all Jill needed to see to know what was coming.
"Rock climb!" she yelled out desperately. Caladan moved faster than he ever had pounding down, and launching a pillar into the sky with the dragon atop. Still the torrent of flames scored a hit along Caladan's back. The scorch mark was not as bad as it could have been which relieved Jill. Her partner was still in this. Cynthia was still smiling at the ingenuity of the defense.
"Giga drain now!" Jill called out. Caladan couldn't agree more, trying to get some of that vitality back.
"Use dragon rush on the pillar Vervada" Cynthia's voice cut across the cheering crowd. Vervada jumped up and pushed directly down. This shattered the pillar, raining rocks down around Caladan and stunting his attack. Jill winced as the stones broke against her grass types massive back. Caladan roared out and strode forward as the dragon landed. The continent Pokemon managed to get his jaws around the dragons leg. Vervada slashed down, her claws mostly ineffective against Caladan's rock hard shell. Tossing his head around, Vervada was thrown to Cal's right, while he hit with a giga drain attack as well. Breaking the health draining attack short, Vervada used her tail to fling a rock into Caladan's face. The grass type ducked his head in time for the rock to crash into the top of his shell.
"Flamethrower!" Cynthia yelled out, throwing her arm forward as well. The Champion knew that Caladan was seeking to get the upper hand, but at the end of the day, Vervada was simply faster. This time, the grass type wasn't fast enough to defend against the jet of fire that was launched at it.
"CALADAN!" Jill cried out. Heat washed over her as the fire attack slowly abated. Caladan staggered back, and slipped heavily onto his left side. Vervada took a step forward but Cynthia held up her hand. The dragon looked confused, but Jill knew what her cousin was doing and so Jill ran forward to her partner. Caladan was breathing heavily, his tongue hanging out as he struggled to stand back up.
"I can keep going" the gravely voice said. Jill put her arms around his massive head.
"It's okay Cal."
"This wasn't supposed to be how this went though" Jill smiled as a few tears trickled out of her eyes.
"I know, but you've done amazingly. You held off two flamethrowers from the most powerful Pokemon in the region. You've earned this just like everyone else." Caladan didn't want to admit it, yet there was no denying. There was no possible way he could take another attack.
"I'm not going back in the ball" the grass type finally said. Jill just smiled and kept her hand on her first Pokemon as they walked back to the challenger's box. The crowd was still cheering like mad even though this interruption had caused a break in the action. Part of Jill's mind knew as well that it had given Vervada a much needed breather. For as powerful as Cynthia's dragon was, Jill knew that Caladan had pushed it and done some serious damage. Caladan settled down, Jill still smiling at her friend. With a final nod, Jill looked back up and across to the Champion. Cynthia nodded ever so slightly, which Jill returned. She knew Cynthia had held back at the last second realizing that Caladan was out of this fight. This meant Cynthia also had the upper hand. Vervada was also looking as though she had caught her breath and was ready for her next challenger.
"You should be proud of Caladan" Cynthia said over the crowd. There was a quick hush as the stadium strained to hear what the Champion was saying. "You managed to push Vervada which hasn't been done in ages." Jill looked back down at her partner.
"We'll do more than just push her now!" the younger woman finally responded, releasing her own dragon.
The noise around Sphyrna was deafening. It was so loud there was a vibration running through the floor. Both dragons faced one another, a palpable tension running between the two. Sphyrna took in the damage that Caladan had managed to inflict, and was begrudgingly impressed at both Pokemon. For Vervada to have withstood all that and still take down Cal meant this was an opponent worthy of the name.
"Dragon rush!" the Champion commanded. The other dragon roared her power and launched forward. Sphyrna roared back rushing forward herself. At the last second, Sphyrna dipped underground. Vervada extinguished her attack and turned tightly to meet Sphyrna as she erupted back above ground. Teeth and claws scored against scales of both parties. Sphyrna kicked her way off of the larger dragon, twisting out of the way of the incoming tail. Vervada sucked in air, unleashing another torrent of fire. Sphyrna quickly flashed underground.
"Earthquake!" Cynthia called out quickly. Vervada cut the flames and pounded down causing the earth to heave even more powerfully than Caladan had.
"Sphyrna get out of there!" Jill cried, her voice straining. Sphyrna appeared just before a wave of earth hit, sending her sprawling. Growling, Sphyrna righted herself, only to see Vervada basically on top of her to use dragon rush. Sphyrna used her tail to do a twisting flip as Vervada slammed down right where Sphyrna had been a fraction of a second earlier. Acting on instinct, Sphyrna lashed out with a dragon claw. The opposing dragon screamed out and pushed away from Sphyrna.
All of the Elites were shocked at the astounding power the two woman were clashing together. But it was Professor Rowan sitting more forward in his seat that caught Bertha and Lucian's attention. The two older Elite's looked back down and saw what Rowan had seen. Along the right side of Vervada's back was a dark red smear.
"That attack landed" Palmer said quietly. Johanna's knuckles were white as she looked on at her daughter battling her heart out. It seemed most people had missed the strike, it had happened so fast. Palmer had been keeping an eye on both woman as well through the battle though and had noticed Cynthia stiffen at the hit.
"You sure Cynthia's Garchomp didn't dodge like Jill's? That was a seriously impressive flip" Barry said.
"I'm sure" Palmer replied with confidence.
"You'll pay for that!" Vervada snarled. Sphyrna was breathing heavily. This was the battle she had been born for. The most powerful opponent she had ever faced. That said, these attacks were exhausting at the speed they were coming.
"You're good, I'll give you that, but I'm better!" Sphyrna taunted back. Both dragons were paused for a moment catching their breath. Sphyrna's vision saw nothing beyond the dragon in front of her. She was acutely aware of her own body, the tightening of muscles, the taste of the air as it hit the back of her throat. Vervada snarled viciously and jumped forward. Sphyrna was ready for another dragon rush, but instead cried out as flames lashed across her body. A vibration close by told Sphyrna her opponent was right beside her, so Sphyrna whipped up her tail. Vervada side stepped to avoid, allowing Sphyrna to turn and attack with dragon claw. Vervada was ready this time however, getting inside Sphyrna's defenses and blasting Sphyrna back. Sphyrna was quick to recover however, knowing that Vervada would be on top of her again. There was a sense of desperation beginning to creep in and Sphyrna knew she needed to win this. Vervada was too powerful for anyone else, even tired as the other dragon must be. As Sphyrna righted herself however, she noticed something through her battle lust. Vervada was moving fractionally slower.
This realization opened the floodgates of adrenaline through Sphyrna's body. Now was her time. Both dragons roared as they rushed in, Vervada launching yet another dragon rush. Part of Sphyrna's mind heard her trainer call out, noticing the same thing Sphyrna did. Time slowed down and all Sphyrna could hear was her own breathing and racing blood. She ducked down digging just below the surface of the battlefield, her dorsal fin cutting its way towards the oncoming dragon rush. Vervada was right on top of her now, slamming down, but Sphyrna was already twisting her way out of the ground. Sphyrna could see her opponents eyes widen as Sphyrna's dragon claw hit home.
Cynthia was stunned. It had been so long since Vervada had lost, it seemed almost fictional. And yet, the Champion watched her first ever Pokemon fall, and Sphyrna raise her victory roar. The crowd was reaching a fever pitch as Cynthia walked onto the battlefield, just as Jill had done mintues ago with Caladan. Jill's dragon walked back to her trainer as Cynthia knelt by Vervada's head. A low whine, so low that Cynthia thought she had imagined it for a moment, met the Champion. But Cynthia shook her head and smiled at her long time partner.
"You were absolutely incredible Vervada. It took both of Jill's most powerful Pokemon to bring you down. But now you deserve a good rest. We still have the upper hand." Cynthia began to pull out Vervada's Pokeball but the dragon growled, shaking its head. Cynthia understood that just as Caladan had stayed by Jill's side, Vervada would do the same for Cynthia. The Champion helped her dragon to her feet as best she could and walked back to her side of the battlefield.
Jill couldn't believe it. Cynthia's strongest Pokemon had been defeated! She was trying to calm her heart down, as suddenly the championship looked that much more possible. That was until she looked at Sphyrna. The dragon had been watching Cynthia attend Vervada, but Jill noticed that Sphyrna was struggling to catch her breath. Jill reached out and felt Sphyrna flinch. The dragon looked down at her trainer.
"You were incredible" Jill said.
"So was Caladan. I'm not sure I could have won without him battling first." Jill was shocked by the admission.
"I wouldn't bet against you Sphyrna" Caladan responded. Sphyrna nodded, her head drooping lower than normal.
"Sphyrna?" Jill asked worried. The dragon went down to one knee.
"That battle took more out of me than I thought."
"I'm so sorry Sphyrna!" Jill kicked herself mentally. Of course Sphyrna would be exhausted, she had also helped out so much with the Elites before this fight. Jill couldn't help but feel a sense of pride however at the responding grin from Sphyrna.
"I wouldn't have had it any other way. Just make sure we win this alright?" Jill nodded.
"That was incredible!" Barry shouted over the crowd. For her part, Johanna wasn't sure how much more she could take.
"Jill's down 4 Pokemon though now. She only has her Luxray and Gallade left to beat Cynthia's remaining three."
"I wouldn't count Jill out yet though" Palmer noted. "Remember, Jill's team still hold the upper hand on the remainder of Cynthia's."
Milotic was up next from Cynthia. The beauty of this particular Pokemon could not be understated, and yet Jill knew that now was the time to push hard. The young woman sent Chase back in.
"Chase, it's down to you and Icarium." Jill didn't want to add any more pressure and yet she needed Chase to understand where they were.
"You shouldn't worry so much Blue. We got this!" Jill smiled as Chase jumped forward. Cynthia had also begun pressing the attack. Just because the Champion was down her ace, didn't mean she would stop fighting.
"Ice beam!" the Champion yelled out. Yet for every beam Milotic sent out, Chase was leaping side to side, trying to close the gap to the water type. Cynthia's showing eye was narrowed as the lynx crept closer and closer.
"Spark!"
"Surf!" Both woman called out their attacks at the same time, spark landing quicker but the massive wave of water caught Chase in the chest, pushing him back to Jill's side of the battlefield. At this point however, the field was a mess of broken ground. Chase was battered the entire way back, finally rolling to a stop. He stood slowly on shaky legs, while the Milotic shook her head.
"Chase?" Jill asked tentatively.
"I'm alright Blue. I can do this." Jill was worried, but nodded.
"Alright then lets finish this." Chase took one quick breath then raced back across the field. Cynthia ordered another ice beam, but Chase was able to duck behind a piece of the battlefield and dodge the attack. Without waiting, he darted out, gaining ground against the water type.
"Surf!" Cynthia's voice carried across the battlefield and Jill watched in mute horror, which quickly turned to amazement as Milotic seized up. In the confusion of the surf, no one had noticed that the water beauty had been paralyzed! Chase seized his opportunity, knocking out the Milotic with another spark attack. The feral grin was back, they were one step closer.
Cynthia knew she should be surprised to be pushed this far, but she wasn't. This battle was everything it had been promised to be. Jill was not taking no for an answer, and now they were both down to their last two Pokemon. Smiling, Cynthia sent out her Lucario once more.
"Aura sphere Tyr!" The Lucario once again wasted no time in rushing to offense. Chase leapt forward to meet the attack. The charged up lynx was no match for the fighting type move though. Chase was sent flying back once more, this time, struggling to rise. Jill quickly recalled her friend, the red light racing out to envelope the electric type. She took a moment to catch her breath as this was it. She was down to her final Pokemon.
Icarium opened his eyes to the ripped up field before him. He could feel Jill's nerves and her confidence. The Lucario from before was also on the battlefield. It was time for round two.
"This is it Icarium" Jill said. The fighter looked back and nodded. He could feel the calm emanate from his trainer. Slowly, Icarium walked forward. The Lucario was bouncing on the balls of his feet, preparing.
Tyr started using shadow ball once more. Icarium was calm as he slipped into swords dance. Anything that started to get within the defenses of the dance were sliced away with psychic energy. All the while, Icarium advanced, like destiny incoming. Four paces away, Icarium switched speed. In a blur, he was on top of the Lucario attacking with power and grace. Unfortunately for Jill and Icarium, this was Cynthia's Pokemon. Tyr was more than up to the task, deflecting and attempting to strike back. Icarium took another step forward, driving the other fighting type back a step. Then another. Crying out Icarium finally broke through, landing a devastating brick break attack. Tyr sagged down, Cynthia recalling her fallen fighter.
"I can't remember the last time I was put into a corner like this!" Cynthia said as she released her final Pokemon. Jill didn't trust herself to speak just yet. "I won't let this end that easily though!" Jill simply nodded.
Icarium for his part appraised the plant which had been sent out. While the Roserade did not seem all that intimidating, it was still part of a championship team. This was not something Icarium could dismiss. Jill seemed to feel the same. And yet, the culmination of everything they had been working towards was just past this final hurdle.
The crowd were holding their breath. It was still loud, but there was an anticipation in the air. Cynthia started things off, hurling sludge bombs into the air, then using extrasensory to direct them at the psychic type. Icarium cut them down as they fell, but Jill was worried. Poisonous barbs could be enough to sap Icarium and lose the battle. They couldn't let Cynthia dictate this final match.
"Icarium press forward with psycho cut!" Icarium hustled to follow suit. Staying in tune with Jill's emotions, he knew that they needed to get closer. By keeping their distance, the grass type could lay out traps. Icarium fell into his swords dance, but kept channelling his energy in to his arm blades. Dancing across the broken battlefield, he inched his way forward.
"Toxic energy ball!" Cynthia yelled out, changing tactics on the fly. Icarium let his psychic energy fall, instead using the battlefield to move around and avoid the poisonous attacks. He could feel Jill willing him on. The small rose Pokemon was keeping him in sight, and at bay, but Icarium hadn't used his full speed yet either. The smallest push from Jill sent Icarium charging in. An energy ball started to connect with the fighters left shoulder, Icarium twisting around as he absorbed the hit. The poison hidden within was immediate, but Icarium did not care. Close enough now to the plant, the fighter lashed out, scoring three successive psycho cut blows to Cynthia's final Pokemon.
Jillian's team:
Caladan (Torterra) - lv. 59 Hardy nature, Overgrow - Giga Drain, Earthquake, Rock Climb, Crunch
Chase (Luxray) - lv. 59 Naughty nature, Intimidate - Spark, Thunder Wave, Strength, Crunch
Epona (Rapidash) - lv. 59 Brave nature, Run Away - Flare Blitz, Fire Blast, Stomp, Bounce
Urim (Togekiss) - lv. 59 Brave nature, Serene Grace - Air Slash, Water Pulse, Shadow Ball, Toxic
Icarium (Gallade) - lv. 59 Lonely nature, Steadfast - Brick Break, Leaf Blade, Psycho Cut, Swords Dance
Sphyrna (Garchomp) lv. 59 Jolly nature, Sand Veil - Dragon Claw, Dig, Slash, Crunch