Chapter 54; an unusual trainer
The sun was steadily rising over Green hills just like any other day. Jet woke up just like any other day, fully prepared for it to be another mundane uneventful day.
That was until he went to grab coffee with a friend. A duo of men could be overheard by the nearby table.
"Believe it or not it's true. They went in, fought against the legendary pokemon and they all survived and to top it off rescued Molly Hale without a single issue".
"Dude I watched that. The authorities couldn't break into that mansion with all their men and gear and our very Sonic, Tails and Knuckles went in and got the job done".
Jet was intrigued by what he was hearing. He didn't have any contact the last few days with either of the 3 so he was wondering what kept them off the phone the entire time.
Of course he was aware that those two could be exaggerating but still there had to be a certain amount of truth in their words.
"And what they said about a legendary pokemon. What did they fight?" Jet wondered, again with a little jealousy.
Amy too had learnt of the Greenfield incident. But unlike Jet, she was keeping tabs on team Sonic a whole lot more.
She had also caught wind of the rumors circulating in Ecutreak city. Several ones in fact.
One rumor has team Sonic visiting burned tower and the three legendary beasts Entei, Raikou and Suicune sensing Sonic's presence and worthiness, causing them to finally return from exile and kneeling before him.
Another rumor had all 3 of the legendary pokemon challenging Sonic and raichu. The result was a glorious battle unlike any the Johto region had witnessed before… only there was almost no one to bare witness.
Of course Sonic had been overwhelmed by them and even hospitalized for a few hours, no serious injury though.
Amy had of course not only had a rough landing when she realized Sonic wasn't invincible, but also felt her heart beat with desire for him. That last bit however stemmed from her naiveness as she believed those rumors without any second thoughts or even trying to filter what was real and what wasn't.
She couldn't hold on anymore. She had to talk with Sonic.
Only problem was he knew her cell phone number and house number. He had also blocked calls from both.
And life in Green hills hadn't been exactly easy. After news of Sonic's deeds reached town, a lot of people had ostracized her as it wasn't exactly a secret how she had broken his heart. So just using another phone to call him wasn't as good an option as it sounded.
"I had to go and do it in public didn't I?" she thought in frustration.
She then remembered a very crucial detail.
Her parents had visited recently and her mother had forgotten her cell phone at her place.
"Making one call won't hurt" Amy smiled jumping at the opportunity, dialing Sonic's number.
The call was initiated and Amy waited patiently.
"Hello?" his voice flooded her ear.
"Hi Sonic".
"Who is this?" he asked half confused and half angry at hearing her voice.
"It's Amy".
Pause.
"How much lower could you possibly sink? Calling me from another phone? Do you really have no dignity left?"
"Look I know I've made some questionable choices…"
"And you're not even going to own up to your mistakes. Typical at this point really".
"Look just give me a few minutes to explain"
"You have nothing I want to hear. Now if you don't mind me and my friends have another blast of a day to get started. Bye" and he hung up.
Amy was triggered and heartbroken at the same time. Sonic had mastered asserting his dominance. And at the same time…
"Bye? No ciao?"
Amy wasted no time. She called him back. 7 times in total.
"Dude she's not giving up" Sonic said annoyed.
"I'd say you could at least hear her out but such levels of toxicity can't be good for your health" Knuckles joked.
An eight call came.
"Oh my god" Sonic said reaching the end of his patience. He answered not caring about sounding triggered.
"You don't get the message do you Amy? Fuck you!"
"Uuuh.. not Amy bro".
"Oh shit… sorry Jet. Amy has been annoying me again through the phone".
"Hey no worries. To be honest it would have done her some good to hear such harsh words. Anyway I'm calling for something else. The town is buzzing with rumors about you guys. What have you been up to?"
Sonic put Jet on speaker and the team spent the next hour while walking narrating him the last few days, from the awakening of the beasts, whose mystery Jet found absolutely bonkers and amazing, to their skirmish with the police and their breaking and entering operation which left Jet jaw hanging wide open, and lastly their adventure in Greenfield.
"Wow. You've been quite busy" Jet admitted in awe.
"We sure have" Tails joked.
"How come the rumors only circulate around Sonic though?" Knuckles asked with a slight hint of jealousy. After all it was him who had saved Molly from herself in Greenfield.
"Well I mean… his war with team rocket has made him almost a living legend. Rumors around such topics tend to become exaggerated. So it's kind of natural that details like you two" Jet said in an apologetic tone "would get left out".
"Hmmm…" Sonic hummed in deep thought "detective Looker said something similar when we broke into the police station. He said that both me and Giovanni have been turned into mythical figures and that's why he is after me. He wants to shut down our legends if you even call them that".
"So instead of pursuing probably the most dangerous mob boss in the entire world, he pursues the one who stopped him. That sounds like glory hounding to me" Jet voiced his opinion.
"Nah" Knuckles disagreed "if that was the case he would try to have us publicly arrested and also try to turn the public's opinion against us. But he has done neither. Something does indeed drive him to want to arrest us for the reason we have surmised but i don't think it's seeking glory. It must be something more personal".
"With me? Or with Giovanni? He also said he wanted me to help then find and catch Giovanni".
"Odds are with Giovanni" Tails explained "I'd say you're more of a means to an end".
"Yeah that does make a bit more sense I guess" Sonic agreed.
"In any case you guys are just having the time of your lives. I wish mom and dad would let me join you".
"You never know Jet" Sonic comforted his brother "maybe someday. And maybe sooner than you think".
"Sure wish that. Anyways I got to go. Much love bro. I'll be expecting new stories from you guys soon".
"Bye" team Sonic said in unison before Jet hung up.
"Man looks like our accomplishments have made it to Green hills" Tails commented "we're beginning to make a name for ourselves aren't we?" he joked.
"Hehe. I suppose we are" Sonic laughed along.
"I'd agree if the rumors were about us. But they're about you alone" Knuckles reminded them.
Sonic looked at his friend.
"Hey. You're not jealous right? I mean don't get me wrong, I didn't think it was cool that they left you guys out of the rumors. All we accomplished, I don't think i would have managed to pull it off alone. Your help has been invaluable so far. What I'm trying to say is we should pay no mind to the rumors. Not only because they're exactly that, rumors. But also because we didn't come here to seek glory, right".
"Right. We're on a mission. A mission we will see through to the end" Tails agreed clenching his fist in determination.
Knuckles smiled.
"To the very end" he said fist bumping his two friends.
The three friends then continued on their way through the wide fields of the Johto region. Unlike the lush forests on the rest of the region, here was only fields. Of course their path contained more than just fields but for the time being they would just enjoy the openness of the endless crop fields.
Eventually the team began taking turns letting one of their pokemon at a time out of their balls to stretch and walk with them, taking advantage of the journey to strengthen the bond with their parties.
Eventually they decided to make a quick stop so they could rest and get something to eat.
While chewing down on some delicious chili dogs a teenage boy was travelling down the path towards ecutreak city. Crossing eyes with the team momentarily, his own eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" he asked with uncertainty "are you Sonic the hedgehog?"
Sonic had started getting tired of this. Was there anyone in Kanto or Johto who wouldn't recognize him at this point?
"Yup that's me alright".
The boy looked flabbergasted.
"Woah. I… I didn't except to meet you so soon. I'm Harrison".
"Good to meet you Harrison. These are my friends, Tails and Knuckles".
"What's good?" Knuckles said.
"Actually my name is Miles Prower. Tails is what my friends call me".
"Glad to meet you all. Are you heading to Olivine city?"
"Yeah. And from there to Cianwood for the 5th badge".
"The 5th?" Harrison questioned even more flabbergasted "sorry, I just thought with a reputation like yours you'd be at the 7th badge by now".
"Well let's just say we prefer to enjoy the journey than straight up race to the finish line" Sonic said. It was getting a bit annoying that so many people assumed things about him.
"Well if you're not in a hurry, you could join us" Tails offered "we got chili dogs to spare".
"It would be my pleasure" Harrison thanked them, taking a seat next to Tails.
Tails then gave Harrison a chili dog. The 4 trainers then dug in or rather, team Sonic finished their food, while Harisson dug in.
After the latter finished his chili dog, the 4 started discussing random things, or at least team Sonic did. Harrison was more interested in asking about Sonic's adventures this far and more specifically about silph co.
Sonic answered as many questions as he felt comfortable answering. At the same time he asked Harisson about himself and his own journey this far. Harrison revealed he was from a faraway land called Hoenn.
When the three trainers heard the name of the region they asked Harrison if he happened to know someone named Shadow the hedgehog. Harisson of course hadn't heard that name before which made sense since he had been in Johto for a month and and Shadow had left about 2 weeks ago. There was little to no chance the two had crossed paths.
When asked if Shadow was their friend, Sonic said it couldn't be further from the truth but refused to elaborate, explaining they had heard of his departure from their hometown and wanted to verify if that was indeed the case from an actual resident of Hoenn.
Harrison also asked team Sonic if they really had anything to do with the supposed return of Entei, Raikou and Suicune. He was deeply enamored with the legend of Ho-oh and wondered from time to time what had actually happened to its children as Harisson referred to the beasts as.
They momentarily contemplated whether they should reveal what happened to Harrison but eventually they agreed with a shared look that they could reveal the events of the awakening of the beasts but not their apparent connection to them. Not yet anyway.
They narrated to Harrison how they visited the burned tower, thinking it was just a symbol of a time long past, before Sonic fell through the weak floor, straight into the basement where they found the beasts trapped as statues.
Harrison was fascinated and perplexed at the info, wondering aloud how the beasts ended up down there and in those forms. The question was obviously rhetorical as team Sonic was wondering the same thing.
Eventually all 4 decided it was time to go but Harisson had one last thing to ask.
"A battle?" Sonic asked in surprise.
"Yeah I think it could be a chance for both of us to learn a lot".
Sonic weighed the pros and cons. Harrison had told them during their chat that he had already beaten olivine gym leader jasmine for the 6th badge. That placed his team on a higher level than Sonic's. But Sonic had raichu.
He eventually agreed when Harrison mentioned he would be using Pokemon from his homeland. That didn't mean his entire team was from Hoenn but Sonic just couldn't resist the temptation to battle against such something that unknown to them. It would serve as good practice for expecting the unexpected, which would definitely serve them against team rocket later on.
The two trainers stood opposite each other, with Harrison agreeing to use 4 Pokemon only as Sonic only had that many Pokemon at this point in time.
"On three?" Sonic asked his opponent.
"On three" Harrison answered.
"One two three!" Tails counted for them.
"Go Bayleef!"
"Go steelix!"
A huge snake like pokemon emerged, towering over bayleef that back stepped in fear.
"What the heck?!" Tails exclaimed equally as frightened.
Knuckles immediately scanned steelix with his pokedex.
"Steelix, the Iron Snake Pokémon. Steelix is the evolved form of Onix. It has been compressed underground, making its body harder than diamonds".
"Evolved form of what?!" Knuckles repeated in shock.
"Onix can evolve!" Sonic surmised speechless.
Harrison smiled in confidence.
"Well no matter. Bayleef use…"
"Not gonna happen! Steelix bind!"
Steelix moved fast like a whip despite its massive size. Before bayleef could even register the movement, it has been bound by Steelix which began squeezing it.
"Bind is a powerful tool in battling" Harisson smiled "and if a heavy pokemon applies it, it becomes deadly. Your pokemon can't use any of its aggressive moves as is. Can you break out if this hero of Kanto?"
Sonic thought for a moment then smiled.
"It's thankful then that my Bayleef isn't an aggressor. Bayleef leech seed!"
Despite being squeezed, Bayleef fired a leech seed. Vines came out of the seed ensnaring Steelix. The huge pokemon wasn't particularly affected by the restriction of movement. That was until the leech seed started draining its health.
"Oh no!" Harrison shouted realizing his strategy had backfired "Steelix bind harder!"
Steelix applied more pressure as Bayleef cried out in pain.
"Come on Bayleef tough it out you can do it!"
Bayleef endured the attack, despite the great pressure. It was rewarded as the leech seed was constantly bringing Steelix back to square one.
"Damnit! Steelix use iron tail! Slam it down!"
Steelix raised Bayleef and using iron tail on the ground, slammed down Bayleef. Bayleef rolled on the ground in pain but managed to stand up.
"Nice strike. But it will take more than that! Synthesis!"
Bayleef harvested the sunlight to heal it wounds, again bringing Harrison back to square one. And to top it off, Steelix had started getting exhausted.
"Steelix come back!" Harrison recalled it, freeing from the leech seed.
"I hate to admit it, but you outplayed me here. At the same time I can't say I expected anything less".
"Appreciated. Now hurry up and bring out your next pokemon".
"As you wish! Go Houndoom!"
His second pokemon emerged and roared. Team Sonic found its bark eerily familiar. They all made the same thought.
"That is the other pokemon the police used when they chased us".
Knuckles went to scan the Pokemon but Sonic's gesture prevented him. It wouldn't be fair to take away Harrison's element of surprise. Besides being able to quickly adapt was something all 3 of them would have to learn for their upcoming confrontation.
"From the looks of it… I'd say it's a fire type. Bayleef could be at a disadvantage. So in this case… I guess I should try leech seeding to at least have a long term advantage".
"Bayleef, leech seed!"
Bayleef fired the attack.
"Houndoom dodge then flamethrower!"
Houndoom obeyed. Bayleef took heavy damage.
"Damnit. Bayleef return" Sonic had his grass type retreat. A more suitable matchup was in order.
"Quagsire give me a hand!"
Quagsire emerged with that permanent smile etched on its face.
"Mud shot!"
Quagsire covered houndoom in mud, slowing it down significantly. Harrison wasn't having this matchup though.
"Houndoom roar!"
Houndoom roared at Quagsire. Quagsire was forcibly recalled. Bayleef emerged again. Before either Sonic or Bayleef realized what happened, houndoom unleashed another, more devastating flamethrower. Bayleef, completely overwhelmed, toppled.
Harrison smiled confidently.
"One down. Though I expected a real challenge from you after everything I've heard Sonic" he said confidently as his eyes made their way to raichu.
Sonic immediately knew Harrison bad challenged him in hope of fighting Raichu. He wondered for a second if word of their quirk of summoning lightning to strike them as a way of sort of rejuvenating themselves had traveled as far as their accomplishments.
Next second however his mind was back in the battle.
"What was that move you used?"
"Roar. It forces your pokemon back in its pokeball then randomly calls out another one. Think of it like a call to battle at least for the pokemon inside the balls. A call they can't resist".
Sonic nodded in understanding.
"Quagsire! We have a job to finish! Sonic called out his water type again "mud shot!"
"I don't think so! Roar again!"
Houndoom was able to roar again before quagsire could move. Quagsire was recalled and Raichu was sent out.
"There it is!" Harrison said confidently "Houndoom return! Go steelix!"
Steelix emerged again and once again before Sonic could think, Raichu was bound by Steelix.
"Iron tail!"
Raichu smacked Steelix repeatedly with its tail but nothing major happened.
Steelix wasn't rock anymore. It had been changed into steel.
"Steel ground" Sonic surmised quietly "ingenious".
Harrison had completely trapped them. His plan as long was to keep Steelix alive long enough to trap and bind Raichu into unconsciousness. And almost none of Raichu's attacks would work on Steelix.
That was a brilliant tactic. And certainly would work.
At least if not for the fact that Harrison and Steelix had bitten more than they could chew.
"Raichu don't worry. Remember our training" Sonic calmly said.
Raichu remembered. They has spent a lot of time back in Kanto practicing that move on wild Onix for situations like this. Fighting larger opponents and escaping situations that limited them, especially after their first encounter with Giovanni, was a vital part of their training.
Raichu waited for a few seconds then stopped resisting the bind, causing Steelix to lose its center moment so and become slightly unbalanced. The momentary lack of balance was just what Raichu needed.
Raichy took advantage of the sudden loosening of the bind to take a quick breath and then immediately use brick break. Brick break hurt Steelix enough to have it fully release raichu. Sonic immediately recalled it. Even he wouldn't have his raichu fight such an unfavorable matchup.
"Quagsire!" he called it out a third time.
Harrison gritted his teeth. His strategy had completely failed. The rumors were more than true. They were fact.
Sonic and Raichu were the real deal.
"Quagsire! Mud shot"
Quagsire covered Steelix in mud just like houndoom before it. Steelix couldn't take any more punishment having dealt with Bayleef earlier and then taking a brick break from Raichu. It cried our its name and then fainted with a huge thud.
Harrison recalled Steelix thanking it for the effort but slightly worried. Although he and Sonic were even in pokemon, his greatest counter to Raichu was now gone.
"Looks like I need to play sneaky" he said "let me introduce you to my first pokemon from Hoenn! Kecleon come on out!"
Kecleon came out of its pokeball. Team Sonic were all intrigued by its seemingly harmless look.
"Doesn't look so tough to me" Knuckles commented.
"Looks can be misleading" Harrison countered.
As be spoke those words, Kecleon disappeared. Right were it stood, it disappeared.
"What the…" Sonic said in shock.
"Where did it go?" Tails looked around frantic.
"Lick" Harrison said calmly.
A tongue came out of nowhere and basically slapped Quagsire. Quagsire looked around in confusion trying to find its attacker.
Sonic, remaining a bit calmer, followed the retreating tongue and noticed a strange detail.
The tongue disappeared into a patch of grass. After a few seconds he saw a red jagged line waking away.
"You sneaky thing. It can camouflage" he said deeply impressed.
Harrison smiled proudly but got slightly worried.
Any other trainer would falter when they realized they were fighting a near invisible opponent. That would give him a considerable advantage as by the time they pulled themselves together to fight back, Kecleon would already have taken the lead.
Sonic now knowing what he was fighting and how to fight it, immediately recalled Quagsire and sent out Hitmontop. The sparkles and the rarity of such a pokemon impressed Harrison.
The whole while it took for Sonic to recall Quagsire and send out Hitmontop, he never took his eyes off the jagged line indicating Kecleon's location. As soon as sent out Hitmontop he went on the offensive.
"Fake out! On the jagged line there"
Hitmontop moved too quickly for kecleon to react. It smacked kecleon from both sides, causing it to flinch and also revealing its location.
"Triple kick!"
Kecleon took the attack head on but survived and became invisible again. Sonic of course saw the jagged line move.
"Kecleon took great damage there and as I suspected it's a normal type. Sorry Harrison but one more attack will end it. Brick break!"
Hitmontop landed its attack but unlike what Sonic expected Kecleon took it a lot better than triple kick. As if the attack wasn't super effective.
Kecleon took its chance to lick Hitmontop who was unprepared for it. And to make matters worse, the attack ended up paralyzing it.
"Now kecleon! Psybeam!"
Kecleon fired its psychic move to great effect. He had obviously prepared for fighting figting types. Hitmontop fainted upon taking the psybeam as it was unable to resist due to the paralysis.
"What gives here?" Sonic asked Harrison "why didn't brick break finish off kecleon?"
"Kecleon doesn't just camouflage itself physically. It also camouflages to cancel out type advantage. Its ability is color change. Kecleon becomes the same type as the last move you used on it. Meaning that the moment it was hit with triple kick, it became a fighting type and therefore brick break's effectiveness was lowered" Harrison explained pleased to have taken the lead again by catching Sonic by surprise.
Sonic clenched his fist in frustration and a little anxiety. Kecleon was very annoying to deal with. But then again…
"Alright then! Quagsire I know this is the fourth time but help me out one last time!"
Quagsire emerged.
"Mud shot then water gun!"
Kecleon failed to dodge the mud shot. In turn that turned it into a ground type. That mattered little however as, covered in mud, it was too slow to dodge water gun. The water gun was super effective on it, causing it to faint.
"2 vs 2 Harrison. Let's see what your last pokemon can do".
Harrison was now beginning to worry he would lose. He shoved the thought aside.
He wasn't one to accept defeat even against someone like the hero of Kanto.
"Houndoom come out!"
Houndoom came back out. Harrison contemplated using roar but that would only draw out Raichu which would be very bad for him.
"Houndoom crunch!"
Houndoom pounced on Quagsire pinning it down and biting hard. Quagsire cried out for instructions.
"Quagsire use mud shot quick".
Quagsire obeyed covering Houndoom and inadvertently itself , in mud. The two pokemon had taken too much punishment. They however, not wanting to let their trainers down, stood facing each other, panting heavily.
"Flamethrower!"
"Water gun!"
The two attacks collided and ended up cancelling each other out regardless of how long they kept firing them. The intensity of the flames perfectly matched water gun's advantage.
Quagsire and Houndoom pushed themselves on and on until they collapsed from exhaustion.
Sonci and Harrison were speechless from the outcome. They recalled their pokemon. Now it was just one final battle to fight.
And Harrison knew it would be the hardest one yet.
Sonic's raichu, even after having taken some punishment from Steelix was just a terror to deal with. At the same time though its opponent was Harrison's partner Pokemon.
"You certainly don't disappoint Sonic. But it's not over yet. I refuse to accept defeat! I choose combusken!"
An orange and yellow chicken like pokemon, around Raichu's size emerged.
"Another pokemon from Hoenn I assume?" Sonic guessed.
"Yes. My partner and first pokemon".
Sonic half smiled. Combusken didn't look very tough. A small part of him wondered how this could be as, if this really was Harrison's partner it must have been the case for a while and therefore that was probably its peak form.
At the same time, the lack of any info when it came to combusken would make this fight a bit of a challenge.
Deciding to test the waters, Sonic gave Harrison the first move.
"Combusken double kick!"
A physical attacker. Raichu already had the advantage due to its training.
"Counter with iron tail!"
The two attacks collided but curiously, combusken came out on top.
Sonic quickly noticed iron tail's lack of effectiveness.
"Orange pokemon. Steel doesn't do a lot… a fire type" he accurately guessed.
Harrison clenched his fist. Sonic wasn't only quick to figure out the situation but accurate in his assumptions.
It was no wonder he had become a legend.
"Combusken! Use ember!"
Combusken unleashed a strong ember.
"Raichu dodge with quick attack!"
Raichu dodged the attack moving like an orange blur.
"Two can play this game! Combusken quick attack!"
Combusken also moving like a blur collided with Raichu. The two pokemon's moves proved to be equally powerful as they were both knocked back. The two pokemon smiled at each other, each one acknowledging the other.
"Thunder punch!"
"Fire punch!"
The two trainers' aces collided using their punch moves. Combusken was overpowered by Raichu, taking heavy damage and rolling on the ground afterwards.
"Get up combusken you can do it!" Harrison encouraged his starter "quick attack!"
"Quick attack!" Sonic also ordered.
Raichu and combusken collided again, but unlike before, they were not pushed back. Instead they got locked in an aggressive pushing contest with raichu slowly but steadily pushing combusken back, slowly overpowering it.
"Come on Combusken. You can do it!"
"Raichu use thunder punch to end this!"
Raichu let go of one of combusken's arms and charged its punch.
Determined to not lose, combusken caught the punch, taking some damage but holding on strong.
"Combusken! Combusken! Blazi!" combusken cried out as it began glowing.
"No way!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Combusken" Harrison muttered in awe.
Combusken's form started becoming bigger and taller than raichu. The two were still holding hands pushing each other but now combusken was slowly bringing raichu to a halt.
Combusken's head then grew two long extrusions creating a reverse v shape. The glowing then stopped and raichu found itself finding an entirely new battle.
"Blaziken!" the newly evolved fire type cried out in battle passion.
"It evolved!" Harrison yelled in excitement.
"Is that its final form?!" Knuckles wondered aloud in as much awe as Harrison.
The latter immediately took out his pokedex.
"Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon. When it meets a powerful enemy, fire burns around its arms and legs. Its powerful legs are strong enough to leap over buildings".
As if on cue, the moment Blaziken stopped admiring its new form and laid eyes on Raichu again, fire erupted around its arms and legs.
Sonic and Raichu looked at each other and smiled in battle passion.
Finally an opponent that would push them to their limits.
"Raichu quick attack!"
"Blaziken use quick attack too!"
Blaziken was not as quick and agile as when it was a combusken but was still able to match Raichu's speed for the most part. The two attacks proved them an even match for each other.
Blaziken use ember!"
Blaziken however had forgotten ember upon evolving. And it was preparing to strike Raichu with its brand new move.
"Raichu brick break!"
Raichu jumped winding up its paw fully expecting to have dodged the ember by the time it had jumped.
On the air however it realized that blaziken hadn't moved.
And now it was too late to do anything about it.
Blaziken too jumped, fire erupting around its right leg and delivering a devastating kick to its opponent. Raichu was sent crashing down rough, actually sending some pain throughout Sonic's body as well.
Sonic had to use all his willpower to act cool and ignore the pain. Harrison didn't have to know about his and Raichu's connection. That could deter him from fighting at full power.
"That was blaze kick!" Harrison realized in excitement "way to go Blaziken! Let's do this! Blaze kick!"
Blaziken prepared to land another kick at the downed Raichu.
"Counter with iron tail!"
Raichu immediately moved to intercept the blaze kick. The two pokemon got move lock, none of then giving in an inch, refusing to let either of their trainers down.
Harrison quickly figured out that if Raichu let go it would get obliterated by blaze kick.
"Blaziken quick! Use fire punch!"
Sonic however wasn't oblivious to this possible development.
"Raichu disengage and use thunder punch!"
Raichu did just that, shoving blaze kick aside and going for the thunder punch just as blaziken went for the fire punch.
The two pokemon started exchanging a flurry of punches, some missing the mark and some landing bullseye. Sonic felt each and every one of the successful strikes but refused to show even an ounce of weakness.
Raichu and Blaziken, now nearing their limit, each charged one last punch. Jumping towards each other they both let out a battle cry, as their fists collided.
Pushing each other with all their might, the ground under them slightly cracked. Both Harrison and Sonic gasped at this and even considered stopping so as for their pokemon to not be hurt more than they needed to.
Not that it would matter though. Even if they did ask them to stop there was no stopping them.
Electricity started crackling down raichu's tail.
"No" Sonic thought causing the electricity to stop "we're not revealing this. And we don't need it to win here!"
Raichu realized that same fact. Sonic did have a point. If they were going to win they should do it with their own might.
They had stood up to many powerful opponents before. And not always using that connection.
"Goooo!" Sonic let out a battle screech.
Raichu feeling the surge of willpower rushing through it, overpowered Blaziken, causing it to fall backwards. The Hoenn fire type starter struggled to get up before letting out a weak regretful cry and fainting.
"We win!" Sonic said before kneeling in pain. Their connection boost was probably an ignition matter, but their shared pain was a constant.
Harrison was of course immediately concerned with Sonic's sudden sort of collapse. The latter was forced to explain his connection to Raichu and how he had stopped himself from displaying that connection so as to not deter Harrison from coming at him with full force.
After the battle Harrison stuck around a little longer to discuss their battle and what they could learn from each and every one of their moves. He was particularly impressed with Raichu's physical combat prowess which surprised him, taking into account Pikachus were more adept in ranged attacks like thunderbolt. This led to Sonic narrating his first battle with Giovanni and how they were pinned down, which in turn pushed them to focus on hand to hand combat so it would never be repeated again.
Eventually it was time to go. Harrison bid farewell to team Sonic and declared he would meet Sonic and Knuckles head on in the Johto league. They assured him they would be there, solidifying their promise to have a rematch if they could help it. Blaziken shook Raichu's paw as a form of acknowledgement before returning to Harrison's pokeball.
After that team Sonic went on their way while Harrison made for Ecutreak. Along the way Tails decided to voice his question.
"Did you actively stop Raichu from using the lightning phenomenon you two have displayed time and time again?"
"Yes" Sonic confirmed.
"But why?" Knuckles asked him confused "it could have helped you in the fight and prevented you from getting too much punishment".
"First of all we know little to nothing about its effects Knuckles, so we can't say for sure it would have actually done anything. But even if we did it wouldn't be fair. Harrison was a powerful trainer and ahead of us sure, but that would just be cheating. If I was to win I wanted it to be with our own might, not by borderline cheating".
"But that form is part of you and Raichu. Are you rejecting it?"
"No Knuckles. I plan to eventually explore it. Discover what it can offer me and Raichu. But until then I will limit its active usage. Whatever it can do for me, I will only use it against our enemies and in the tournament where everyone will be at full power and it is only fair I answer with all my might as well".
The three friends went silent as they considered what that could mean for Sonic and Raichu in the future. Their connection already had its ups and downs but that undefined factor was something not even Tails could wrap his mind around.
His mind drifted back to the night Raichu evolved. With the intervention of the confrontation with Zapdos.
And then something else clicked for Tails. His apparent familiarity with Raikou.
"Could Raikou be able to help us shed some light on that unaccounted factor?" Tails wondered silently as team Sonic went on their way.