Jackson's current team:
Leafeon: Quick Attack, Sunny Day, Leaf Blade, Solarbeam
Weavile: Icy Wind, Metal Claw, Ice Punch, Night Slash
Dewott: Night Slash, Swords Dance, Razor Shell, Water Pulse
Quilava: Quick Attack, Swift, Flamethrower, Flame Wheel
Scyther: Slash, Vacuum Wave, Agility, X-Scissor
Cianwood City, Medicine Shop
A day had passed since the reunion with both Suicune and Eusine. Jackson and Leafeon were at the shop they were suppose to go to before, and almost forgot had Kris reminded him this morning on the phone. He went and placed in the order of the special medicine to Jasmine and the lighthouse Ampharos. It would be ready soon, and that he would have it ready for Jackson.
"Thanks so much!" Jackson waved farewell to the medicine man, and left the shop. The pair made their way to the gym, where they planned to take on the gym leader.
"Hopefully, that information about the leader is good." Leafeon hoped.
"Even if it isn't accurate, we know the four that we're going to use, since that's how many he uses, too." Jackson replied, "Since Weavile is at a complete disadvantage against Fighting-types, he is not able to fight them. I am counting on the rest of you to win."
"You know you always have ones outside of us, like Ledian." Leafeon argued.
"I had considered that, but remember that I spoke to Bugsy moments ago." Jackson reminded her. Before leaving the Pokémon Center, he had called up Bugsy on his tablet. However, he said that Ledian was in the midst of training right now, and couldn't come to help. However, he did give one warning about Chuck, who he had met some time ago at a Gym Leade get-together.
"Chuck is likes to flex his strength, but he is not a one-trick Ponyta. His Primeape is one I could never overcome, what with its Rock Slide being so dangerous to my bugs. And I was constantly impressed by his Heracross. So much strength in that horn!"
"We gotta be ready for whatever he has. As a Fighting-type Gym Leader, he should specialize in mainly physical strength." Jackson argued, "They won't be anywhere near my masters levels, but I have watched enough to know what I'll be dealing with. Well, let's go beat up the brawler."
(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 Scyther, 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 Scyther 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 into the starry sky, where a ball of light was slowly falling down, with the image of Gardevoir inside, her eyes slowly opening up as she looked up.)
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!
(Scyther flies in, unleashing an X-Scissor, followed by a Vacuum Wave, before Latias flies above him, unleashing a Mist Ball, sending it ahead. The attacks all created an explosion that consumed the scene in smoke.)
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.)
They arrived at the Cianwood City Gym, where he discovered it to be a glorified dojo of sorts. Jackson first saw it before, and was rather unimpressed. There weren't even any giant heavy doors that led inside, like Ryouzanpaku. There were some students outside of the gym, wearing a familiar gi. Pokémon were with them, but all in all, the training they were doing, in Jackson's opinion, really lack-luster.
"Was it like this in your dojo?" Leafeon asked.
"For the most part, but these were merely warmup exercises, to give them a nice way of saying it." Jackson described, looking at a Hitmonchan that was helping a fellow student with his punching practices, "I almost miss it all."
"Jackson!" greeted a voice from behind, and felt an arm wrap around his neck from behind as Ethan suddenly appeared from behind. However, he couldn't have been more mistaken to do this, as Jackson, being in a dojo of sorts, had already had his senses set up for surprise attacks. He pulled his hand forward, and elbowed Ethan in the gut, making him cough as he released Jackson, before he turned around and slammed his whole palm underneath his target's chin, sending him reeling upwards, before crashing to the ground, dazed. It was then that Jackson realized what he had done.
"E-Ethan! So sorry!" Jackson apologized, racing over to see if he was okay. All other dojo members stopped and gazed at what took place.
"Wow... Jackson, you know this isn't a mystery dungeon." Leafeon pointed out, "People don't come out and attack you."
"Owowowowow..." Ethan grimaced, massaging his stomach with one hand, while his other hand was adjusting his lower jaw, "Dude, I haven't seen you in such a long time, and THAT'S how you greet me?!"
"I am so, SO sorry." Jackson apologized, "It's just, being in a dojo get's my senses heightened up, especially involving sneak attacks, which my masters and even the fellow students tried to hit me. My instincts just kicked in by accident."
"That was your INSTINCTS?!" Ethan questioned, "You nearly broke something!"
"Well, I'm more use to dealing with people of stronger stuff." Jackson admitted, "You're physically weaker than what I am use to."
"Should I take that as an insult?" Ethan asked, before seeing Jackson reach down with a free hand. Ethan paused, before taking the hand and getting himself pulled up to his feet again, "Well, whatever. You really are something else, Jackson. What have you been doing all this time?"
"Training, traveling, helping a sick Pokémon that runs a lighthouse in Olivine City, and other crazy matters that would be difficult to explain." He decided not to tell anyone about what happened in the other world, as that would be more absurd that what he had told them so far, and that was saying something. "So how about you? What have you been doing?"
"Actually, I was training in the island area, going to the Safari Zone to get a look at it. However, I ended up encountering Team Rocket over there."
"Wait, Team Rocket?" Jackson echoed, "You mean those same guys who held Azalea Town hostage?"
"Yeah. They are still about, and they were trying to obtain new Pokémon from the Safari Zone." Ethan explained, looking serious, "But I made sure that was their biggest mistake. I took care of them."
"Well done." Jackson praised him, "I best that still won't be the last time they appear."
"Yeah. Team Rocket is the worst..." Ethan grimaced, tightening his fists, "They are greedy people who will do anything to get rare and powerful Pokémon, and not even make friends with them. And they even seem to be after something else. What it is, I don't know. But my team and I will get stronger by challenging the gyms, and we will stop them whenever they show up."
Jackson seemed rather impressed at his speech, smiling as he stated, "That's good thinking, Ethan. However, don't get too obsessed with power. You might end up like Cypher."
"Yuk! Don't even make me like him!" Ethan exclaimed, though he shifted his expression to one of sadness as he asked, "Though, I kinda wonder why he's like that, anyway? I feel kinda bad for him."
"We can figure that out later." Leafeon argued, "Shouldn't we go and challenge the gym before stay here all day?"
"Sure thing." Jackson replied, before they made their way into the gym.
"I'm gonna watch you fight, if that's okay." Ethan asked Jackson, "I want some ideas for strategy from your fight, cause I couldn't even beat two of his Pokémon. His team is super strong, but I know you. You are tough, too!"
"Let's see how tough I have to be to take him on." Jackson replied, and they opened up the door to the gym.
When they entered in, they were immediately greeted by a slamming of something on the floor, making them jump, and for Jackson to grab his sword, ready to fight. There, they saw a man who had just tossed a boulder about his size a good distance from himself. He was a shirtless middle-aged man, with short brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and a brown mustache. He did have a slight belly to him, but he also wore frayed red hakama pants with a black belt and white on the bottom of the pants, and he was barefooted.
"Haha! Did you see that?!" the man declared to his students, who were sitting in kneeling positions on the side of the battlefield, "This is what happens after YEARS of training with me and my Pokémon! I have spent every day underneath a waterfall! I can throw boulders and crush bones with ease! We are an unstoppable force!"
"Jeez, this guy is ridiculously tough!" Ethan exclaimed.
"I think he is mistaken about something..." Jackson muttered, taking off his Speed Shoes and socks, leaving them at the entrance, while Ethan looked puzzled as to why he would do that. He walked across the floor in his bare feet, while the man turned to see the young trainer approach.
"Just a quick question, but what does what you did or say have ANYTHING to do with your Pokémon?" Jackson asked, "I mean, all you are basically doing is showing off and boasting about your OWN strength, not them."
The man paused for a second, looking at him, before realizing, "Wait...that has nothing to do with my Pokémon?" Jackson crashed to the ground in a comical fall, unable to believe he would mistaken that. However, the man boastfully laughed as he replied, "I'm just kidding. I knew that all along! You, young man, what is your name?"
Jackson got back to his feet as he replied, "It's Jackson Alpphire of Ecruteak City. I'm here to challenge the gym leader here."
"Ah, a challenger, eh?" he asked, "Well, you are looking at the gym leader of Cianwood City, Chuck! I would like to challenge you, but first, show me your own strength before I battle you."
"Why would that be important?" Jackson asked.
"I just have a good feeling about you." he told him, waving to the boulder, "You seem strong yourself, Jackson. So show me the strength that is just as big of a match as your Pokémon. Go ahead. Give it a push, if you can! If not, I'll get something smaller for-."
"No, that's okay." Jackson replied, walking to the boulder.
Ethan quickly got his shoes off, and wandered over to Jackson. "Jackson, are you crazy?" Ethan asked, pulling him in and whispering, "You can't use any of your insane powers to destroy that boulder! You'll blow your cover as not being of this world!"
"No worries. I won't do anything TOO crazy." Jackson replied, walking to the boulder. He then did something that others didn't realize he had. He pulled back his sleeves, and there were braces with metal pieces around it. Jackson took one off, and it hit the floor, which ended up cracking the floorboards. This got everyone stunned at what he was wearing, and witnessed the second one hit the floor just like the first.
"Were those...weights?" Ethan asked, looking to them, grabbing one and trying to life it, but barely able to do so before it fell out of his hands, "What are those thing?! They must be a ton!"
"Don't be ridiculous. I could only carry 80 pounds on my arms in total normally." Jackson explained, walking in front of the boulder, "I wear it once and a while." Everyone, including Chuck, was amazed at his level of strength, and watched him approach the boulder, before closing his eyes and calming himself, placing his right foot forward.
He then circled his hands, opened his eyes, and took his left foot forward, pulling back his hands to the right before thrusting them forward, shouting, "Double Palm!" The attack collided with the boulder, and it didn't roll forward. Instead, it was flown forward, crashing into the wall, causing it to break, leaving only half of it inside while the other half was hanging in the hallway on the other side.
Jackson gave a sweat-dropped expression as he turned to everyone watching him, who were gaping-mouth shocked, with the exception of Leafeon, who at this point, was use to it. "Guess I forgotten my own strength." Jackson apologized.
'Note to self; Don't get on Jackson's bad side.' Ethan mentally noted to himself.
Chuck paused, before grinning as he told himself, "A kid who doesn't even look like he has half the muscles I have, but did more damage to that boulder than I did. No way I can pass up this challenge..." He pointed a finger to Jackson as he shouted, "Jackson! I can't wait to see if your Pokémon have the same strength as what I just witnessed! Show me!"
"Very well, then." Jackson replied, before stepping forward, ready to fight.
Ethan stood to one side as one of the students stood up and called out, "I will be the referee for this match! The battle will be between Jackson Alpphire of Ecruteak City and Gym Leader Chuck of Cianwood City. Each trainer can use four Pokémon each. The battle will decide when one or both sides are unable to continue. Are both trainers ready?"
"Osu!" Jackson shouted his martial arts greeting.
Chuck smirked as he was glad to see him know that cry, and shouted, "Osu!"
"Then battle begin!" the student shouted.
"Primeape, let's show our strength!" Chuck shouted, calling out his furry-bodied, monkey-like Pokémon with a pig-like nose and fists at the ready. Jackson pulled out his Pokédex to examine his opponent.
"Primeape. The Pig Monkey Pokémon, and the evolved form of Mankey. When Primeape becomes furious, its blood circulation is boosted. In turn, its muscles are made even stronger. However, it also becomes much less intelligent at the same time."
"Dewott, I choose you!" Jackson shouted, throwing out his ball, calling out Dewott to the field.
"Just making sure, but you SURE Weavile is not in this battle?" his Discipline Pokémon asked, drawing out his Jackson.
"Yep. Not gonna happen." Jackson answered, "In fact..." He turned to the side of the field where Ethan was at, and threw one of his Pokéballs, and out came Weavile next to the trainer.
"What?!" Dewott questioned in shock.
"Weavile, watch this battle on the sidelines!" Jackson called out, "The rest of the team is gonna fight as hard as we can!"
"Understood." Weavile answered, looking to Dewott, who looked angry at first, before looking to Primeape, and realized something.
"If I take this win, I'll prove how much better I am than him!" Dewott declared.
"Dewott, Let's get stronger. Swords Dance!" Jackson shouted, and Dewott focused himself, before summoning energy swords around his body, followed by an upward aura of his strength being boosted.
"We don't need swords! We need fists!" Chuck shouted, "Primeape, Cross Chop!" His Primeape lunged forward angrily with his arms crossed in front of it, which were glowing.
"Dewott, Razor Shell!" Jackson called out, and Dewott launched forward with two watery crescent blades from his scalchops. The two attacks collided, and there was a power struggle, before they were knocked away from one another.
"They were evenly matched!" Ethan gasped.
"Primeape, use Rock Slide!" Chuck shouted, and Primeape roared as from above, multitudes of falling rocks appeared, raining down at Dewott.
"Slash them away with Night Slash!" Jackson ordered.
"Ha! These boulders are rubble!" Dewott declared, leaping high with his Night Slash blades, and slashing through each boulder in his way, before the last one was destroyed.
"Got you. Screech!" Chuck shouted. Primeape inhaled his lungs, and shouted at Dewott while he was in midair, giving him an earful, and causing him to yell in pain, before he fell back to the ground, his defenses weakened. "Now, Cross Chop, once more!" Dewott regained himself as Primeape got in close, its arms ready to strike him.
"Back off!" Jackson shouted, and Dewott leapt back to evade the oncoming attack, the shockwaves of the powerful Cross Chop sent him flying in the air. He flipped all over the place, until he fell to the ground. However, using his scalchops, he dug them into the ground, and came to a halt near Jackson.
Dewott straightened himself up as he turned to see Weavile standing there, giving a small smirk at him. This aggravated the Water-type, who glared back at his opponent, shouting, "The last thing I wanna do is look bad in front of my rival! He won't see me lose today!"
"Let's blade things up a notch, Dewott!" Jackson shouted while Dewott roared in declaration.
"Let's see how well their rage can be handled against ours. Thrash!" Chuck ordered. Primeape's eyes went red in rage, and he shot at Dewott.
"Dewott, evade his attacks!" Jackson shouted, "Look for that opening to strike, then use Razor Shell when that moment shows up!"
"Kay!" Dewott simply answered, as he leapt to one side to evade Primeape's attack. Dewott kept backing off while his opponent vigorously swung its limbs in a rampage at him. Thanks to all his training with Jackson, these attacks were predictable and easy to avoid. Finally, Primeape was starting to wear down, until it came to a halt, completely dizzy. "Gotcha!" Dewott declared, unleashing a Razor Shell that did some damage to Primeape, knocking him backwards.
"Primeape, use Rock Slide to stop him!" Chuck shouted, and Primeape, able to find some focus, summoned more rocks high above, before they started to fall down to the ground all around.
"Knock back any coming at you with Water Pulse!" Jackson shouted. Dewott looked to see any rocks falling towards him, summoning a Water Pulse and sending it colliding with the target, causing it to explode. This also caused a chain reaction, as the boulders around it started to fall all over the place from the explosion, nearly hitting the students, Ethan, and Weavile, who leapt away. The attack did get one target, though; Primeape, getting hit with his own Rock Slide. When the rain was over, Primeape was buried in rocks.
"Water Pulse, directly at him!" Jackson shouted, and Dewott fired off another Water Pulse at Primeape, who couldn't move, and got a face-full of the attack causing him to fly out of the boulders, flailing in pain. "Finish him!" the swordsman trainer called out, and Dewott knew the signal, summoning his Night Slash, leaping in, and unleashing one final slash to Primeape, defeating him in one go. Primeape collapsed to the ground, with spirals in his eyes.
"Primeape is unable to battle. Dewott is the winner!" the referee student called out.
"Well done, Dewott!" Jackson called out.
"We're both proud of you." Leafeon praised him.
Dewott looked to them, before looking to Weavile, who looked to him from a distance, and nodded in approval. Dewott smirked confidently, glad to get one up over Weavile.
"Primeape, come back." Chuck called out, putting him into his ball. He pocketed it as he said, "That was a great battle. However, that was merely the first of my team. You have seen one fighting style, but how will you face this?! Go, Hitmontop!" He tossed out a Pokémon that was brown and blue, with a pointed top, a bowl cut hair, and thin legs with a tail.
Jackson pulled out his dex, examining the Pokémon. "Hitmontop. The Handstand Pokémon, and the evolved form of Tyrogue. Hitmontop spins on its head at high speed, all the while delivering kicks. This technique is a remarkable mix of both offense and defense at the same time. The Pokémon travels faster spinning than it does walking."
"Dewott, you still are affected by Screech." Jackson told his partner, "Come back to rest, kay?"
"Fine by me." Dewott answered, and Jackson put him back in his ball. He put the ball away, before turning to Leafeon, "Wanna go in, girl?"
"If you insist." she replied, jumping into the field, ready to go, "After all, we know how to deal with these guys."
"So he's using his ace, huh?" Ethan understood, "Can't wait to see how far he's gotten with her."
"Leafeon, Quick Attack!" Jackson shouted, and she leapt at high speeds.
"Hitmontop, Fake Out!" Chuck ordered, and Hitmontop instantly vanished and appeared in front of the high-speeding opponent, striking him with a downward kick that struck her down to a skidding halt.
"Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" Ethan grimaced.
"Shake it off, Leafeon." Jackson called out as the Verdant Pokémon got up, shaking her body, "Let's counterattack. Leaf Blade!" Leafeon's tail glowed green as she pursued Hitmontop.
"Hitmontop, get stronger. Bulk Up!" Chuck ordered, and Hitmontop pumped up his arms as he flexed and showed off his muscles, his body glowing red. Leafeon struck Hitmontop with her tail, and after a few seconds, they pushed off of one another, with Hitmontop skidding away, while Leafeon landed on her feet neatly.
"Haha! Hitmontop should not be underestimated!" Chuck told Jackson, "Though I have to admit, it takes a lot to send my Hitmontop skidding backwards. But that still won't save you. Rapid Spin!" Hitmontop did a headstand on the spike on its head, and started to spin like a top as it came at Leafeon.
"Give him something to pursue! Quick Attack!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon shot at high speeds while evading Hitmontop's attack.
"Is he trying to wear him down like he did with Primeape?" Ethan asked.
"If that's what you're going for, then think again!" Chuck told Jackson with confidence, "You see, Hitmontop could spin on his head for hours on end without tiring. If you are trying to wear him out, then I can tell you right now that it's no use." He was saying this as Leafeon continued to dance and evade the spinning Pokémon. "Now, switch it up into Triple Kick!" Chuck called out. Hitmontop came in and with two kicks of his feet and his tail, he struck Leafeon three times, before she was sent flying away in pain towards Jackson, falling to her side.
"Offense and defensively, Hitmontop is a force to be reckon with." Jackson muttered, but smirked as he stated, "Too bad he has underestimated us, too. For our speed can trump all he has, and I now understand the limits of his spinning prowess. Let's blade things up a notch, and bring out the sun, Leafeon!"
"Understood!" Leafeon answered, gathering up energy, and unleashing her Sunny Day into the ceiling. Suddenly, from above, bright sunlight shined down onto the field.
"Leafeon learned Sunny Day?" Ethan asked, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.
"Seems like you had a trick up your sleeve. Not that it would matter!" Chuck scoffed, "Use Bulk Up, again!" Hitmontop flexed his body, boosting his physical stats once more.
"Leafeon, show your speed off!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon unleashed her Chlorophyll ability, causing her to double her speed, blitzing around Hitmontop as he was having a difficult time keeping track of her.
"Wow! Leafeon's so fast now!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Leafeon improved since her time in the other world." Weavile acknowledged to himself, "She is even stronger than before."
"Speed won't matter if you can't get through my Hitmontop's offense or defense!" Chuck told Jackson, "Use Rapid Spin!" Hitmontop spun on his head again, spinning towards Leafeon.
"Charge at him!" Jackson ordered, and Leafeon shot at the Handstand Pokémon, much to the shock of everyone. Was she trying to get herself struck down? "Now, sweep beneath with Leaf Blade!" Jackson followed up. Leafeon skidded on her side as she used her glowing tail to strike the very needle of Hitmontop's head, causing him to get off-balance, and tumble along the ground, damaged from the fall.
"But how?!" Chuck gasped.
"Your Hitmontop's body is tough, but every top has a weakness; one strike at the base can knock them off-balance." Jackson acknowledged, "Leafeon, Solarbeam!" Leafeon leapt high and with the sun's rays, gathered up energy into her body, before firing it down at Hitmontop, who saw it come at him before getting hit by the full blast. After an explosion, Leafeon landed on the ground to see her victim, who was dazed and knocked out.
"Hitmontop is unable to battle! Leafeon is the winner!" the referee shouted, much to the shock of everyone.
"He took out two of Chuck's Pokémon without too much trouble!" Ethan stated.
"Hitmontop, return!" Chuck called out, returning his Pokémon to his ball, "We must train harder if we are to overcome that weakness." He pocketed the ball as he looked to Jackson, "It's been a long time since I dealt with such a skilled trainer. But make no mistake, I am a gym leader, so I won't make it easy for you. Heracross, come forth!" He threw out another ball, and out came a horned beetle-like Pokémon.
"So that's the Pokémon Bugsy was talking about." Jackson acknowledged, pulling out his dex to examine the opponent. "Heracross. The Single Horn Pokémon. Heracross has sharp claws on its feet. These are planted firmly into the ground or the bark of a tree, giving the Pokémon a secure and solid footing to forcefully fling away foes with its proud horn."
"Leafeon, come back!" Jackson called out, and Leafeon leapt back to Jackson's side. "Dealing with a Bug-type won't be good for you. Quilava, go!" He tossed out the ball, and out came his Fire-type, basking under the sunlight.
"Good thinking. Using a Fire-type against a Bug-type is a great idea." Ethan pointed out.
"And under my sunlight, Quilava's flames are stronger." Leafeon added.
"Quilava, use Flamethrower!" Jackson ordered. Quilava responded with expelling a deluge of flames from his mouth, going towards Heracross.
"Protect!" Chuck ordered, and his partner created a barrier that blocked the attack from hitting it.
"He stopped such powerful flames?!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Not bad, but let's get hotter. Flame Wheel!" Jackson ordered, and Quilava spun like a wheel as he ignited his flames, and shot at Heracross.
"Not this time. Rock Blast!" Chuck called out. Heracross glowed white as it summoned out rocks ringing around him, before shooting them at Quilava. He got caught by a few of them as he rolled towards him, but got overwhelmed, and toppled to the floor.
"Ha! You don't stand a chance against Heracross!" Chuck declared, "You may have won the last to battles, but not this one! Brick Break!" Heracross flew in with a glowing arm, ready to bring it down on Quilava.
"Flamethrower, now!" Jackson shouted, and Quilava's eyes snapped open and blasted flames into Heracross's face, causing him to stumble back, before the attack sent him flying off, falling onto his back. Quilava got onto his feet again, glaring as Heracross got back up, and was getting flames off of its body, burned by his attack.
"Heracross is burned!" Ethan exclaimed, "That's good, right?"
"Child, you have much to learn." Chuck stated with a grin, and Heracross suddenly roared as it glowed red with power.
"Jackson, that's the Guts ability!" Leafeon noticed.
"Crap, not good." Jackson grimaced, "Quilava, Swift!" Quilava shot stars from his mouth, shooting down at Heracross.
"Barrel through them with Megahorn!" Chuck ordered, and Heracross flew with a glowing horn, getting in close as it effortlessly destroyed the stars, and slammed into Quilava, damaging him heavily from the attack. He flew past Jackson and slammed into the wall, falling to the floor, struggling to get back up to his feet.
"You okay, buddy?" Jackson asked, even as the sunlight started to fade.
"You still got the strength to continue, right?!" Leafeon asked.
Quilava got to his feet, glaring at the glowing Heracross, before roaring as his body glowed a fiery hue. "That's the Blaze ability!" Ethan recognized.
'Apart from the Rock Blast, that Megahorn must've done some serious damage if he is on his last legs.' Jackson told himself, 'Gotta put it all out into this last attack!'
"Time to finish him off! Rock Blast!" Chuck shouted, and Heracross unleashed a series of rocks that were bigger and stronger than before.
"Flamethrower!" Jackson called out, and Quilava unleashed an enhanced fiery stream that countered the attack, creating an explosion when the two collided.
"Flame Wheel!" Jackson followed up, and his partner turned into a flaming wheel as he shot towards Heracross through the smoke of the explosion.
"Heracross, Megahorn!" Chuck ordered, and his burnt bug flew forward with its glowing horn, meeting Quilava's attack. The two collided, and dispersed the smoke of the explosion, as the two pushed off against each other, trying to overpower the other. However, after a few seconds, both Pokmon suddenly lost all strength from their attack, and they fell to the ground in front of each other, unable to continue.
"Heracross and Quilava are unable to battle!" the referee announced, as Jackson raced to Quilava, picking him up.
"They knocked each other out?" Weavile asked, "That was unexpected."
"Between Heracross's Guts ability, and Quilava's Blaze ability, the power they dealt to one another was enough to knock each other out!" Ethan noticed, watching Chuck call his Heracross back, "Now, Chuck only has one Pokémon, while Jackson has three."
"Good job, Quilava." Jackson commended his teammate, "He may have gotten us today, but we can only improve from here on out. For now, rest up, and get better."
"Thanks, Jackson." Quilava replied, and he was placed back into his ball.
"I must commend you, Jackson." Chuck told him, "No one's ever taken down my Heracross when his Guts ability was activated. Consider me impressed by your Pokémon's strength."
"Thanks. You gave me a run for my money." Jackson replied, walking back to his side of the field, "But I can't wait to see your final Pokémon. From what I learned from other trainers, it is one of your most difficult ones to overcome."
Chuck smirked as he stated, "So you were able to do some research. But that won't stop me from winning this fight. If you back us into a corner, I will use that corner as extra force to push back! Poliwrath, go!" He tossed out a ball, and out came a blue, muscular humanoid creature with a spiral on its belly.
Jackson pulled out his Pokédex once again, aiming it at the Pokémon. "Poliwrath. The Tadpole Pokmon, and the evolved form of Poliwhirl. Poliwrath's highly developed, brawny muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. It is so tirelessly strong, this Pokémon can swim back and forth across the ocean without effort."
"Okay..." Jackson muttered, "So wearing Poliwrath down would prove difficult. Dewott can't win this fight, due to only knowing Water and Dark-type moves. In that case, Scyther, let's go!" He tossed out his Park Ball, calling out Scyther to the field.
"Alright! Scyther is a Flying-type, so he could beat Poliwrath!" Ethan noted.
'Too bad he doesn't know Flying-type moves.' Weavile mentally noted.
"Scyther, Agility!" Jackson ordered, and his partner flew at high speeds dashing around Poliwrath, who looked at him as he looked around trying to keep an eye on him.
"Poliwrath, Mind Reader!" Chuck ordered. Poliwrath's eye glistened as he caught a glimpse of Scyther, followed by the ridges of his eyes glowing.
Jackson noticed this, and called out, "Scyther, Slash!" Scyther came in close, his scythe hands glowing.
"Dynamic Punch!" Chuck ordered. Poliwrath's fist is glowing blue as he swung his fist hard, getting around Scyther's claws, and striking him in the head, causing him to fall to ground hard.
"Poliwrath has that kind of martial arts prowess?!" Jackson gasped, before realizing, "No, he sensed his movements with Mind Reader!"
"Yep. That attack makes sure his attack won't miss." Leafeon noted.
Scyther got back up, his vision spinning as he was confused. Jackson noticed this, understanding what needed to be done, and called out, "Scyther, close your eyes! It'll give you more focus!"
"Y-Yes, sensei..." Scyther answered, shutting his eyes, and focusing himself. Sure enough, without the spinning, he was able to gather himself together more.
"A clever trick, but it won't work! Surf!" Chuck called out, Poliwrath summoned up a tidal wave from out of nowhere, and started to surf on top of it as they barreled towards Scyther, who was focus and could hear the waves coming at him.
"Feel where it is coming towards, and use Vacuum Wave!" Jackson called out. Scyther heard the waves coming from his left, gathered up energy into his claws, before turning to that direction and unleashing the waves of energy at the water. The attack struck the waves, splitting it and causing it to prematurely break, making it crash to the ground, along with Poliwrath. "Now, Slash, once more!" Jackosn called out. and Scyther flew forward, unleashing a slash ahead of him. Poliwrath was slightly out of the way, but got the back-end of the attack, getting cut.
"Poliwrath, if confusion isn't gonna work, then put him to sleep. Hypnosis!" Chuck ordered, and his partner unleashed a hypnotic wave on Scyther while he was unaware. His eyes were already closed, but now his lids grew heavy on him, and he fell to the ground, asleep.
"Oh, no!" Leafeon gasped.
"Scyther!" Jackson called out, but he didn't respond.
"Use Dynamic Punch, once more!" Chuck ordered, and his partner unleashed another powerful punch with his fist, causing Scyther to go flying toppling on the ground. "Now, Surf!" Poliwrath summoned up another tidal wave, and this time, Scyther could not avoid it. It fell on top of him, and after the waves parted, Jackson saw Poliwrath standing above a spiral-eyed Scyther.
"Scyther is unable to battle! Poliwrath is the winner!" the referee answered.
"Wow, that looked brutal." Ethan grimaced, "Not to mention he could endues confusion AND sleep?"
Poliwrath went back to Chuck's side as Jackson went over to Scyther's side, raising him up as he pulled out his Pokéball. "Forgive me, sensei. It would seem he bested me and caught me off guard." Scyther apologized.
"You will be redeemed. Don't worry." Jackson replied, "We'll train harder next time." With that, he called him back to his ball. He stood up as he looked to Poliwrath, glaring at him. "He will be tricky. If the confusion won't stop us, then his Hypnosis will."
"Jackson, did you forget?" Leafeon asked, getting his attention, "I have been given Arceus's blessing, after all."
"That's true." Jackson agreed, "I guess I'll let the cutlass out of the bag. Let's go, Leafeon!" The verdant Pokmon bounded out onto the battlefield, ready to go.
"I mean, I guess that works." Ethan admitted, "Grass-types will do great against Water-types, but could he overcome all of his attacks and status effects?"
"Leafeon, Sunny Day!" Jackson shouted, and Leafeon summoned the sunlight once more, bathing down onto the field.
"Did you not learn your lesson before?" Chuck asked, "Even with your speed, you won't be able to avoid what is to come. Mind Reader!" Poliwrath's eyes glistened as he focused himself on Leafeon, making sure his next attack struck true.
"He's taking aim." Leafeon told Jackson.
"Then strike him before he gets you. Solarbeam!" Jackson shouted. Leafeon gathered up solar energy and fired it off at Poliwrath.
"Dodge it, and use Dynamic Punch!" Chuck ordered, waving a hand forward. Poliwrath sidestepped the attack, wincing as he felt the heat of the Solarbeam, before charging at Leafeon with a blue glow fist, getting in close and punching her to the side, causing her to topple over to the side of the field.
"No! It didn't work!" Ethan exclaimed, placing his hands over his head, "And now Leafeon will get confused just like Scyther did!"
Leafeon got back up onto her feet, shaking her body, but otherwise looking fine. She had not been confused at all. This caused the dojo students watching, Ethan, and even Chuck to look surprised at this. "What's going on?" Ethan asked, "Dynamic Punch is a guaranteed confusion affect. Why isn't Leafeon affected?"
Jackson and Leafeon smirked at this reaction, before the former called out, "Leafeon, get in close with Leaf Blade!" Leafeon dashed in very quickly, slamming into Poliwrath before he could react.
"I don't know how you avoided getting confused, but I am still gonna win this!" Chuck told Jackson, "Poliwrath, put her to sleep with Hypnosis!" Poliwrath was able to regain itself as it unleashed another set of hypnotic wave, placing Leafeon within it. However, Leafeon's eyes were wide opened, not even phased, and Poliwrath looked stunned. "But how?!" Chuck questioned in shock.
"Leafeon and I have been blessed." Jackson told Chuck, "It takes more than strength between trainer and Pokémon. Thanks to the kind deeds we have done, and the trials we had gone through that took a lot of courage to overcome, we were given an incredible gift; Leafeon can now use two abilities."
"Wait, what?!" Ethan question, stunned beyond belief, looking to Weavile, who met his gaze, and nodded in confirmation.
"But Pokémon could only have one ability!" Chuck argued.
"It's like I said, we were blessed." Jackson repeated.
"And we are humble and gracious about it, too." Leafeon finished, before the pair shouted together, "Leaf Blade!" Leafeon's tail glowed green as she did a backflip, unleashing an uppercut slash with her attack, knocking Poliwrath upwards.
'He caught us off guard!' Chuck realized.
"Dance with blades!" the two spoke simultaneously, with Jackson drawing out his sword. The two then started to swing tail and sword with the exact same motion, while Leafeon's Leaf Blade continued to strike Poliwrath over and over again, unable to get a break from their furious attacks. Then finally, with a downward slash as one, they hammer slashed Poliwrath to the ground with such force, he bounced off the ground, before crashing at Chuck's feet, unable to continue.
The referee was unsure of what to do, considering he just witnessed Leafeon with two different abilities. However, he looked to Chuck, who looked to his partner, before looking back at the ref and nodded. "Poliwrath is unable to battle! Leafeon is the winner! The victor of this match is Jackson of Ecruteak City!"
"Excellent going, Leafeon!" Jackson cheered, racing over to her and patting her on the head while sheathing his sword.
"We just got lucky by having their guard thrown off." Leafeon argued.
"Yeah. They never expected that, did they?" Jackson asked.
"Hey, how the hell can Leafeon have two different abilities?!" Ethan demanded as he, Weavile and Chuck gathered around him, "That shouldn't even happen!"
"But it's true." Jackson replied, pulling out his Pokédex, pointing it at Leafeon, then showing it to the pair, "See? She has both Chlorophyll and Leaf Guard."
"Hey, the abilities keep changing back and forth!" Chuck noted, seeing the dex entry, "Is this thing broken?"
"No. The Pokédex is completely fine." Ethan answered, "The only explanation is that it can't decide whether Leafeon has one ability or the other. Meaning she has both!"
"How did you manage to do that?" Chuck asked Jackson as he and Leafeon came together.
"It's a secret." Jackson replied, looking to Leafeon as Weavile joined her side, the two smirking at one another, "We swear to Arceus that we can't tell you."
Chuck folded his arms as he thought about this unusual predicament, before smirking as he stated, "You know what, who cares? It may be odd, but it still seems fair. You and your team were able to best me with your skills and strength. Even if your Leafeon didn't have two abilities, it wouldn't matter. You would still beat me and my team. I am very impressed by you and your team.
"Thank you, sir." Jackson thanked Chuck, raising a hand, and the two shook.
"I present you with this, the Storm Badge!" Chuck told Jackson, digging into his hakama pants and pulling out a badge that looked like a brown fist. Jackson took it, flipping it up into the air, spun around on one leg, before stopping himself and catching the badge in his hands effortlessly and hold it up between two fingers.
Ethan paused to think for a moment, before saying, "I think now I have to think out a really good strategy for facing Chuck. He is a really tough opponent. I got my team and I strong enough, but I need to really think hard, for once."
"If you want, I can help you strategize." Jackson offered.
Ethan shook his head as he answered, "No. I'm gonna figure it out on my own. Then, once I am able to defeat Chuck, let's reunite and we can battle each other."
"Deal." Jackson replied, raising a fist to him. Ethan reached out his fist and bumped Jackson's, signaling the promise.
Moment's later, Jackson had gone and left the medicine shop, happily satisfied. Thanks to the medicine man, the concoction for helping Jasmine's Ampharos was complete. He also recommended a delivery place where they use Flying-type Pokémon to deliver stuff to overseas, even all the way to Olivine City. This made it really convenient for him so he could send the delivery over beforehand.
When he got to the delivery center, he was both surprised and amused to see that they used Pelipper for deliveries, since that was the way Team Blade got mailing deliveries in the other world. He made sure he sent it on its way towards Jasmine, and even called Kris to let her know it was being sent there.
"Now, that was one really long task to clear..." Jackson sighed in relief, sagging his body as he left the center.
"Considering it was months longer than it should've been, even though it was only less than a week here, we should take it easy as we make our way back home." Leafeon told Jackson, looking sternly at him, "Meaning NO speedboating our way back home!"
"Right, right, I got it." Jackson answered, knowing he technically wasn't at fault for that, "We'll take ship over to there. Let's go to the docks to see what is available." They made their way to the docks nearby, and found the place where there were times of when the ships went out and where the destinations were.
"Hmm... Looks like there's no straight shot to Olivine City." Jackson noticed, noticing a lot of 'delayed' ships on the board, "Guess they are still mending up what happened from that Tentacruel incident. Guess we'll have to take a different route..." he examined all other routes on board, before noticing one that caught his interest. "This route looks good. It's a smaller ship, and it'll take us from here to an island city called 'Alto Mare', before taking us to Olivine City."
"Alto Mare? Sounds interesting." Leafeon stated, "Lets take the leisure route."
"Understood. Let's go get tickets!" Jackson replied, and the two raced to the ticket booth to get their reservations for the boat ride.
Alto Mare
Along the edge of the city, standing at a lookout point, there was a young girl with short brown hair held in small 'wingtips' on top and curled side bangs, wearing a simple red and white-collared shirt, a white miniskirt, pink shoes with black socks.
She had out a canvas on a stand, and a drawing kit. On the canvas was a picture of the open ocean, a couple of Wingull flying overhead, with a Mantine that flew out of the water. She had placed down her blue colored pencil, and looked out to the ocean. 'The same view, every time...' she told herself, 'I wonder...can I get more than what I see? Am I even allowed...to leave this city?'